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Archive for November, 2009

Link Exchanges: Good Or Bad?

All too often a hot thread will pop up in a forum where another worried confused tryingtodoitright webmaster is asking the “experts” about Google’s policy regarding link exchanges. Every time the question of linking comes up a line is drawn in the sand and the two sides go at it.

Here are a couple of typical responses:

“I still think getting links is a good idea. There are some topics on the web that that’s all visitors do is follow links.”

“Link exchanges will end up killing a site many people who have them find themselves under a penalty now.”

Very seldom will anyone from either side of the link exchange issue offer definite proof of their argument. Each post is colored with slight variations on the degree to which it is bad or good. Each poster tries desperately to establish some credibility for themselves while arguing that their actions and decisions are the RIGHT way and this leads quickly to another heated circular debate with no clear winners. This leaves the person asking the original question more confused than they were when they asked it in the first place.

Frankly no one has any idea what Google or any other search engine will like or not like. What worked before may not work now and no one can give a definitive answer as to why. As the old Zen master once said “It is what it is.”

Now logic dictates that Google does not want to penalize sites engaging in link exchanges. What Google wants is to please the people that rely on them to provide a quality resource.

How does exchanging links or the avoidance of the practice define a quality resource? It doesn’t. People define a quality resource and therein lies the answer to what approach one should take regarding exchanging links.

As a person you are completely competent to know when exchanging a link increases or decreases the quality of your web site. If anything you do including linking to a web site that links to you increases the quality that is good. If the exchanging of links decreases the quality that is bad.

Remember this: You have every right to do whatever you think is best for your web site.

You can’t control Google but you can control your site. If you exchange links or do not exchange links because you think it will make Google do something your chances of losing at some point go way up. If you exchange links or don’t exchange links because it makes your site better then you win. And doesn’t it make sense that Google wants winners?

About the writer:  Jake Lowrey has more than 30 years experience in the communications field as a writer editor and public relations professional. He has been writing content and articles and optimizing web pages online since 2003 most recently for Team Link Network.

Link Directories: The Best Way To Get Your Site Noticed

One of the best ways to optimize your business Web site forhigher search engine placement is to increase the amount ofother sites that link to you. Most search engines use thequantity and quality of links pointing to your site to determinehow to rank your site. The more quality links pointing to yourpages the better your placement will be. And that means moretraffic for your business.

Here is a way for other sites to link back to you.

Link Directories Link directories are the best way to get yourwebsite noticed and other people to link back to you. Websiteowners pay to have their link posted on other websites for thepurpose of linking back to your website. Find websites that sellcomplementary products or provide content that is related to theproduct or service that you are offering.

Listing your business in Web directories can help connect buyersand sellers and it has the same basic advantages as advertisingin the traditional yellow pages. Some of those advantagesinclude: attracting targeted customers establish your brandand providing your current customers with up to date informationabout your business. But online directories give you an evengreater opportunity to sell products and services because they:

1. Allows you to attract targeted customers outside of yourlocal area. Go nationwide while staying local.

2. Let anyone with an Internet connection find your businessquickly and easily usually from the comfort of their own home.

3. Provide current and potential customers with maps drivingdirections and an active link to your company’s Web site.

4. Give your company international exposure.

If you’re just starting out and your site doesn’t get a lot oftraffic you may not get a onetoone trade; be prepared to makeconcessions at least until you have a track record andtraffic to point to. That said there are still a fewcompanies that won’t turn down an opportunity for more exposureso you’ll probably find a few that are still willing to do afree link exchange with you. However the number of websiteowners offering free link exchanges are dwindling.

Daniel Katz Business Development Manager at Compucall Web Marketing Ltd. experts in International Search Engine Optimization.

Link Building Strategies Pt.1

Link Building is the main reason why websites get listed at the tops of the search engines it is actually more important than SEO so in order to get great free targeted traffic from the organic search engine results link building is a must. Link building is basically anytime another website links from their site to yours. Search engines see links as votes for your site everytime another website links to yours the SE count it as a vote The more votes the more popular your site must be thus your site moves up the search engine ladder. Naturally some links or votes are more important than others we are going to discuss great link building strategies that will give you a boost in your search engine ranking.

So what are important links? Websites with high pagerank and relevant to your website are considered good links for your site. Quality NOT Quantity is the key most of the time low pagerank and sites not relevant to yours will most likely have no effect for your website in the eyes of the search engines But keep in mind that sites with no pagerank could have a high PageRank score as time moves on so it is worth it to get a link from that site as long as it’s relevant and has good content. Lets Discuss a few link building strategies so you can use them in your campaign.

Start With Directories

A good place to get the ball rolling is with directories. Lets find out why

Most directories have great pagerank

Most directories are free to get your link added

There’s a ton of them and allot get great traffic.

Some are niche targeted

Submit To Article Directories

There are tons of article directories that you can submit your articles to everytime you write a new article for your website you should also submit it to article directories. When you write your article you should add a link at the bottom to your site this way when you submit it there is a link pointing to your website. This can help your link building campaign in many ways

When the article directory posts your article your link will be in it which counts as a vote for your site.

Other people can use your article on there websites which your link will be in as well so you get even more links pointing to your site.

Find link Partners From The Search Engines

Do a search on related keywords for your site on the search engines. Email the websites with good pagerank preferably 4 or higher and that are related to your site and ask to exchange links with them. There are a few thing you should do when emailing potential link partners.

Add their link to your site first and let them know where they can find their link you will get a much better response when you do this.

Be professional but never sound like a bot

Look over their site closely and let them know that you actually visited their site. Let them know what you liked about it and where the best place would be for them to place your link.

Give them a reason to link to you for example if you have good pagerank your content can compliment theirs their link is easily accessible to your traffic Basically let them know that linking to your site will benefit theirs in some way.

This concludes part one of link building strategies 101 stay tuned for part two where we will be covering more link building strategies that will help you climb the search engine ladder.

http://www.makemoneyonlineguide.net

About the writer:  ArticleZap.com is an article and link directory to be used as a highly effective SEO Search Engine Optimization tool each article you post and link improves your website’s status in the search engine results. ArticleZap articles directory also promotes your website on foreign servers in foreign countries which will further improve your exposure and SEO.