Search Engine Optimisation Specialists

A backlink is a link which directs others towards your site; they are also referred to as inbound links (IBL’s).  So, the number of backlinks that your site has is an indication of how popular or important it is according to your peers (other site owners).  These are especially important for SEO, as search engines such as Google will give more credit to those sites with a good number of quality backlinks.  So they will then consider these sites more relevant than others in the results pages of a search query.

Most search engines will want websites to have a level playing field, and so will more often than not look for natural links that have been built slowly over time.  Although it can be fairly easy to manipulate the links on a web page in order to achieve a higher ranking, it is a lot harder to influence a search engine with external backlinks from another site.  This is why these feature so highly in a search engine’s algorithm.  Today it has gotten even harder to achieve these inbound links because of unscrupulous webmasters.  Such people try to achieve these links by deceptive or sneaky techniques (through either hidden links or through automatically generated pages).  Such pages are known as link farms and they are generally disregarded by search engines.  But if you are linked to such a link farm, then you may find your site being banned entirely from these search engines.

Another way of achieving quality backlinks to a site is to entice quality visitors to come to yours. 

There are a number of ways in which back linking can be achieved.

1. Reciprocal Linking - this is where you link to another site that provides the same service or product as you and they in turn have a link to your site on theirs.

2. Site Submissions.  Submit links for your site to directories which allow free submissions, or if you can afford it, some paid directories.  There are many sites around which offer a service where you can submit your site details to numerous sites.  Plus, if you want, you can always create your own directory of similar websites. 

3. Articles.  This is another way of getting great backlinks.  So if you have a reputable looking site that contains informative, well written reviews, then there is a good chance that your articles will receive high search engine rankings also.  But it is vital that any articles you write are on the subject, informative and thorough in relation to your site.  Also you could always write a few articles for submission to article sites such as EzineArticles.com or SearchWarp.com.  This is another great way of getting even more backlinks to your site.

Below are a few tips you will need to consider in order to write good articles for your site.

a. Write in a way that your intended target audience will understand what you are trying to say.  In other words, don’t write it like you were a teacher talking to a class of 10 year olds, but don’t be overly complicated.

b. Check your spelling, grammar and punctuation.

c. Consider an article of between 300 to 500 words.

d. Always include a resource box at the end, as this will include that all important backlink to your site.  This resource box should also include a short biography regarding you and your site.

4. Blogging.  This has now become an integral part of the internet and is one of the most effective ways of linking.  You either have the choice of placing a few words of comments on to someone else’s blog, or you may want to link to them from your own blog.  In fact, you will find that most blogs will be happy to link back to you.  However, it is important that you try to update your blog regularly and post interesting content to ensure that people will want to link back to you.

Trust you have found this article helpful and should you require additional information or assistance please feel free to contact us accordingly at Hosting Impact.

Till Next Time...

Happy Blogging
SEO Steve
Hosting Impact - Australian Search Engine Optimisation Specialists
Backlink. (2008, October 14). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 01:13, October 25, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Backlink&oldid=245192050