Linking Building
“Internal links,” or “outbound links” are links on your site which direct to other websites, while “external links”, or “inbound links” are links on other websites which direct to your website.
Inbound links are one of the biggest factors Google uses to determine how high a webpage should rank on any given term. In short, the more inbound links your site has, the better.
Outbound links are also important, however. Google looks favorably on sites which link out to other quality, related websites. If your website is for a flower shop, an outbound link to the website of a local community flower garden or party caterer would be much more valuable than a link to a tire store down the road.
Anchor Text
Formatting links properly is vital to getting the most out of an inbound or outbound link. “Anchor text” is the text which is hyperlinked to any given link, and it’s crucial to make sure this text accurately reflects the link to which it directs, preferably using high volume keywords.
For example, if you wanted to list this webpage as a valuable resource on your own website (which we hope you do), here would be the right and wrong way of going about it:
Wrong: “www.creativewebbusiness.com”
Right: “check out Creative Web Business’ SEO 101 Tutorial”
**there’s evidence that Google has recently altered algorithms to favor an even portion of URL and brand name anchor text in links; links should be an even distribution of URLs, brand name usage and industry keyword anchor text. Visit our blog to learn more about the latest link building practices.
Acquiring Links
Having websites link to you is vital to web marketing success. So how should you go about acquiring these links? Google strictly forbids paid links and “sponsored” or spammy directory links can do more harm than good. The links you acquire must be given freely by relevant, quality websites.
A few ways to acquire links:
- - Locate link directories and business directories which offer free links (not reciprocal), then add your business profile.
- - Write articles answering common industry questions and publish them on quality content sites like EzineArticles.com or ContributeContent.com.
- - Fill your site with quality content by keeping a regular blog and publishing a resource section. These will attract links from other sites.
SEOs have been link building for nearly as long as Google has been around. Done correctly, link building has been a very valuable tool for gaining higher search engine rankings. Unfortunately, businesses are always looking for a way to avoid the time and effort it takes to develop genuine, quality links, and Google’s response to those who try to circumvent their rules is harsh.
In response to the cropping up of link farms, paid directories and other spammy link building practices, Google has changed the game in recent months by placing more emphasis on “fresh” links. These types of links include spontaneous in-text links, such as those used in blog posts, articles and press releases (the link included within this paragraph is a good example).
Gaining fresh, relevant links to pages on your domain is one of the reasons why business blogging has become such an important part of a well-rounded SEO campaign.
Read Business Blogging 101 to learn more about business blogging.