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Linking
up: Search engine rankings still come down to links.
Much
has been written about link popularity and many a Webmaster
will have spent hours or even days figuring out how best to
improve their standing. If we concentrate on the top search
engine such as Google, Yahoo and MSN, we find that link popularity
is calculated as part and parcel of their complex algorithms
and basically represents a measure of how many web pages link
to a particular site. This in turn suggests how to establish
an order of rank when viewed against sites that compete in
a similar area. Yahoo and MSN have both lagged behind Google
when it comes to utilising link popularity, but in light of
stiff competition they have had little choice but to re-jig
their algorithms.
The Google Page Rank tool can help to shine some light the
popularity of your pages, but should not be considered a comprehensive
mirror of link popularity. Firstly it's perhaps worth noting
that Google only updates the page rank every 3 or 4 months.
Therefore if your pages are not yet ranked it may be that
Google has not yet got round to doing them. Furthermore, getting
a page rank of 0 (zero) doesn't mean that your website totally
stinks. Page rank 0 simply means your site is in the system
and awaiting a more meaningful score once Google has had time
to monitor and ascertain how your site measure up.
We all talk heavily about Google as this engine is currently
responsible for much more potential traffic than any other.
Many Webmasters have built up inbound links with only this
one this search engine in mind. But gaining links to a website
is a good idea regardless of any search engine algorithm.
The old fashioned idea of cultivating link partners as a means
to gain traffic from the click throughs, still has plenty
of merit. The general rule to remember is that generally speaking
- any link is a good link.
Developing a successful link strategy can take a lot of time
and effort. One common mistake is to jump to conclusions too
quickly. As Google moves at it's own pace, anything done to
a website today can take a number of days, weeks or months
to show up. Much depends upon whether we are talking about
new pages or modifications to old established pages. Often
search results will move from being top 10 to nowhere and
perhaps back again. New pages are particularly volatile. This
is because Google recognises that new pages will have little
by the way of links to them and so effectively grants a pass.
After approximately 30 – 40 days Google checks to see
if any links have been built to the page in question. Failure
to gain any links suggests the page will be relegated to Google's
supplemental listing, while those with links will remain in
the main index. Generally it appears that any new page will
take up to 90 to 180 days to gain some degree of page rank
after first going live.
There is no real secret to gaining link popularity and in
turn page rank. Unless you adopt a ridiculously spammy approach
9 times out of 10 your efforts will be rewarded with some
positive movement. The approach you take can vary from simple
link exchanges, article syndication or by targeting directories.
There are of course many other approaches, but the main thing
is to take action and to keep it going over the long term.
A high level of focus lasting for just a short period can
on occasion do more harm than good. Google is looking for
gradual but sustained increases in links to your site. If
your efforts only move your site slightly up the rankings
then this only goes to prove that your efforts have been too
small for the area in which you compete. The only real option
is to revise your strategy and double your efforts.
This
article is free to republish provided the resource information
below remains intact.
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