While links are arguably one of the most important ranking factors for in the search engine optimization (SEO) arena, not all links are created equal, says Nick Stamoulis, president and founder of Brick Marketing. “Not every website is going to give you a link that provides real SEO value for your site,” he points out. Here are three questions Stamoulis says you should ask yourself when trying to understand the potential SEO value of a link:

1. Is this a site where my target audience hangs out? Links are valuable for two main reasons, says Stamoulis. First, the more quality links a site has pointing towards it the more valuable it becomes in the eyes of the search engines. Second, every inbound link serves as a potential doorway to your site. “You want to get links on sites that your target audience routinely visits because you are more likely to drive a targeted visitor through to your site,” he advises.
2. Is this a trusted/respected site? “While having a large link portfolio is important, real link value relates to the site you are getting that link from. Each site has a certain amount of trust with the search engines,” Stamoulis observes. “It’s is much more valuable in the long run to accrue fewer links from large, well-respected and trusted sites than it is to get hundreds of links for spam blogs or link farms.”
3. Can I build a relationship with this site that goes beyond the link? If you play your cards right, there is much more long-term value to be had than just getting one more inbound link, notes Stamoulis. “Let’s say you are leaving a comment on an industry blog,” he offers. “Can you become a regular commenter so the blog owner starts to remember your name? Can you have conversations with them in the comment field? Can you approach them to write a guest blog post or ask them to review your latest whitepaper? Think big with your link building!” 

Source: Business 2 Community

Posted November 15th, 2011 under Intellectual Property Marketing

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