Incoming Links!

I get asked all the time about how SEO works and most of it is really about getting incoming / inbound links. Let me explain what's involved in doing that as well as some things to definitely avoid.

Think of a link to your website as a vote for your website. The more votes you get, the higher you rank. That's the nutshell version of SEO. It does get more involved though.

The text you use, for instance, to link to your site matters. Do this. Go and Google "click here." The top result is Adobe Acrobat Reader but why? Well, many different sites, all over the Web have links where you can download Acrobat to view PDF files and the linked text that points to this page is "click here." Now, what does "click here" have to do with the Adobe Acrobat Reader? Nothing at all. This just shows you how Google works. Google sees many, many sites using that text (anchor text, we call it) to link to that site, so that site ranks high for that keyword. Pretty simple, actually.

So even on your website, you need to get out of the habit of writing sentences that end with the words "click here." I know you want to do it but stop. Here's an example:

To apply online, simply fill out our online application - click here.

Change that to:

To apply online, simply fill out our online application.

What you've then done is linked the text "online application" to the online application page. Do that enough times on your site and now you're shaping your website, telling Google which pages are for what. The more your do this, the more link shaping you do. It can get even more complicated than that with "no follow" links but at least do this much and you'll be in better shape. You need to help Google help you. This is so simple but so often people do not write this way. Write normally and link the correct text.

What is the correct text?

Good question! Very good question. I tell people that we can help them rank high for their keywords but the work involved will depend on the keyword. Ranking high for "digital cameras" is going to take a lot more work (lot more) than ranking for "Madison WI painters." A very important step is to find the right keywords. You want keywords that you can rank for easily and keywords that people are searching for. I can write a short book on doing that and there are some other posts here in my blog about doing that but know that the right keywords matter. You go for the low hanging fruit first and work your way up the tree.

So how about those inbound links?

Right, I'm getting to that. Thanks for the reminder.

Now that you know how to link and what text you use matters (and what pages you set up as targets matters, too), you probably want to know how to get inbound links. In general, links from websites with a higher Google PageRank will help you more. They will pass the PageRank on to you. PageRank, however, is not the "end all, be all" of SEO. Not at all. Really, any link will help you. Get them from as many sites as possible. The more relevant the site (or page), the better.

Or page? What does that mean?

Yes, a relevant link from text that's about what you do is a good link. If that text is on a page that has to do with your keyword, even better. If that page is on a website that just has to do with your keyword, better yet. So just a link exchange is ok. A link in an article, better. A link in an article on a relevant website is the best. If that website has good PageRank, then that's ideally what you want.

How do you find these sites?

Yes, that's the problem. It takes time. If it were easy, then everyone would be doing it, right? I'm glad it's not easy because then we can do it and it'll work since not everyone is doing it. Confused yet?

We have access to many website directories that will help your site rank well. Along with that, we have access to article website networks and some of our own websites that have some authority with Google. That's very powerful. A few, well placed links can get you from page 5 to page 2 pretty easily. It's that last climb up to page one and then up page one that's the most work - but we can do it.

Can I do this myself?

Yes, it's true. If you have the time, you can do this yourself. Most business owners I know do not have this kind of time. They would rather run their business and instead turn to the experts who know how to dive in and do it rather than waste time waiting to learn how to do it. That's key. Doing it sooner than later makes a huge difference to your bottom line. Time is money, right?

-Tony

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