Linking to Optimize SEO

Joel Gales Sullivan
If done correctly, building good internal and external links in your site can have a positive effect on SEO rankings.

Google, among other search engines, uses algorithms (formulas, basically) to determine a site's popularity. One of the factors affecting the site's ranking is how many links are contained within the site.

There are two types of links: internal and external. In short, internal links show the breadth of your site and highlight important sections; external links indicate how popular your site is to the outside web world.

Internal links are those which link from one page in the site to another. Some of these links are inherent in the make-up of your site using Rivista's standard content tools, like the Geobase. For example, listings in the Geobase link to pages with the full information for that listing.

What I do not see often on our sites is linking from articles to other articles. Not only is this sort of linking good for SEO, it also increases page views within your site as, for example, a reader jumps from an article about fall food trends to a recipe for pomengranate sauce.

Although Google, et al, will take both internal and external links into consideration, a greater weight will be given to how many outbound external links exist on the site. The term external link refers to both inbound and outbound links, or links from your site to others and their reciprocating links. As it is easy to link out to many sites, outbound external links are not vital like the inbound variety, and you may want to consider how often you take readers off your site with outbound links.

While some outbound external links might add value to your site as far as making it a good resource, it is a better strategy to establish as many inbound external links as possible. A good tactic for doing this is to set up reciprocal links with other websites, especially those you know have high rankings. One inbound external link from a site with a high page rank will be more important than multiple inbound external links from sites with low page ranks. If the search bot follows the link from your site to your local chamber of commerce, and then at that domain finds a reciprocating link back to your site, you score points. Think of external linking as name dropping: don't do it unless you know the important people you mention will know who you are if the reference gets back to them.

One note of caution: whatever you do, do not resort to link farms for inbound external links. If Google catches you doing this, they will penalize you heavily, and it will be a long arduous climb to the top again.

Joel Gales Sullivan is Content Manager at Godengo and an avid student of search engine optimization, especially in regard to its use with Rivista. If you have questions or comments regarding optimizing your site, please contact her at joel(at)godengo(dot)com.

Posted by Super on November 19, 2007 at 04:23 PM in Search Engine Optimization | Permalink

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