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Links, are the lifeblood of SEO, and the more external sites linking to yours the better. Many SEO articles state that Google, and other search engines value some links more highly than others. This is true, but while many of these articles go on to say that links from many directories are to be avoided, even these can be a good source of direct traffic.
As a rough guide, the links that are detected on Google Webmaster tools are ones that carry some weight. This guide will attempt to explain how links work in a practical sense, and provide good pointers for SEO.
Generally, the more links you have the better, providing they are the right kind of link. (See below). Also, the older the link is, the more highly rated it will be by search engines.
Anchor text.
Anchor text is the words contained within a hyperlink. So for example, if the word "here" is used, this will be picked up by search engines as anchor text. As you can see this is not the most descriptive word for a site and should be avoided. Therefore, it is important to have a relevant keyword or keyword phrase as the link to your website, where possible.
If we return to our friend the shoe shop, a link such as "Pump shoe sale now on", turns these words into anchor text to the site. Therefore, a search for "pump shoes", or "shoe sale", will mean the shoe shop website will become a more relevant match in the search.
The text around the anchor text carries relevance to, so make sure it is in keeping with the nature of the anchor text.
Link quality.
The quality of a link is also an important factor in determining successful SEO. In many ways, this counts for more than the quantity. All search engines have a PR (page rank) for a website, and normally the higher this is the more worthy the link. Links from similar sites to yours are highly valued, as search engines see this as a vote of confidence from your chosen community.
Links to a site from a .gov, or .edu sites, are the best but are extremely difficult to get. They are rated more highly than any other site.
Directories.
As stated earlier these are a mixed bag from an SEO perspective, as many of them are not valued by search engines, though they can be a good source of direct traffic. There are some though, like DMOZ, and Yahoo that are valued, so always list your site with these. Many links from different directories can sometimes be regarded as link spamming, and is frowned upon by search engines. Your site maybe penalised for this.
Avoid link farms, suspicious sites.
Links from link farms are to be avoided. Though search engines do not see this as your fault so you will not be penalised, they do not rate these links very highly, if at all. By the same token, pages with hundreds of links are frowned upon, as many search engines see this as farming or spamming links. It is best to keep these to under 100 per page. On this note, links to link farm or other sites of ill repute will have a detrimental effect on your sites performance on search engines.
Avoid excessive linking from the same site.
If you are a webmaster, you may feel the urge to link many times from one of your sites to the other. Search engines will notice this, and penalise you for it.
Do not be tempted to have a link on your site that nobody can see, i.e a link a pixel wide, or hidden text. Again search engines are wise to these measures, and will penalise.
Good directories to list your site:
- DMOz
- Yahoo (free for non-commercial sites only)
- Web World Index
- World Wide Wub
- Zeal (non-commercial sites only)
- WOW Directory
- DirectoryArchives
- Yeandi
- Seekon
- Turnpike
- JoeAnt
- Gimpsy
- WebSavvy
- 411
- Buzzle
- The Directory Site
- Genius Find
- Qango
The ones below require reciprocal links
Specialised Directories
- Blue Universe(Computers and the internet)
- Canlinks(Canada and the World)
- Religion Directory((religion and spirituality)
- Science Fiction and Fantasy Directory(science fiction and fantasy)
- Vfunk Music Directory
