Making sense of the links question

Duncan Pollock · #1 (**permalink**) 11-01-2003, 12:07 AM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think many of us -- and I'm sure it applies to real estate websites other than mine -- are faced with particular difficulty in getting any incoming links. For example, I can't for the life of me see a bank, mortgage broker, lawyer, home inspection, or similar sort of site linking to me in preference to all my local colleagues. And never mind that I'll send business their way and even include one or two outgoing links in their direction.
Thus, matching what other websites of my kind do, I submit to innumerable search engines and directories, many of which ask for -- and get -- a reciprocal link.
By now I have a couple of dozen such pointers and images on my home page [ http://www.duncanpollock.com ] (as well as those it leads to), the majority of them being, in effect, other places where people may (or so I hope) stumble across and click on my listing.
But I do wonder whether this approach gives me much if any chance of improving my Google ranking. Given that a third of my outgoing links reach pages with PRs of 5 and 6 (versus my own PR of 4), maybe it's doing them some good, and I don't think it's doing me any harm. Even so, am I likely to derive any (ranking) benefit from what I'm doing?

minstrel · #2 (**permalink**) 11-01-2003, 10:39 PM

Hi, Duncan:

If you haven't already seen these threads, have a look at:

http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?p=36692#36692

and

http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?p=36643#36643

rlrouse · #3 (**permalink**) 11-02-2003, 10:47 AM

Quote:

For example, I can't for the life of me see a bank, mortgage broker, lawyer, home inspection, or similar sort of site linking to me in preference to all my local colleagues.

How do you know? Have you asked them?

Assuming that others won't link to them is one of the most common mistakes that webmasters of business websites make. I have clients tell me this all the time and I prove them wrong on a daily basis.

Other sites are looking for links the same as you. Ask and you may receive, or don't ask and hope for the best.

Of course it helps to have something of value to offer in return for a link, including, but not limited to:

- Cash

- Informative articles that compliment the content on their site, making a link from them to you a good thing for their users

- A quality link from you to them in return

The links are out there. You just have to work at getting them.

Duncan Pollock · #4 (**permalink**) 11-02-2003, 10:18 PM

Thanks, David. I've caught up with the two other threads. All interesting and informative stuff. And I'm inclined to think their postings confirm what I've said here: the sort of reciprocal links I've added aren't going to necessarily do me much good from a Google PR standpoint, but they probably aren't going to do me any great harm, either.
My sense -- and, needless to say, hope -- is that they may help people who look at my site to decide that I have some rank. I don't mean this in a Google sense, of course. Rather, the links I show can perhaps -- and again such is my hope -- imply that I have some standing in the real estate business, for why else would I be listed in these various places, all of them being real estate directories of one kind or another. This at least seems to me to be the reason why many other real estate websites follow the practice.
Or, if you wish, I suppose the rationale rests on the saying that "a man is known by the company he keeps." And in this case, I guess I'm more curious about the good/ill-advised sense of the reciprocal links than whether Google will care one hoot or not.
Duncan

Duncan Pollock · #5 (**permalink**) 11-02-2003, 10:23 PM

Thanks, too, to you rlrouse for stating what should have been obvious to me.
Certainly, if I think of the boost I give to some of the folk I mention in my Additional Information page (with click on links to them on my homepage), they may well be willing to return the compliment.
As every salesperson knows, you'll never know until you ask.
And I'll remember: I heard it here first!
Duncan

sirjeffer · #6 (**permalink**) 11-19-2003, 11:14 AM

We have found that links with search engines ARE NOT effective ways to get higher rankings directly. That is, the more links the higher the rankings. However, we have found that links help get more traffic to the site, and that actually boosts the ranking more in that more traffic gets you a better placement such as with Alexa where your actual traffic is posted for all the world to see.

It is also very difficult to get someone to modify their page for no monetary return. But if anyone is interested in linking to us, we are always happy to accept it for the ancillary effects of branding, recognition, possible traffic and relationship building. Jefferson - cityconcierge.com

janeth · #7 (**permalink**) 11-19-2003, 02:34 PM

Hi sirjeffer,
I love your web site.

If you do a search for words like computer on Google and just about any other very competitive key word you can think of you will find that most of those sites are there just from links along.
They do not even have the key word on the page most of the time. I do know that every search engine is different but since something like 80% of the searches are done on Google we have found that it does play an important part in a well balanced marketing plan.