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(Article first published in Dec '09. It has been modified slightly to suit its publication on our site)
So you have developed a website. You might have even implemented some optimisation on your site in the form of keyword research. But if you haven't thought about back-links then you may be missing out on one of the most important ways of increasing the visibility of your site.
Back-links are simply links on other websites that point to your site; so why are they so important? The technical answer is that Google (and other search engines) factor in the number of links that point to a site as a major factor in ranking a site. This means that the more back-links a site has, the more important Google thinks the site is. But why would search engines work this way? To understand their rationale, we need to look at the real world.
Imagine that you want to buy a new BMW car, but you don't know which dealer to buy from and so you ask a friend who knows about cars and he suggests you visit "Premiere BMW". That's effectively a recommendation, which you would more than likely act upon, but might not totally influence your decision to buy from them. But let's say that you ask 10 of your friends and they all recommend Premiere BMW. The sheer weight of recommendations would certainly influence your decision to buy from that dealer.
Simply put, Google sees links to your site as recommendations and endorsements of the importance of it in the world. If other sites are interested enough to link to you then you must be important.
Types of links:
- Reciprocal Links
These are the easiest type of links to get and give the least amount of benefit. A reciprocal link is where two sites agree to link to each other.
- One-Way Links
These links are worth the most in ranking value, but are by their nature difficult to get, so there are various techniques for doing so:
- Ask for them...
To ask for links, you need to approach partner companies and request them. If you know them well they may agree to do so. However the easiest way to achieve this is to create a group of companies that are willing to link to each other and then create what is known as 'circular links'. In this way company A links to company B, company B to company C, C to D, D to E and then E back to A. In this way everybody wins by getting a one-way link to their site. However, be careful and don't interlink too many sites within the circle to too many pages.
- On-line business directories...
Search engines make use of these to find references to sites and if you choose good directories, that rank well themselves, then it can be quite beneficial in helping your site's visibility. To do this you register on the directory and add your site's information. Some of them will charge for this, but many are free.
- Make your site interesting enough to link to...
If you add useful information to your site, rather than just promotional content, then people may find it interesting enough to link to. Adding articles, FAQs, case studies and useful tips to a site all help to increase inbound links.
- Start a social media strategy...
If you contribute to a blog or twitter feed you can reference content on your site with a link. The more contributions you make, the more links you can add and the better it is for your site in the long run.
You may have realised by now that there is quite a lot of work involved in this, which is why so few companies do it. Yet this is precisely why Google puts so much emphasis on it. If you care enough to promote your site then they will care enough to rank it higher.
Franco De Bonis has worked in the field of sales and marketing promotion since 1990 and was most recently the global marketing manager for a major international technology company before setting up The DG Group in January 2007.
The DG Group is dedicated to delivering all the marketing solutions any company may require. Whether it's a website or leaflets and brochures, or even some product packaging; The DG Group will manage the whole project, providing sound guidance along the way.
The content in this section is the original creation of The DG Group and is protected by copyright. You may use this content on your site or in other materials providing you acknowledge DG Group as the author and include a link to our site.
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