Jun
14
All the techniques for search engine optimization (SEO) we’ve looked at so far are designed to improve your SEO ranking in two ways: making your site relevant, and making it authoritative.
For your site to be highly ranked, it’s not just what you know (your site content), but who you know (what other resources are linked to you). Creating “rank-increasing” mutual links involves both approaches, and there are several ways you can do it:
Manual Link-Building. This is the easiest way to create mutual links and consequently; it’s also the least effective. It consists of placing your information on other reputable sites by writing comments, linking to social networking profiles, and submitting your site to online directories. Remember to include a link to your site every time you do this.
Editorial Link-Building – At the other end of the spectrum are editorial links, which are based primarily on the quality of your content. Sites with exceptional content or unique resources are more likely to generate mutual links without you having to extend an invitation. These have the most credibility, provided the source site is reliable and authoritative itself.
Mutual Link-Building – The most effective way to increase your relevance and authority is the “combo” approach, where you actively build relationships with sites, their owners, and others you’d like to have link to you. This requires having exceptional site content, reaching out to others who might be interested, and inviting them to link to your site while you link to theirs. Hence the term “mutual.”
5 Ways to Establish Mutual Links and Boost Your Search Rating
1. Be sure your site has great content. Update it regularly to keep it fresh and interesting.
2. Make it easy for readers to comment on your site.
3. Identify other sites that will increase your relevance and authority, then develop relationships with them.
4. Avoid sites with an overabundance of advertising. Just as you want to provide relevant, authoritative content, the sites to which you link should do the same.
5. Offer other sites the freedom to share your content provided they link back to you.