Every web site needs traffic. For most web sites, especially business sites, the more traffic you can get . . . the more sales you can make, all other things being equal.
One of the important characteristics of the most highly trafficked sites is that they have managed to build lots of inbound links. Not just "lots" as in dozens, but "lots" as in thousands.
Simply put, a link to your web site is a referral on a different site pointing to yours. A web site, other than yours, has "linked" to you by means of an active button, graphic, or text which anyone may click on to be immediately taken to your site.
Why would you want to have lots of "incoming" links?
The most obvious reason, of course, is so that others can be directed to various pages of your website, thereby generating traffic for you that can be considered "organic" (naturally occurring) or free (unless you have paid for that link.)
There are other reasons for wanting lots of links pointing to your web pages. One of those is so that your site can be considered "important" or "authoritative" in your niche.
If your web site is about growing tomatoes and lots of other web sites in the tomato and vegetable growing niches are linking to your site, the search engines or directories will understand that you are relevant and assume your site has good content.
The reason other sites would want to link to yours is so that their readers (customers) can be exposed to the content on your site.
In bound, or incoming links are those pointing to your site from other sites. Similarly, an "outbound" is a link on your site pointing to another different web site.
Most web sites owners feel that any inbound links are great. Others feel a little differently - that only those inbound links that come from "good" or relevant sites are what is wanted.
In addition, the more authoritative (often described as "high PR" sites) a linking site, the better it is for your site. You can read all about "PR" or page rank on other places at this site.
If you are able to garner inbound links from DMOZ, Yahoo, Wikipedia, and other authority sites, your web site enjoys a certain amount of credibility by association.
Now we are getting to the heart of what I wanted to give to you today: some ideas or ways to build good, relevant incoming links to your business web site. Here are just a few:
- Work to get your site listed in relevant business directories. Add your site as a niche listing in places like DMOZ and Yahoo! to build authority. This is not always easy and takes some time and effort on your part.
- Don't just link to anyone, especially to what could be considered "bad" pages. Only link to sites that have more authority, if possible, than yours. Of course, the more great content your site displays, the easier this gets.
- Work to get a link back to your site from Wikipedia. Wikipedia's external links generally point to authority web sites on a specific topic, so add your site as a link related to something in your chosen niche.
- Build the quantity and quality of your site's incoming links. Get as many relevant and high authority links to your web site as you can by actively suggesting partnerships with other sites and providing quality content that others will want to link to.
- When you decide to make outbound or reciprocal (2-way linking) links, only link to good authority sites that are relevant to your niche. Don't link to lower PR sites if you can help it.
- Try to establish some ".edu" and ".gov" inbound links. These are links coming from educational sites and governmental sites. It has been reported that these links are highly favored by the search engines, meaning that if they point to your site, you will gain credibility from these professional and non-biased sites.
- Make your site navigation links absolute. Instead of using "pagename.html" for a content page, for example, point directly to "http://www.yourURL.com/pagename.html," so that if you are going to be linked to from elsewhere, your content will display a link from your web site crediting you as the page creator.
- Get in the habit of linking contextually within your own site. That means that you link content (words or phrases) on one page to relevant content on another or several more of your pages. This will add to your links and make finding added content easier for your visitors.
- Don't be afraid to approach other web site owners about trading links. But only do this if you believe it will benefit your web site and your customers. You have every right to suggest other valuable resources and content to your visitors. Just be a little cautious and remember with outbound links you are inviting your customers to leave your site through that link (an exit door). They may or may not return to your site anytime soon.
- Some sites are little more than "link farms." Don't let yours become such. Most business owners try to make their sites "sticky" (meaning it's hard to leave). Great content and information relevant to your niche will usually keep your prospects coming back for more!
These are just a few ideas on building great site links. They don't typically just happen - as the site owner, you will have to go out and work for those good links.
