Backlink, Its Function And Importance
What is the meaning of the word backlink? It is a chunk of text, or even a picture, that joins two websites, pages or even sections within the same page. The page you are now reading no doubt has many of them. They are normally highlighted in blue and underlined. Strictly speaking I have just described a link. Backlinks are links that point back to a website. They are very useful for webmasters, the managers of websites, because they allow people to visit their site. Before the creation of search engines they were the only way internet users had to find a specific site.
What is their significance? They are very valuable to website owners for various reasons. First they show that other readers and webmasters are interested in their site enough to recommend it to their readers. Second it is an avenue for more people to read their pages. Thirdly it is one of the factors that search engines take into account when deciding what Page Rank they give a particular page.
At this stage you might be asking yourself what a search engine is. It is simply a website that is used to search for certain keywords in the whole internet. This is a huge task, some have estimated that the internet has over 100 trillion words. Search engines have to sift through all those words and pages to try and find the best match to a users search. This is done by the use of a formula that computes the content of a page, its relevance to the keywords in the search, the number of links a webpage has and the quality of the site as a whole. The final value this formula provides is called the Page Rank.
Page Rank is an important formula for internet users and website businesspeople. The formula is composed of a number of elements that combine the number of links that a website has pointing to it, the content, and its perceived quality as well as other factors that are not public disclosed by search engines. What we do know is that backlinks are an important part in page rank.
Each one counts as a vote to a site, the more votes you have the more chances you have of appearing at the top of search engine results pages. Another important aspect is that the text that is used to create the link is relevant to the keywords in the search.
Page Rank is made up of a a patent protected formula that computes a number of elements like content and number of backlinks. Each link is seen as a vote from one website to another. If the website that points to your page is high ranking the value of the it is much higher. Relevance also plays an important part . If your client or potential viewer is looking for a page on autocad manuals the search engine is going to give you a higher page rank if you have plenty of links with sites that also talk about autocad manuals. This congruency of subjects is also measured by looking into the actual anchor text.
That is called the anchor text, the text that internet viewers see and must click on to take them to another site, page or section of a site. It is worth spending some time choosing the anchor text as search engines will look at the content of those that point away and towards your site when deciding what relevance your webpage has to a certain search.
How is it done? Increasing the number of backlinks your site is an important task for webmasters. This can be done by producing high quality news other sites want to backlink to and readers to view and by exchanging them with other sites, although this method is not as valuable from a SEO perspective.
Mike Gates is an online marketer and recommends HostGator for hosting. HostGator is the cheapest web host. You can use hostgator coupons to get discount at the time of sign up.
A Brief Look Into Easy Backlink Building With RSS
A lot of on-line professionals are discovering how easy backlink building with RSS is for getting their website a good ranking position in the search engines – yet syndication feeds have many other uses in promoting its success. Here are a few reasons to use this tool to its full advantage:
Everyone knows internet businesses of all types are becoming more common, as people drop out of the nine to five routine in bigger numbers every year. Yet success in getting a new venture off the ground, and managing to get the attention of the internet consumer, is definitely easier said than done. Any help from an unexpected source, like RSS, is greeted like a long-lost friend. Why?
RSS can be used as a “secret weapon” way for a business to stay in tune with the latest technology: Every enterprising owner knows how important it is to remain at the head of the class in their line of work. A seller of computer gaming software can keep his eyes open by reading the latest gaming product news via a continuous feed of such related material. Knowing as soon as possible about the new release of the latest gaming craze out there, gives the seller a heads up in purchasing it as soon as possible – maybe before any of his competition even knows it’s been released.
Another example is a person running an on-line computer technical help and repair business, who sets his feed to run information about any newer, and cheaper, advents in the computer repair and advice niche. In this way, he’s making sure his clients are are taken care of, in an affordable way, by keeping on eye out on how to serve them better. He’ll also become a familiar name to the support staff of the technology sites, and will be able to count on them for help on any new issue that may arise, so they’re not confusing for the customer, and himself, at an inopportune time. And everyone knows that new customers usually follow established, satisfied ones, after that.
