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 absolutely imperative. If the customers do not find your website, you have no chance of making any sales.

You’re probably wondering what on earth is so popular about a link! Well, the answer is - plenty! Link popularity refers to the ranking assigned to your website, by the search engines and it determines the ranking your page gets, when keywords are entered into a search engine. So, you’re probably wondering how to make your link popular?

Search engines are discretionary, giving status and ranking to sites that have links pointing back 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 popular search engines employ it, to rank your web pages in their indexes.

The more commonly used your keyword is, the harder it will be, to achieve link popularity, but without achieving this step, it is almost certain that your site will never rank highly on any of the search engines. But don’t be discouraged, as there are tried and tested 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 websites, will not achieve your link popularity. In fact, it may even have a detrimental effect. This is particularly true, when pertaining to websites that are nothing more than “link farms,” which are pages containing line after line of indiscriminate links. Search engines may aggressively discriminate against your website, if you are associated with a link farm, so steer clear of them!

The next thing to bear in mind, is the quality of the site you are linking to. Never link to a page, if you have reservations about your visitors seeing it. The last thing you want your website to appear as, is indiscriminate and cheap. Linking to sites of poor quality will only lessen your link popularity, if not completely destroy it.

So, let’s get to what you need to do, to achieve supreme link popularity and improve your rankings to stellar status, on all the popular search engines.

The first step and the fastest way to get your foot in the door, is to get a listing in a popular directory, such as 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 around $300 a year, it will be money well spent. If your site is non-commercial, then the listing will be free, but it will take time and follow-ups, to actually get it listed. Open Directory gives 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.

You’ll be aiming at getting listed in the highest level of the appropriate category and this just takes some common sense. For example, if your company ships Angora wool from an Angora farm, located in the middle of Nowhere, Tiny State, then don’t submit your listing to “Retailers from Nowhere, Tiny State.” That would be a big mistake! All you have to do is look a little deeper and submit your listing to the “Fine Angora Wool” category. You will then not only associate yourself with culture and quality, but you will be listed in a national category.

The next step, after you have attained directory listings, is to locate other quality sites, that will increase your link popularity. Try 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 increased. You need to avoid your competitors and look for sites that are useful to your site’s visitors. Let’s look at the Angora Wool site example. Linking up to a site that sells knitting supplies, would be helpful to your visitors and the chances of the knitting supply site wanting to link up to your site, are also greater. By linking to a related site, that will be relevant to your website’s traffic, you are increasing both
your site’s business prospects and your sites’ link popularity.

Not all sites want to link to other sites, so you will have to do some research, when you are looking for possible linking partners. Google is an excellent starting place for your search. Make sure you enter keywords, that you think quality customers will also enter to find your own site. Remember, your criteria are quality, highly ranked, non-competing websites, 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 that crowd.

When you decide you have found a good prospect, you must set out to woo them. The first thing to do, is to add a link on your own links page, to their site. This is an essential first step. It shows good faith and increases your chances, significantly, of their reciprocity. After you have added their link, you must contact the webmaster of their site. Since this is almost always done by e-mail, you need to make sure it is immediately clear, that your message is not junk mail. This requires that you tell them, right off the bat, that you have added a link to their page, on your site. A hook like this, almost always insures the reader will read on.

Next, be sure to be flattering and to let them know how much you appreciate their website. Make sure you emphasize that you have actually visited their site and that their site is not just a random pick. Give them the address of your links page and ask them to check out the link for themselves. It’s a good idea to mention that they will not only benefit from the increased traffic your website will direct their way, but you will also increase their link popularity. Briefly, explain why link popularity is so essential, but do this in a sentence, or two so you don’t sound like a professor! Finally, tell them you would greatly appreciate it, if they would reciprocate, by adding a link on their own links page, to your website.

Go through this process, with as many appropriate sites as you can find, bearing in mind the criteria of quality and non-competitiveness. After you have e-mailed all relevant sites, be sure to check these website frequently, to see if they have added a link to your page. Give it about a month and if no link appears, try another charming e-mail. Then give it another month and if your site is still absent from their links page, it’s time to remove their link from your own links page. The only time you want to pursue a link further than this, is if you believe a site is crucial to your link popularity and your business needs. Just remember to keep all your communications complimentary and cordial.

Then set up a schedule, to check your ranking in search engines frequently, to see if your link popularity has improved. This is not achievable in the blink of an eye. It will take some time and a good deal of work. There is no way around the labour-intensive quality of improving your link popularity, which is why search engines regard it with such importance.

By the way, make sure you have a beautiful, streamlined site, or you will never persuade anyone to link up to you. Be prepared to keep plugging away at this process, for as long as it takes, until you achieve link popularity stardom!

The best resource to get you up and running in your Internet business is this wonderful product from Stephanie Mulac. I can’t do it justice, so go see for yourself, at: http://www.dersalsites.com/newgw500/

Derek Robson is an up and coming, South African, internet marketer, with a vision of empowering all fellow South Africans and non U.S folk, to have equal opportunity and success, on the internet. He is a syndicated article writer. He and his wife Sally, have started a string of sites, resources, courses and articles, as part of Dersalsites. For daily postings and articles, on Internet marketing, South African business, list building, affiliate marketing, the law of attraction, rugby and general topics, check his blogsite, at: http://dersalsites.com/southafricanbusiness  

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