SEO Link Exchange Tips - Four Things You Need to Know About Inbound and Outbound Links

A backlink campaign is not technically difficult to employ. However it does require a general understanding of linking guidelines. This is the first of two articles that will cover seven very valuable linking tips. This article will cover the first four tips to be used as a foundation that will help you make decisions regarding both inbound and outbound links. It will also give you insight into some seo tools, that will help make sure the dubious website does not take advantage of you.

When requesting or accepting a link:

1. The website should relate in subject or topic. It can be a vertical association, as long as it adds to a visitors experience. When adding your link to a “directory” type site, make sure the site is placing links in categories, that are further broken down into specific industries. This structure should also be used when you are organizing the outbound links on your website.

2. Know where your link will be placed in relationship to the website’s home page. The more clicks it takes to get to your link, the less traffic and weight your link receives. This does not mean a link on another page is not valuable, but as a general rule, a link on a home page will get the most traffic, while receiving the full weight of the websites PageRank.

3. Make sure there is a link on the home page where a visitor can find either your link, or an index or directory leading to your link. Some dubious sites will make sure your link will be buried and never found by the visitor or search engine. So visit the website, making sure a link to your site is easy and available for anyone visiting. The best case is a link from the home page directly to your link. If that is not the case, the home page should point to a directory or index where a visitor can find the category or subject where your link can be found.

4. To get a general idea about the value of the page (or website) where your link will be added, use Google’s PageRank tool. If you don’t have Google’s PageRank tool, it is a free download. This brings up a very important point about PageRank. PageRank will not improve a website’s ranking, however knowing a website’s (or pages) PageRank will provide some insight into how well the website is structured and how popular the website is externally.

The steps to a good SEO backlink program are not technically difficult. The challenge comes in the form of taking the time to review each website that you are considering. The results will be worth the effort, improving the quality of referred website visitors while increasing your website’s internet exposure.