FAQ - Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
What Is The Big Picture With Inbound Links?
Google makes it very clear in all of their literature that inbound links go a long way in ranking a page in their index. In fact, this is the case for most every search engine out there. But it happens for a variety of reasons.
Google values not only the number of links pointing to your site but also the PageRank of those sites that link to you. So a site with a high popularity of its own can give you a "weighted vote" that will be the equivalent of links from several less-popular sites. This is also the case with some search engines other than Google.
Some search engines also give web sites higher rankings for specific keywords if links pointing to those sites contain the keyword within the link text. So a link to a site selling fishing tackle from another site that contained the link text "fishing lures" will, in some search engines, boost the fishing tackle site's ranking for that search phrase.
In addition to boosting your popularity and rank in search engines, increasing the number of inbound links does what might be the most obvious - it can increase your traffic. Essentially, a link on a web page can be clicked on - the more links pointing to your own pages that are "out there" on other web sites, the more likely it is that you'll see increased traffic.
Probably the oldest and most popular method for increasing the inbound links to your web site is by exchanging links with another site. Namely, rather than sitting back and waiting for sites to take the initiative of linking to your own (which, let's face it, rarely happens unless you have a notable brand or service) you can contact the webmaster of a site that is relevant to your own but not a direct competitor. In this Email you explain that you would like to exchange links with them - you link to them and they link to you - and point out the benefits of doing so.
However, with rising competition on the internet many webmasters are being inundated with link exchange Emails. For this reason it is increasingly important to keep your link exchange Emails personal. There is a great deal of software out there that promises to save you time when building inbound links to your site. While there is definitely value to be found there, it is important to take caution when using an automated service. Anything that resembles spam in an Inbox is likely to be treated as such. Automated Emails are sometimes very easy to spot. On top of that, many webmasters are not willing to link with a site that has a much lower PageRank or popularity than their own - and they might be worried about sending their hard-earned traffic to a competitor. With this in mind it is always a good idea to be as personal as possible in your Emails. People respond a lot better to human beings than they do to cold machines.
It is a general rule that link building takes time. While some sites might see increases in popularity rankings based on a number of submissions to "link farm" automated directories, as with most things on the internet the easy, one-click and automated utilities for doing the nitty gritty work of building your link popularity are most often frowned upon and sometimes can become "spam" in the eyes of search engines. While it is generally encouraged that webmasters explore all options for achieving an edge on the competition, there is often little substitute for sitting down and writing someone a personal Email asking them to exchange links.
