How to Build Link Popularity - The Natural Way

Link popularity is the number of relevant quality inbound
links pointing to your website. Most major search engines
use link popularity as part of their algorithm which helps
to determine the relevance of your website.

Exchanging Links is Not Always the Best Way

One of the most prevalent ways to develop link popularity is
by exchanging links. But it is not necessarily the best way.
First, exchanging links willy-nilly with anyone you can find
willing to do so is not a good tactic. It doesn't help your
site visitors if you link to irrelevant, poor quality sites.
It makes your site look trashy. And it doesn't help your
search engine ranking either. In fact, if you're exchanging
links too carelessly you could be pegged as a link farm and
actually banned from search engines.

The right way to exchange links is by finding quality,
relevant sites with which to exchange links. These are the
links that search engines care about. But the process of
finding the right sites and then convincing the webmaster or
site owner to exchange with you is a time consuming process.
Time better spent, we believe, on building link popularity
the right way: the natural way.

Link Popularity and Great Content
Search engines include
link popularity as part of their ranking algorithm based on
the theory that if you have great content, offer a valuable
service, or sell a product people want, then people will
naturally link to you. So what's wrong with doing just that?
The first step to building better link popularity the
natural way is to improve your website. Spend the time you
would have spend searching for link exchange partners on
creating sticky content for you site instead.

Press Releases
If your company or website does anything
even mildly noteworthy, write a press release and distribute
it on the web. There are several paid and free press release
distribution services that will post your press release with
a link back to your site. Take advantage of them.

Affiliate Programs
Start an affiliate program. Offer to pay
per click through or per sale that originates at your
affiliate's sites. They'll link to you as affiliates and
you'll have more inbound links.

Offer Free Articles or Tools
Write articles in your area of expertise or create free web-based tools.
Offer the articles or tools free to anyone, and ask only for a link
back as payment.

Directory Links
Directories are crucial for building link
popularity and targeted traffic. Directories are broken down
into specific categorical topics followed by subtopics. A
quality link from a major directory carries more relevance
and weight than scores of links from websites that aren't
relevant to your website, product or service.

There are many directories out there that provide free
registration, and some charge a fee. Below is a list of
quality directories that we recommend and their PR:

**Important** Read the submission guidelines before you
submit to any directory.

Open Directory (PR-9) - Free. To submit, dig down and find
the most appropriate category for your website and submit.
Approval can take anywhere from 3 months to a year depending
on the category you submit to. Tip: submit to a regional
category. Submission Guidelines:
http://dmoz.org/help/submit.html Add URL:
http://dmoz.org/add.html

Jayde B2B Directory (PR-6) - Free. To submit, find the most
appropriate category for your website and submit. Approval
usually happens within 1-5 days. You can expect decent
traffic from this clean user friendly directory. Submission
Guidelines: http://www.jayde.com/subfaq.html Add URL:
http://dir.jayde.com/cgi-bin/submit.cgi

GoGuides Directory (PR-6) - Free. You have to be an editor
to submit but its free to join. To submit find the most
appropriate category, click the add url link, then apply to
be a Goguide. Tip: read the editor guidelines before you
apply. Editor Guidelines:
http://www.goguides.org/info/help_desk.html Editor
Agreement:
http://www.goguides.org/DIR/editors_agreement.php?c=1 Add
URL: http://www.goguides.org/info/addurl.html

JoeAnt Directory (PR-6) - Free. You have to be an editor to
submit but its free to join. Same as above. Editor
Application: http://www.joeant.com/editor_application.html
Add URL: http://www.joeant.com/suggest.html

Yahoo Directory (PR-8) - Charges ($299 yearly fee). A bit
pricey but very important. You will receive a nice amount of
traffic from a listing here as well as a nice pr boost for
your website. It's very important to read the guidelines and
tips before you register. Directory Basics:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/dir/basics/index.html
Submission Guidelines:
https://ecom.yahoo.com/dir/reference/instructions Add URL:
https://ecom.yahoo.com/dir/express/intro/

Business.com (PR-8) - Charges ($99 per year). Business
search engine and directory with very affordable
registration prices, and submission review within 5 days.
Listing includes up to 4 additional links per listing (about
us, services etc). Guidelines and FAQ Add URL : Standard
Listing

BlueFind Directory (PR-8) Charges ($40) - Human edited
directory, accepts website registration, individual web page
submission that are relevant to the site, also offers
sponsored listings. Add URL : Home Page