Link Building

Links are "the single biggest factor in determining which sites are indexed by Google?"

Inbound links

Inbound links, links to your site, are most important of all. The more sites that link to you, the more popular you are. The more popular you are, the higher your PageRank will be. Attempt to get as many, quality inbound links as possible.

Some links are better than others, for example:

• pages with a high PageRank. These pass on some of their importance.
• links from pages with content that's related to your content.
• links that include your key phrases in the link text.
• older links. The longer they point, the better. Don't move your pages!
• links from pages closer to the home page of a site.
• links from educational, government and trusted authority sites.

Some links can be harmful

Incestuous links can lower your PageRank, These include links from sites owned by the same company or hosted on the same server. Also, links to pages that include links straight back. Try to avoid this type of link relationship. Aim to make your content useful, quality sites will link to you.

Directory Structure

Try to get a listing on the Open Directory Project. This provides content for Google, AOL, Ask, Lycos and many more search engines. It's free, but your website must be useful and approved before it will get accepted.

If you are a business, submit your details to Google local.

Finally, if you can afford it, submit your site to paid directories like Looksmart and Yahoo. These are costly but can achieve results.

Outbound Links

Provide useful links for your visitors by linking your content to relevant sites. Although not as important as inbound links, these do add weight to your ranking.

Don't link to too many sites, and don't link just because they ask. Check every site for relevance and aim for high ranking sites.

Internal Links

Clear, simple navigation is essential for both visitors and search engines to explore your site. Every page must be linked together logically, and available within a few clicks of the home page.

Links within content are also very important. Both visitors and search engines use these links to read surrounding pages and discover the relevance and context of a page.