SEO Part 3 - Link Building

 

Links are especially important in SEO. Search engines assume that the more sites that link to you, the more popular a site. And as I said in Part 2 popularity can mean you receive a higher ranking. So building links is imperative if you wish to benefit from a higher search result listing. Here are some facts to consider:



The more popular the site, the more importance search engines place on links from them. So in essence you'll achieve a higher search ranking by being linked to by popular sites.

Links from sites that cover similar subjects to your own matter more to search engines. For example if your a fashion blog and your linked to by another fashion blog thatll matter more to the search engines than if your linked to by a website about cars.

Anchor text attached to your link is also vital.

Links from trustworthy sites gives you an advantage in search rankings.

Choose which sites you link to very carefully. Linking to spam sites can have an adverse influence on your search ranking.

There are many ways to gain more links to your site. Obviously first and foremost create quality well written content that others will want to share. We call these type of links - editorial accumulation links.

Another way to gain links is to submit your sites to directory sites like blog catalog, wikio etc.

Links can also be created through commenting on blogs (no spam commenting please but thoughtful content led comments), profiles on forums and signatures on forums. They don't carry the same weight as other link methods but they're still worthwhile.

So in summary your link building tactics should include adding your site to directories, asking other sites to link to you and exchanging links with other sites. Choose who links to you carefully though as lots of links from spam sites can make the search engines think that you too are spam. Sites labelled as spam can get penalised in search results.