Three
Major Misconceptions About Link Popularity
Link
popularity remains a mystery to many people new to search engine
optimization. Regardless how they find out about link popularity,
they usually always have some preconceived notions about what
they think link popularity really is -- and they are usually
wrong. To dispel these myths, we've outlined the three most
common misconceptions about link popularity and how it relates
to search engine optimization:
Quality
vs. Quantity. All too often, people new to link popularity
and search engine optimization think the best way to increase
their search engine rankings through link popularity is by flooding
their links pages with hundreds of links. After all, the more
links the better, right? Wrong! In fact, if you don't pay attention
to the quality of those links, you could actually hurt your
search engine rankings. For instance, if a site is spamming
a search engine or using other unethical search engine optimization
tactics, you can actually hurt your own link popularity by linking
to them. Think of it as "guilty by association." You
want to make sure that the sites you are linking to aren't using
unethical search engine optimization tactics. Developing an
effective link popularity campaign is not about quantity. Rather,
it is about getting quality links that will increase your search
engine rankings.
Link
Content. A couple of years ago, search engine optimization
specialists believed that it was essential to search engine
ranking to link same-subject sites together. Today, there is
no evidence that in order to increase search engine ranking,
a site must link to sites of similar interest. Again, the most
critical aspect of linking is that you are linking to sites
in good standing who will not harm your existing rank.
Link
Maintenance. So, let's say you've been working hard for
the past two weeks on developing an effective link popularity
campaign. Maybe you already have one good page of 25 quality
links. Before you sit back and unwind, thinking you've done
your job, think again. You're going to need to maintain your
links page. That means verifying that your link partners continue
to include your link on their site, that they list your link
correctly, and that there aren't any dead pages you are linking
to. Additionally, you're going to need to continue adding quality
links to your resource directory. Just think, 25 links are great,
but imagine what 100 quality links will do for your search engine
ranking! After a while, you'll create enough visibility for
your site that other webmasters will be contacting you to trade
links.

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