Have you ever wondered why one web site (maybe yours) is buried deep in the search rankings for a particular keyword, while another site (your competitors) is at the top Both sites may have similar content and even similar metatags, but one is number one and the other is number 131.
The answer to this disparity may lie in a factor known as link popularity. When search engines determine rankings, many things are taken into consideration and one of them is how many sites are linked to your site. Search engines such as Google give much importance to both the quantity and the quality of these incoming links. If many sites are linked to yours, your site is considered to be an important resource in that particular field and that is why the search engines would like to give such a site a high ranking. Also if the links to your site are coming from important or high ranked sites, then your web site is considered still more important.
In this factor of link popularity, new sites are somewhat at a disadvantage as older sites have been around a while and have acquired more links over the years. However, with a bit of elbow grease (sustained effort) it is possible to boost your sites link popularity and position in search engine results.
One of the first things that should be done is to submit your site to the Open Web Directory (www.dmoz.org). By doing this you will get one link! But a listing in the Open Web Directory is considered to be an important link, because it comes from a very high-ranking source. It takes a while to be listed in this directory because the directory gets thousands of inclusion requests, and it uses volunteer editors to process them, but sites with good content and design generally get included. Similarly, a single listing in the Yahoo directory will also boosts your sites ranking, but this will cost you $299. So if you have a big advertising budget, a paid listing in Yahoo is an option worth considering.
How can you determine what is a high-ranking site-one which will help your own search engine rank if it links to you Go to the main page of Google and download the Google Toolbar. It will install itself on your web browser. Every time you visit a web site, look at the Google Toolbar and it will show a section called, Page Ranking. If you see a gray bar, it means the site is not included in Googles index. If the bar is all white or has green, then put your mouse over the bar and you will see a page ranking number on a scale from 0-10. Yahoo has a 10 ranking, while a new site with no links to it may be 0. Average sites are usually 5-6, while very good sites haverankings of 7-9. If any of these high-ranking sites link to you then your own ranking will improve.
If you are wondering where to start or how to find sites that might make good link partners, why not go back to the search engines and look at the competing sites that are in the position where you want to be. Visit one of those sites, and if you have a Google tool bar installed, press the page info section of the bar, and then hit the backward links button, you will then get all the sites in Google that link to that particular site. If you do not have the tool bar installed you can get the same result by going to Google and making a search for link:http://www.thesiteyouwant.com/ . Now you have the sites that are linking to your competitor.Many of these sites could also be your link partners.
Another way of getting suitable link partners is to think of your field, for example widget manufacturers, and then make a search directory, directories, widget manufacturers You may get sites that list all the widget manufacturers, and this is a perfect place to add your link. You can also go in the Open Web Directory (www.dmoz.org) and search for your category and see what sites are listed there. Finally, as you go into the sites linking to your competitors you may find some sites with excellent lists of links, and you can pursue those possibilities to. If you work at it you will find no shortage of possible link partners.
As you develop a list of sites to contact the next step is to choose which sites you want to link with. First visit the site, and see if they have a links page. Also see if the links page is visible, that is, linked to their main site. If it is not very visible then the site will not generate any traffic for you. Also, if you have the Google Toolbar installed see what the page ranking of that site is and the page ranking of its links page. If it is zero then it will not help you very much. And finally consider, how will this site fit on your site. Though you are not responsible for what happens to your visitors after they leave you, if you give them a list of bad resources it does not create a good impression. So, skip the sites that are questionable.
Once you have a good site write them a short letter and explain that you would like to exchange links. If you have seen something on their site that strikes you it is good to mention it so they can see that you are real human and not a robot, as there are some annoying robotic programs trying to do this kind of work. Mention your sites name, its URL and a description so that they can easily make a link for you. If they have categories on their links page, then mention the category where you want your link to be placed.
Also, if you really want to get your link placed quickly, you can publish a link to that site before you write to them, explaining that you have made a link, telling them the URL where the link can be found, and that you would like a reciprocal link. If eventually they do not link to you, then you can either take down the link, or if it is a particularly good resource, leave it up (a bit of magnanimity never hurts!)
Another important element of your link building process is your own links page and how you maintain it. It is best if you will make some categories, as people do not like to go through a long list of random links. Make sure that there is a short description for each link, and also if necessary edit the descriptions so that they do not take up too much space, and also edit with an eye to quality. A well-maintained links page can become a resource in itself and a valuable contribution to your own content.
You may be thinking that this sounds like a lot of work. Yes it takes some time, but if you devote an hour per day, or per week, or whatever the time you can allot and keep at it on a regular basis you can improve your link popularity, generate new traffic to your site, and in the process learn a lot about how the Internet works.
Be sure to read these related articles:
Reciprocal Links: Quality is as important and Quantity
How to Choose Your Link Partners
How to Get Non-Reciprocal Links, and Improve Your Page Rank
Copyright 2003, Donald Nelson, all rights reserved.
