How to Test the Value in Your Link Building

There is much more to successful link building than implementing the steps mention in the first part of this series. Yes, you want to develop as many links to your site as possible, but you want quality, not just quantity.  Here some things to keep in mind, if you are concerned about the value of your links.

What Makes Your Link Valuable

Just having links to your page is not enough. You want the link to bring the best return possible. To do that, be sure these elements are a part of the link building process:

• Website Age - A link from an older website is more valuable than one from a new website.
• Page Rank - The higher the page rank of a site that links with you the more significant the link. Check out the Google Toolbar for your browser to check on a site's page rank (PR) score.
• Link Source - Links from .gov and .edu are more valuable that links from .net or .com; however, the links from .gov are difficult, though not impossible, to get.
• Anchor Text - Be sure your anchor text uses your site's most competitive keywords and variations of them.
• Link Position - Links at the top of an article are better than those at the bottom.
• Relevance - This is a link from a site related to your own; a relevant link from a site with a lower PR is actually more valuable than one with a higher PR but of little relevance.

 

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Tips, Tactics & Warnings with Link Building

One very important component of having a successful website is the use of White Hat SEO practices.  These tactics involve the use of properly researched keywords, having a website that is user-friendly, and effective link building. In fact, many experts see link building as the SEO trump card. This is because links are the main way to have a web relationship and it's these relationships with other sites that indicate to search engines how "reputable" your website is. So what exactly does link building entail? First, here are a few things link building is not:

• Setting up a Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter account, and then forgetting about them
• Link exchanges with people you don't know - they often result in "nofollow" links or become devalued.
• While pertinent, helpful comments on blogs and forums are recommended, the reverse is that spammy, irrelevant comments work against you.
• Automated link building - There are programs out there that promise to get you tons of links for almost nothing. Beware, those automated programs almost always mean that your content is viewed as spam
• link buying - this is heavily forwned upon in the Google Webmaster link building guidelines. So, use caution if this is your approach. If you pay for a link to be placed on another person's site, it should also be for that person to review your site before endorsing it. This can be a grey area, however.

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