|
By Tony Simpson
When adding a link directory to a web site there are a few
important guidelines to observe. Ignore them and it could
affect your ability to build traffic through reciprocal links
and ranking with the search engines. I know, because I made
some of these mistakes and didn't have anyone to offer any
advice or tell me what I'm about to tell you.
1. Don't create a directory page with all your links on one
page
You should have no more than 30 - 40 links to a page. The
reason is that some sites will not link to you if a page you
put their link on has too many links, because it dilutes the
value of the link to them. To understand why, you need to know
about Google Page Rank and how it's passed to another site
from
your link page. That's a subject too lengthy for this topic.
2. Plan your link directory on paper first
Decide what names you are going to give each category in your
link directory. Make the names fit with the theme of your site
and try to avoid adding categories which are nothing to do
with
what your site is about.
For example if your site is about Making Candles and Candle
Accessories, don't have link categories for Computers & Games,
or Search Engine Optimization etc. The reason is that if you
want your site to achieve a good ranking with the search
engines your site should be built tightly around your theme,
in
this example Candles.
3. Only link to web sites that relate to your site theme
Make sure other sites have something to offer your visitors.
This refers to item 2. If you don't have categories for
unrelated topics, you'll be less tempted to link to them
because you don't have a category to put them in.
4. Choose names for link categories that you want to use now
and in the future
This is because you can't easily change them later on. Once
the
pages are created by your link manager software, it will use
the
category names you give it. So if you have a category called
"Candle Power" it will create an html page called
Candle-Power.html or something similar, using your category
name. Once this page is found and indexed by the search
engines, in time it will gain Page Rank.
If later, you change the category name to "Candle Lights" the
link manager software will create a new page called
Candle-Lights.html and you will lose the page rank you had
gained for the earlier page. If your link partners linked to
you because the page you put them on had a good page rank,
renaming the page will cause this page rank to fall to zero.
As
a result your link partners may drop the link they have back
to
you, which is not what you ever want to happen.
5. Avoid having sub-categories or sub sub-categories in your
directory
The reason for this is again to do with how search engines
will
rank your directory pages. If your directory pages are more
than
two levels or two clicks away from your main index or home
page
they will either not be indexed by some search engines, or if
they are indexed they will achieve a lower ranking. Some web
sites will not link to you if the page you are to put the link
on is more than 2 clicks away from your home page because
these
webmasters know what I've just told you.
6. Ensure each page of your link directory has a link back to
your home page
Once again the reason for this is to do with how search
engines
will rank your directory pages, so make sure these links are
in
place.
7. Don't be obsessed at linking only to websites with a good
search engine ranking
Look first at whether the site has anything to offer your
visitors. If it has poor or unrelated content don't link to
it.
If it has good related content that compliments your own
content
but has zero or low page rank, consider linking to it. Later
on
you may be glad you provided a link, when it's page rank
improves.
8. Don't use link directory software that doesn't
automatically
check links
Link directory software must be able to check links to your
web
site are still present on other sites. Doing link checking
manually can be tedious and you have to remember to do it.
Software that you can set a schedule to check links and
automatically send out emails to webmasters when links are not
found will save you a lot of time. Link management software
that will automatically suspend links and delete them if they
are repeatedly not found is an added bonus.
9. Don't use standard templates that come with any link
manager
Link directory management software comes with standard
templates that you must modify to match the look and design of
your own web site. This requires you know something about
editing a web page using an HTML editor. Also don't use the
standard email templates, personalize them in some way, even
if
it's only to add your name.
10. Don't assume you're finished once you've set up your link
directory
Once you've done all the things I've suggested, you must test
and retest every aspect to ensure everything is working
properly, before visitors arrive.
This means making an add a link request, as if you were a
visitor to your own web site. Setting up test links and making
sure these links are being checked by the software so it
detects when links are removed or defective. Making sure it
sends out email notices correctly and check the formatting is
correct when they are received. You should also check you can
make backups of your link directory database and be able to
restore it in the event of a problem.
About The Author: Tony Simpson is a Web Designer and Search
Engine Optimizer who brings a touch of reality to building a
Web Business. It's a No-Hype, No B.S approach from his own 5
years of experience. He provides advice, product reviews and
products at www.webpageaddons.com Web Page Add Ons,
Making Automation of Your Web Site Work for You.
|