Donald Nelson is a web developer, editor, and social worker. He has beenworking on the Internet since 1995 and is the proprietor of A1-Optimization, , a firm providing search engine optimization,copywriting, reciprocal linking, and other web promotion services. Hepublishes a monthly ezine, A1-Web Promotion Tips, available at
There are quite a few new software and search engine optimization solutions and products out there these days. The main focus of them seems to concentrate on getting the best keywords for your site. Some even offer to scan your competitors web site in order to find out which keywords they are using, suggesting that all you have to do is copy them and you too will show up within the top ten listings.
Unfortunately, most companies who offer these types of services are merely preying on the lack of consumer knowledge in regards to true search engine optimization (SEO). They are banking on the fact that there is an uninitiated market out there which will unknowingly purchase these products. Usually the web site selling the product is a plethora of testimonials and hyped marketing jargon designed to do one thing, convince you the product is the greatest thing on Earth. I feel sorry for the consumers who do purchase these types of so-called search engine marketing programs, only to discover after their money is spent, that there is a lot more to online marketing than meets the eye.
It also leaves a bad taste in their collective mouths and truly inhibits the integrity of the SEO industry. Once burnt, the average consumer is a lot more wary about SEO the next time around. Many simply fail to believe in SEO at all after a bad experience, which does neither the consumer nor the professional SEO firm any good whatsoever.
One of the latest marketing forays by this type of pseudo-optimization software is the claim that all you need to do is analyze what your competition has on their web site for their keywords and phrases, and simply copy that formula for success. Yeah right! They guarantee you a top ten placement by simply following this procedure. See what the competition uses and do the same. It worked for them, so it will work for you, right Please dont fall into this trap. If it were that easy dont you think everyone would be doing it As a web site owner, use a little common sense and look beyond the hype.
A competitive analysis of a web site of similar nature to your own is in itself an excellent idea, but lets get realistic about it. Sites which rank near the top of their categories are likely to have great keywords and phrases placed throughout the web site, but thats only one part of the equation. The top sites also have a lot more going for them, such as excellent content, great meta tags and a good number of incoming links all relative to the subject matter on the site, to mention only a few requirements. By simply copying their keywords into your own site, you havent helped yourself at all. In fact you may have seriously damaged your chances for success.
Heres why: Lets say you are in the hot tub business. Your competitor sells fiberglass hot tubs, you do not. Obviously if you simply copied the keyword phrase fiberglass hot tubs into your own keywords not only may you be a fool, but if the search engine spiders come by and see that particular phrase within your keywords, but find no reference nor content on your site to support that phrase, you may be penalized. Which in laymans terms means your site could have a black mark against it. Search engines tend to greatly frown upon web sites which have keywords and phrases that are unsupported within the sites textual content. Its one of the measures they take to weed out unscrupulous marketers, who will chock a site full of car insurance terms to get a high ranking, but once clicked upon, ends up at an adult XXX site.
Although misrepresenting your site may not have been your intent, by merely copying your competitors keywords and using them as your own, you run the risk of being found guilty by association. Try explaining that to the search engines once the damage has been done.
The analysis of your competitors keywords and phrases is a good exercise to ensure you have similar terminology within the content of your site. Use them as an example of how it should be done. Do not, I repeat do not simply copy them to your own site! Your site should have its own tone and individuality. Treat your own keywords with respect. You must have appropriate textual content on your own pages to support the keywords. Anything less is an exercise in futility.
At its best, a competitive keyword analysis will give you a good basic idea which words you should be using within the content of your site. Incorporate some of them into your own sentences and descriptions but try and keep a realistic approach to the process.
One of most valuable aspects of a keyword analysis is the ability to spot words and terms you may be missing from your content. But before simply cutting and pasting, take a little time to find out which terms have the most weight or most value, when it comes to usage by the searching public. Think about the keywords and terms originating from the searchers point of view. If you were trying to find your site without knowing it was on the Internet, what would you search for What would Aunt Martha search for What words and terms is your targeted customer likely to use when searching for your goods or services Heres a real tip: Dont guess!
There are tools you can use to assist you in this decision making process. Take your competitive analysis keywords and run them through a site such as Overtures Keyword Selection tool
Originally designed for advertisers to select the best terms for pay for click advertising, it will show you how many times the term you used was searched for within the past few months. You may discover that hot tubs although generic enough to score highly, could be greatly enhanced when used as a term by adding a single word such as accessory or portable. The power of a single word (different from your competitors) also helps to set your site apart and dare we say, in some cases, may help your site to rise above them.
Remember - Choose the most popular searched for words and terms and ensure they are contained within the content on your site before using them as keywords within tags or title descriptions.
Mehul vyas, is a founding partner and Director of Marketing for Vyas Infotch Pvt Ltd. The firm specializes in the development and implementation search engine optimization technologies and solutions for the improvement of web site placement within the Internets top search engines. The company is regarded by many to be the world leader in its field, with clients in 57 countries around the world.