Last week, Derek wrote an editorial telling you how to get high quality links pointing to your site by registering your site with the ‘Net’s top paid directories.

This week, Derek has asked me to write an article explaining how you can expand your link network by getting FREE links from other sites.

This process is a little more time consuming… but the links you’ll get will definitely be worth it. (Not to mention all that extra traffic thanks to your improved search engine ranking!)

But before you set off in search of free links that will propel your site to the top of the search engine results, here are 5 things you need to consider:

1. Pay attention to PageRank — but don’t live or die by it!When trying to find sites to link to their site, most people tend to look for ones that have a high PageRank.(PageRank is a function of Google’s toolbar that supposedly measures the importance of a given website.)

   However, all this focus on PageRank has resulted in many people looking ONLY at PageRank when evaluating possible linking sites. They also spend a lot of effort trying to improve their own PageRank — without stopping to consider whether their actions are helping their actual ranking in Google’s listings.

   And that is not a good thing.

   The fact is, no one is really sure exactly how much Google takes PageRank into account when calculating its natural search algorithms.

   For example, sites with very little PageRank can be found at the top of the search results, while sites with a high PageRank are languishing on the fourth or fifth page… or even lower!

   On top of that, it’s hard to tell exactly what PageRank uses as its criteria to measure a site’s “authority.”

   Government sites such as FEMA, the IRS, and the FBI all have a PageRank of 8 out of a possible 10. Yet I can’t imagine there’s a more authoritative source of information on the IRS than the IRS itself!

   Finally, PageRank “addicts” should know that unscrupulous webmasters can steal another site’s PageRank and use it to manipulate their own PageRank numbers!

   (In fact, this is what lots of shady “link sellers” do — they sell links based on their PageRank, but often that PageRank has been artificially inflated!)

   So while you should still pay attention to PageRank, it’s certainly not the only thing you should look at. You need to consider what the actual rank of that site is, and how well its content relates to the content on your site.

   (More about that in a moment…)

2. Looking for links from a commercial site? Make sure its products are complementaryThere’s no point in trying to get a link from a site selling something that has no relation to your business! You need to look for commercial sites that sell things that go well with your product.If you sell the cola and I sell the glasses and ice, it could be the beginning of a beautiful joint venture relationship that provides great value to both your customers and mine.
3. Look for web pages with content that’s closely related to the content on your pageI would argue that this is just as important as a site’s PageRank, if not more so.You want your links to come from pages whose content is as focused on the content on YOUR page as possible.

   It’s not just a matter of getting links pointing from another site’s homepage to your homepage! Try to go deeper and more specific than that.

   If you sell used tennis rackets and you find a site that talks about tennis topics in general, try to get a link on a sub-page that talks specifically about tennis rackets.

   And if it talks specifically about used tennis rackets, even better.

   Also look for web pages that have content related to your product or service, even if the site itself doesn’t have any real relation to your business.

   For example, if a popular blogger who typically writes about her daily life writes a post that directly relates to your product in some way, ask her if you can get a link on the page that has that particular blog post.

   Or maybe a general information site has an article that relates to your product. THAT’S where you want your link — right on the article page itself.

   Links from general information sites can still be valuable, provided they’re heavy traffic-sites with a great search engine rank.

   But in general, it’s more effective — and in many cases, much easier — to try and get a link on a web page whose content directly relates to your own, even if that site is lower down in the search engine rankings and doesn’t get the same volume of traffic.

4. Is this a good page for a link? Consider it from the user’s perspectiveWhen you’re debating whether a web page is a good link source, think about it from the perspective of the visitors to that site.They’ve come to a page, and on it they see a link to a site they’ve never heard of before. It’s got intriguing anchor text and it’s embedded in content they’re interested in.

   Now… if they click on that link, are they going to be happy?

   If they don’t find what they expect to find — based on the content of the page that led them there — they’re going to be disappointed, and they’re going to leave. And they’re going to think less of the site that sent them there.

   So if you’re going to try and get links from other sites pointing to yours, make sure the people who click on that link are going to find something valuable to them!

   Offer them free information — maybe something they can download, like a free report. Because if you don’t send them to a page that makes that click truly worth their while, you’re just gaming the system.

5. When you ask for links, emphasize what’s in it for THEMThe days when you could email people and ask, “Please link to me” are long gone.When you approach other sites owners to ask them to link to your site, what you’re really asking is for them to share some of their traffic with you.

   Smart website owners are jealously protective of their traffic. They’re not going to share it with just anybody. The sites they recommend reflect back on them. If they tell people to go to a low-quality site, their visitors aren’t going to like them very much for it!

   That’s why you need to emphasize the benefits of linking to your site — both for their visitors and for them.

   How will you provide value to the visitors they send you? Are you a great source of information? Will your product help their visitors solve a problem you know they’re experiencing? Do you offer something the other site owner simply can’t provide — something you know their visitors want?

   That’s what you need to tell them in order to convince them to link to your site.

   Never forget: when you ask for a link from a site, you’re essentially borrowing that site’s credibility, and you need to be respectful about that.

Building a network of free links definitely takes some time… but you have to remember the benefits…

Not only will you enjoy the indirect benefit of better search ranking and the traffic it’ll bring you, you’ll also get the traffic sent directly from the links themselves!

And all that extra traffic will make all your efforts worthwhile.

[Ed. note: Andrew Mallory is one of our top Internet Entrepreneur Club experts.]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Derek Gehl specializes in teaching real people how to start profitable Internet businesses that make $100,000 to $2.5 Million (or more) per year. To get instant access to all his most profitable marketing campaigns, strategies, tools, and resources that he’s used to grow $25 into over $60 Million in online sales, visit: http://www.marketingtips.com/tipsltr.html

The IM Insider will provide the small and medium business owner insight into the low-cost and no-cost methods to promote your website, sell your products, develop your brand image and almost anything else that allows you to “TAKE YOUR STORY TO THE WORLD“! Look for more information in the coming days that will help your business get to where you want to be.

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