RSS can be used to add diversions to a blog, when there is nothing to post that day: Many blogs started off as a generic, all-purpose web letter for the benefit of friends and family, then ended up as a humor or observation blog with faithful fans. No blogger wants to lose his following by neglecting to post, but in lacking the time for daily upkeep, he can become lost for a win-win solution to the problem. Adding funny and entertaining content, in lieu of posts on those days he can’t be there, is one way a blogger can distract his readers with something “shiny” – just until he can post something new.
RSS helps serious writers become more credible in their craft: Anyone who writes for the love of it, and wants to do it for a living, knows that establishing a solid following is something he must do – no matter his niche. The need to gain credibility, and make a name for himself in the community of other writers – and their readers – is imperative. And if a writer wants to catch the eye of a good publisher – or land a plush writing job – it’s even more critical.
Back links from other websites are as important to a writer as that positive reputation, but he also knows that he must pay his dues by visiting other writers in the community, to show he takes an interest in the work of others. Using a feed to keep track of all the sites he visits, even when in a time crunch – convenient viewing of posts to read and post his comments on is possible – with just a click on a link. Successful give and exchange of professional courtesies are an important part of building a good reputation for the writer, in addition to extending his network of professional and personal relationships. The reality of getting published or obtaining a certain writing job becomes more of a possibility for him.
It’s successful results like these that shows one how easy backlink building with RSS doesn’t just benefit a website owner in one way – but many.
Mike Gates is an online marketer and recommends HostGator for hosting. HostGator is the cheapest web host. HostGator coupons available at http://hostgatorcouponandreview.com/hostgator-coupon.html.
Some Quick Tips On How To Get Backlinks
When you’re first starting out, figuring out how to get backlinks, while not the biggest challenge for new webmasters, can nonetheless be a little confusing. Fortunately, it doesn’t take too long to learn the basics. Now, you’ll figure out some of your own tricks and come up with some great ideas on your own as you go, but the following tips should at least be enough to get the ball rolling.
Don’t be too Desperate
If you find a website with hundreds of links and they want to swap links with you, forget it. You’re sharing the strength of that site with hundreds of other links, and putting a link on your site in exchange for four or five hits just isn’t worth it. What you want to do is trade links with maybe ten or twenty popular sites who, themselves, are only sharing with maybe ten or twenty other sites.
Learn SEO
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is what we call the simple trick of using a few keywords in your web content. When you have anchored text, meaning linked text, you want to make sure that that anchored text is a hot keyword to improve your Google visibility. You can look up hot keywords on search engines to see what people are looking for, but the top one or two will always be pretty easy to take a guess at. For example, someone looking to buy a lawn chair will always type in “Lawn Chair”, and not, say “Chair to sit on in the backyard”.
Never Hesitate to Ask for a Linkswap
We mentioned that you want to save your linkswaps for reputable, high profile sites, right? Well when you’re just starting out, how do you get the dot com celebrities to share some of their visitors with you? That’s up to you. You can provide great content, you can offer a unique product or service, or maybe you can even get lucky and happen to email that webmaster when they’re in a particularly great mood. It never hurts to ask, though, so never hesitate to ask. The worst that can happen is that they might say no.
Don’t Let the Competition Get Ahead
Check out your competitor’s websites, see who they’re sharing links with, and see if the sites they’re linking with will link with you. This does put you on a website right alongside your competitors, but let’s face it: Competition is the name of the game. The point is to get yourself in the running rather than sitting by wishing you could get some hits.
And Finally: It’s About Who You Link TO…
Let’s say you run a website selling your own home brewed beer, so you send a link exchange request to some of your favorite sites on the subject, like Homebrewheaven.com, one of the top sellers of home brewing supplies. Well, even if they turn you down, there’s no rule saying you can’t link to them. You can link to whoever you want, and even when you don’t get a link in return, a link to an industry leader can still improve your reputation, your “trust”, and net you some visibility. Think of it as a sort of “digital karma”.
Mike Gates is an online marketer and recommends HostGator for hosting. HostGator is the cheapest web host. HostGator coupons available at http://hostgatorcouponandreview.com/hostgator-coupon.html.
