Say the only way a person using the Internet could find your firm’s website was to search for it directly or type in your site’s URL. You would have a very low number of hits. This would generate only a little revenue. Your goal is to figure out how to get a large number of high-quality external websites to link to your firm’s site. One way you can do this is link the external sites to your site. This has the potential of generating much more revenue.
It can be difficult to design your site to include the external links. Not all links are created equal! Sometimes external sites can do more harm than good. Keep the following tips in mind when you link to outside sites.
1. Beware of Link Sellers: Some businesses will offer to sell individual links or bundles of links. Google, which discourages the practice of selling links, currently has a policy of penalizing businesses that sell links. Links that are offered for sale are typically of low quality. Such links may also not be relevant to your firm. They also will likely not have a strong Google rank. This will not help your website get many hits when users search for it on Google or Ask.com.
2. Ask Whether the Link Relates to Your Site: Before linking to a site, ask whether the site relates to your firm. A link is of little or no value if a user does not go from the first site to your site.
3. Look at the Google Rank of a Possible Link: Linking to sites that have a weaker Google ranking than your site can lower your site’s search performance. Research a potential link’s Google rank before linking it to your firm. If a possible link has a higher Google rank than yours, that can boost your rank.
4. Post Information That Is Relevant to Consumers, If That Is Appropriate For Your Firm: Many sites may want to link to your website if you provide valuable information to consumers. Some of the top attorney blogs are linked to many outside sites because they have such interesting information. If you want to encourage high-quality outside sites to link to you, think about posting good, useful, current information for consumers.
5. Link to Reputable Legal Directories and Search Engines: There are a number of legal directories and search engines with good reputations. Many of these types of sites have existed for years. When they add you to their list, they will link your website to theirs. These directories and search engines usually do not charge you an additional fee for the link.
6. Be Prepared to Adapt: Google changes constantly and other search engines come and go. The tools that you use to achieve strong search engine results can change quickly. You may want to consider hiring a marketing firm to help you with online links. If you cannot afford to do so, spend a few minute every so often to read new ways to help you get more quality Internet hits.
In conclusion, be aware that Google and other search engines are sensitive to the manipulation of search results. Be wary of companies that offer to sell links, and of shortcuts.
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