Getting a website to the top of search engines takes a lot of work, depending on how ambitious the project is. One of the main ways to gain the edge over competitors is to get links from other websites- one metric search engines use to determine popularity. But getting such links can prove to be a hard task indeed.
Anyone can post a link on a random website and say they have gained a link. But in reality, this may not be the case. Search engines have a value system that determines the credibility of different websites. News resource CNN, for instance, has a high credibility- while a personal blog might not have such credibility to pass onto websites it links to, depending on the blog.
Paying for links was a popular sport among webmasters, until the sport was officially looked down upon by search engines such as Google. In some cases, Google has even penalized some offenders to a certain extent. Buying and selling links may not be looked upon as a good method of obtaining backlinks, but there are some who still practice this method anyways with mixed results.
Good content usually warrants a bookmark- another thing that is considered a metric in search engine algorithms. Social bookmarking websites such as Delicious are great ways to spread the word about a website page, as well as gain possibly thousands of links from word of mouth if the content is exceptional. That being said, focus should be put on quality of content in order for this method to work.
Related to social bookmarking is website networks. A network of websites is basically a link exchange among like-minded webmasters who have similar websites. This was more common in the past when search engines were less dominant, but still serves as a good way to build relevant links. Joining a health network, for example, may include emailing a similar health website and asking for a link exchange to pool resources together for readers.
Another good way to build links is through article syndication. By writing a unique article related to their website, and including a few links in the content, webmasters can submit articles to directories around the Internet. Search engines see this as a gray area- it isn't necessarily a penalizing offense, but they also don't explicitly state that doing this will help rankings. Either way, article syndication is one of the most popular link building methods.
Final Thoughts
Search engine optimization from external resources is a tough game to play. But with the right resources and a fair amount of time, building long-term links is just a matter of time and effort. Always consider the fact that search engines may not like some methods of link building, so take care in a link building routine and prepare for consequences.
Anyone can post a link on a random website and say they have gained a link. But in reality, this may not be the case. Search engines have a value system that determines the credibility of different websites. News resource CNN, for instance, has a high credibility- while a personal blog might not have such credibility to pass onto websites it links to, depending on the blog.
Paying for links was a popular sport among webmasters, until the sport was officially looked down upon by search engines such as Google. In some cases, Google has even penalized some offenders to a certain extent. Buying and selling links may not be looked upon as a good method of obtaining backlinks, but there are some who still practice this method anyways with mixed results.
Good content usually warrants a bookmark- another thing that is considered a metric in search engine algorithms. Social bookmarking websites such as Delicious are great ways to spread the word about a website page, as well as gain possibly thousands of links from word of mouth if the content is exceptional. That being said, focus should be put on quality of content in order for this method to work.
Related to social bookmarking is website networks. A network of websites is basically a link exchange among like-minded webmasters who have similar websites. This was more common in the past when search engines were less dominant, but still serves as a good way to build relevant links. Joining a health network, for example, may include emailing a similar health website and asking for a link exchange to pool resources together for readers.
Another good way to build links is through article syndication. By writing a unique article related to their website, and including a few links in the content, webmasters can submit articles to directories around the Internet. Search engines see this as a gray area- it isn't necessarily a penalizing offense, but they also don't explicitly state that doing this will help rankings. Either way, article syndication is one of the most popular link building methods.
Final Thoughts
Search engine optimization from external resources is a tough game to play. But with the right resources and a fair amount of time, building long-term links is just a matter of time and effort. Always consider the fact that search engines may not like some methods of link building, so take care in a link building routine and prepare for consequences.
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