-
links to your site,
-
what is written in those links,
-
who
is linking to the site that links to yours,
-
what are the keyphrases used in those links,
-
what is the quality of the site that is linking to
yours,
-
how
many other links does that site have,
-
how
many links out (and to what sites) does your site
have,
-
and
other such criteria.
To use
a rather appetizing analogy, these new criteria are
added to the stew that is your site, along with the
quality and quantity of the content. Left to simmer on
the worldwide web, this stew is then eaten up by the
search engines depending on how well your site matches
the aforementioned criteria. Put differently, the king
and queen must join together to turn your site into a
number one result.
How Do We Get Links?
It all
starts with content. No one will link to you unless you
offer quality information about a particular subject. If
you are in real estate, you must offer information about
the area you sell. If someone wants to buy in your area,
first s/he will want to learn about it, so you will need
to have good resources about that area. The next step is
to find new sites that would benefit from your site's
information; new sites whose clients would potentially
buy your real estate. For example, one of our clients (www.monlac.com)
sells real estate in the Laurentians area of Quebec.
Their site has content on activities in Quebec and the
nearby Laurentian mountains. Thus, we will be soliciting
links from web sites such as the nearby water parks and
ski hills, nearby towns, lake and boating associations,
and local construction web sites to name just a few. To
these web sites, not only will linking to www.monlac.com
make their customers happier, but it is in their best
interest that the site sells real estate since it brings
in more business for them.
How
Do You Solicit Links?
To
solicit sites you have to use a lot of elbow grease.
Send out personalized emails to these sites. Don't send
out mass emails or sp@m. Be friendly, and point out the
benefits of linking to your site. If you are lucky,
maybe 1 in 3 emails will get a response. It is
frustrating and discouraging, but keep your spirits up.
Many times a site is perfect but they don't ever update
it, so your site won't get the link in because nothing
ever changes on the solicited site. Don't waste too much
time on sites that haven't been updated in years. It is
also important to follow up. Until you get a flat out
denial, keep saying "Hi", and keep it personal. Keep
track of who you have contacted and what you have
written or said because you have to make it seem like
they are the only person you are contacting. As soon as
they get a sniff that you are sending out a mass email,
or that you are using the exact same approach with other
sites, you will probably lose their respect - and their
business
Do not forget to submit to the directories such as the
Open Directory Project,
because getting listed here counts for a lot in all the
big search engines. Take your time and choose the right
category to submit to. Also, read about how they want
their descriptions and titles written, and write them
that way. These are the keys to getting into the
directories.
Soliciting links is a very time-consuming (and
frustrating) venture, but it is essential to getting
good rankings in the search engines. It takes a lot of
patience and a lot of time. Getting your first link is
like getting your first sale. It is just as hard - and
just as satisfying.
Good
luck,
Shawn Campbell
