Linking Strategies
Louise Coulson
While
some of the experts say keywords help provide a high position in the
search engines, others say that good link popularity does more than good
keyword density. Linking takes quite a lot of time, but since it is not
easily manipulated, the search engines probably rely more on them for
relevance. The growing trend is that relevant quality links certainly
can drive direct traffic to your site and most likely help with your
position on the search engines. A solid linking strategy for an artisan
can certainly be an excellent addition to the site for marketing
purposes.
Search
engines consider links when they are determining your positioning in the
database of websites. Link popularity, which is the number of links to
a website from other sites. Some links are said to be more important
than others because the sites are related. Since linking is a very time
consuming practice, you can outsource the job. Some of those who do
this work are quite reputable while others just get links on websites
that are set up for the purpose of linking. These are known as link
farms. Probably the best linking strategy involves you choosing the
links and making the contacts yourself
Kinds of
Links
Internal Links
These are the links that lead from
one page to another within your site. We have discussed how to get
some mileage out of these links to increase our keyword density in
the Keywords and Descriptions section of this chapter. Make sure
these links are correct and that you do not link to a "coming soon"
page or a blank page.
You can also link within a page to
bookmarks. They are a secondary navigation system for your site and
help your focus your content as well as enhancing your keyword
density.
One of the most valuable ways to
link within your site may be the site map. The search engines find
sitemaps and can index all of your internal links from this page. A
site map helps your visitor understand your site better. It is also
your own hand cultivated "link farm". Your site map should use your
keywords and have page descriptions rather than just having a list
of links.
Outgoing Links
These are links from your site to
outside sites. Since you have the ultimate control over these
links, you should be assured that they lead to quality sites that
augment your own content.
You can use these links as a
"carrot" when requesting reciprocal links for your site. You can
link to an authority in your field, which may give you more
credibility and status on the engines. As a jewelry artisan, you
might want to link to publications in your field, jewelry museums,
meta physical meanings of stone, galleries that show your work,
fashion or trend sources, lifestyle sources or gemstone information
sites. Avoid linking to your competitors including other jewelry
designers.
You will probably want these links
to open a new window so the site visitor does not leave your site
permanently. This will be a JavaScript and you can find samples at
Code Lifter
http://www.codelifter.com or Dynamic Drive
http://www.dynamicdrive.com. You will add a script to your
heading and then to the body of your page.
Incoming Links
These are links that you have no
control over, but try to attract to your site. The search engines
rate links that relate to your site as more valuable than those that
are unrelated to your content.
You should request links from
publications in your field, fashion publications, newspapers,
stylists, galleries, museums, your suppliers, etc. A link from
Vogue Magazine would be of more value than one from the local
plumber. Reciprocal links from Visitor's Bureaus, Chambers of
Commerce and local business organizations would be valuable.
To check these links, go to one of
the search engines, such as Google or Yahoo and type in link://www.yourdomain.com
Louise Coulson © 2007
Used with permission of the author
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