...that gathers the blessings of search engines!
Part 1
By Robin Nobles
One important point that came from the Search Engine Strategies
2001 Conference in Boston is that major search engines do not
willingly index or provide links to link exchange orientated
sites --aka, link farms. In fact, I'm aware of instances where
both Google and Inktomi have banned sites from their index simply
for participating in link exchange programs. The end result of
this restriction is that the engines have effectively taken away
the easiest way to quickly build link popularity.
Most SE optimizers are aware that building an effective linking
strategy is one of the most challenging aspects of search engine
optimization work. Why? ...because there really aren't any quick
fixes. For instance, you can't purchase a handy dandy software
program to do an effective job for you. And, in view of the
current "rules," sites aren't allowed to participate in link
exchange programs either. Yet, the reality is that link
popularity can often make your site's rankings in the search
engines while, in contrast, lack of popularity can often break
it.
So, I hear you asking "...are there any alternatives?"
Sure. You can manually search for related sites and write to each
relevant site you find with the objective of getting them to link
to you. Of course you'll find this is a slow, tedious process.
Even if you hire a high school or college student to cheaply do
the "grunt" work, your results will be subjected to the effect of
a trial and error learning curve and whatever aptitude the on-
the-job trainee might possess.
The Solution
Currently the most efficient solution is a professional one, and
the best service we're aware of that provides this specific
professional assistance is LinkageXpress
(http://www.academywebspecialists.com/le)-- the first hand-
tailored, targeted linkage service on the net.
The concept is simple. You turn over your linking needs to
LinkageXpress, and they'll find related and relevant links for
your site. Even better is that they're practiced in selecting
"key" sites that already rank well with the search engines. And,
they target sites that are both relevant to your target audience
as well as already "popular." These are the precise factors that
are likely to elevate your own site's link popularity. Stated
another way, LinkageXpress applies a professional personalized
approach to solve what is otherwise a difficult and time
consuming search engine optimization problem. End result? ...they
remove the drudgery and guess work from the equation while you
get the results you are looking for.
To write this article, I interviewed Scott Smith, President of
LinkageXpress (http://www.linkagexpress.com), so that we could
get some insight into their unique program.
Question: How does your service differ from the link exchange
programs that can get you in trouble with the search engines?
Scott: There's really no relationship between what we do and link
farms. LinkageXpress generates targeted, niche-specific, high
quality links on actual web pages generating real traffic. Search
engines welcome sites we work with because they have genuine link
popularity, and often award them better rankings.
In fact, Google currently gives link popularity more weight than
any other attribute. As the default search engine for Yahoo!,
getting a well-ranked listing here can produce a windfall of
traffic literally for free. Our approach is exactly what Google
and the other top search engines want and need.
Here's why: in order to be useful to users, search engines must
deliver relevant search results. For this reason they drop sites
today that don't relate to a specific search theme. If your site
cross-links with other sites that have nothing to do with your
primary business, you're at risk of being kicked out. We think
search engines are smart to do this, because it cannot help but
deliver better search returns.
That's why we don't endorse or use random link exchange programs
or link farms. A link farm is simply a page with a bunch of links
to different sites on it. By linking to a link farm, you diminish
your site relevancy. The right approach is to focus your entire
site like a laser beam on a single, potent theme.
Today high-quality, niche-specific link popularity is key. For
search engines like Google, Lycos, and Excite, link popularity is
critical because it indicates other sites have already looked at
you and decided you're worthy of a link.
Question: Let's say I have a site that promotes a utility
software program. What would you do to increase links to the
site? In other words, how does your service work?
Scott: We increase the flow of targeted traffic to your site by
finding you high quality link partners quickly.
Now let's say we're dealing with a utility software product. Odds
are good that direct competitors will not trade links with you,
so that's not where we're going to look for link partners.
Instead, we look at your unique selling proposition and
concentrate on what you do. How does the rest of the world view
you? What do your meta tags say, as well as the copy on your
site?
Out of this initial examination we'll develop a short list of
niche-specific markets where we feel you belong and compare our
notes with yours. Together we'll chart the right course of
action. The goal is to attract highly targeted traffic to your
site and help you achieve better search engine positioning.
(Continued in Part 2)
This article was written by Robin Nobles, a professional
freelance writer and the Director of Training at the Academy of
Web Specialists (http://www.academywebspecialists.com). Over the
past few years, she has trained several thousand people in her online
and onsite courses in search engine positioning strategies and
has written three books that can be ordered through Amazon. Visit
the Academy's training Web site to learn more about their online
courses: http://www.onlinewebtraining.com.