What Link Popularity Is and The Best Way To Increase It.
by Debbie Ducker

Link popularity refers to the ranking assigned to your web site by the search engines. It is one of the factors that search engines use to determine search engine placement of your page when keywords are entered into a search engine. In simple terms if your link popularity is high for your web site it will come up higher than other web sites, that have less link popularity, for relevant keywords searched.

Given the fact that the importance of driving highly targeted traffic to your web site cannot be emphasized enough. Attracting people to your web site is the first step you will carry out after setting it up. Your number one priority will be to do everything you can to achieve a high search engine ranking.

As we have learned in previous weeks... search engines are the gateway to the Internet. They are the first tool that potential customers use to find the products and services they need. This is why link popularity is so imperative. If the customers do not find your web site, you have no possibilities of making any sales.

Make no mistake in understanding this, search engines are discretionary, giving status and ranking to sites that have links to their pages from related, quality sites. It's a simple formula, but a very important one. Google created the system, and now virtually all the most popular search engines employ it to rank your web pages in their indexes.

The more commonly used the keywords of your web site are, the harder it will be to achieve link popularity. However, without achieving this step, it is almost certain your site will never rank highly on any search engine. Don't let this discourage you much though, because there are tried and true ways of achieving link popularity using the most competitive keywords.

There are a few things you should be aware of. The first is that just linking up with a large number of other web sites will not help you to achieve instant link popularity. It is quality first you want to go after. Quantity can be gained over time.

With quality first in mind... Never link to or be linked from pages you have reservations about your visitors, customers and potential customers, seeing. Keep everything high quality and as pin pointed relevant to your site as you can.

So now let's cover a few things you can do to achieve the best link popularity and improve your rankings on all the popular search engines.

The number one thing that will help you improve your search engine ranking is one way back links. This simply is the opposite of reciprocal linking, a site owner puts a link to you and you do not have one to them in return. Absolutely nothing beats them in ranking strategies.

Below are a few top ways to building one way links back to your site:

1.) Get a listing in popular search directories. Two of the most popular being: Open Directory Project
and Yahoo.

If your site is business-related, you will want to be listed on Yahoo, and despite the fact that it will cost you $299 a year, it will be money well spent. If your site is non-commercial, the listing will be free, but it will take time and follow-up to actually get it listed.

Open Directory will give you a free listing whether you are business-related or non-commercial, but be prepared to make a lot of follow-up inquiries before you see your site listed.

Keep in mind that you are aiming to get listed in the highest level of appropriate category in these directories. A search for your most relevant keywords pertaining to your business will help you get the best category for your web site. To give you an example, say your company develops business software from a main office located in the middle of Nowhere, Tiny State, do NOT submit your listing to "Business Software Developers from Nowhere, Tiny State." Instead dig a little deeper - do a search for "business software developers" and you will find that a good category for you may be "Business Software". You will not only associate yourself with a highly sought out business service, but you will also be listed in a national category.

2.) Utilize blog RSS features. Provide several options for people to add your site's content and blog posts to their favorite RSS sites such as My Yahoo, Google, RSS feed readers and also social book marking sites such as Digg and Stumbleupon.

3.) Create an affiliate program for your products and services. When members join your affiliate program they will set up links on their own web sites back to you via their affiliate links you provide them.

4.) Write articles that contain a link back to your site in the author information. By submitting articles, with your web site's link in the resource box, to e-zines and free article sites, you will not only build credibility, you will also have the opportunity to advertise for free. The more sites you submit your articles to, the better your link popularity is. Make your articles original, relevant and useful so that more web sites will pick it up and post it.

5.) Use your favorite forums and blogs. While interacting with your favorite forums and blogs be sure you add a signature file that contains a link back to you, every time you post an answer, ask a question or comment on someone's blog. Most forums allow you to create a personalized signature in your profile so it is automatically added each time you post.

In summary it is worth mentioning that the next best thing to one way links back to your site is reciprocal linking.

The key in this is to find sites that are in some way related to yours, so not only will your link popularity increase, but your customer base may also be expanded. It is best to avoid your competitors and look for links that are useful to your site's visitors.

Let's look at the "Business Software Developers" example. Exchanging links with a site that sells business supplies would be helpful to your visitors, and the chances of the business supply site wanting to link up to your site are also greater. By linking to a related site that will be relevant to your web site's traffic, you are increasing both of your site's business prospects - and both of your sites' link popularity.

Remember, your criteria are quality, highly ranked, non-competing web sites that have a links or resources page. Go to these sites and objectively assess them. Look at the quality of the product, the graphics, and the ease of use. Then check out the other sites they are linked to, and determine if your own site would fit in with the crowd.

Once you have optimized and gathered as many one way and reciprocal back links to your site as you can, then you will head to the most popular search engines, such as Google,
MSN and Yahoo's Search Engine (Different from their search directory).

Check your page ranking in search engines frequently to see if your link popularity has improved.

Increasing your page rank in the search engines will take some time and a good deal of work. There is no way around the labor-intensive quality of improving your link popularity, which is why search engines regard it with such importance.

Sincerely, Debbie Ducker

------------ About the Author ------------
Debbie Ducker is the owner of: DuckerPromotion.com
And author of many articles and How To marketing materials. For help finding out what your web site's link popularity is, download her new free "DP Link Popularity Checker" software here: http://software.duckerpromotion.com/lc/
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This article may be used free as long as all links stay as they are. Feel free to use your own DuckerPromotion.com affiliate links in the About the Author section.