Linking between websites has always been highly valued by web surfers as a way to find relevant, related information online. What you may not know is that search engines also place value on inbound links to your site because links reflect the value that peers have placed on your site by linking to it. The more inbound links there are pointing to your website from other relevant, related and complementary websites, the higher your potential search engine rank.

So how do you go about locating potentially suitable websites with which to establish links? Here are three quick methods to get you started.

Member-based Organizations
The first way to identify sites you want to be linked from is to visit websites of local member-based organizations. Convention and Visitors Bureaus, Chambers of Commerce, and other like-industry trade organizations are a few examples. Most member-based organizations will list member contact data right on their site. Simply contact the site owner and ask to be linked. Those member-based organizations that do not list their member contact information should have no problem providing you a member list or directory - provided you’re a member yourself of course. If an organization of which you are a member won’t provide you with fellow member contact data, start questioning your reasons for joining that organization in the first place. That’s a topic for another day however.

Simple Internet Search
A second method involves nothing more than an Internet search for websites with links to other sites. For example, say you’re the owner of an Alaskan bed & breakfast. Go to Google (www.google.com) or Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) or better yet - both, and do a search for “alaska bed & breakfast links” or “alaska accommodations links”, etc. Examine the search results and decide which sites best fit your link strategy. Then start asking to be linked.

Tom Sawyer
The third and in my opinion the most lucrative way of identifying worthwhile sites with which to establish links, is by using what I call the Tom Sawyer method. Remember how Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer got his friends to do all the work of painting his fence for him? The Tom Sawyer method of researching good site links relies on your competition and other businesses similar to yours, doing much of the research for you. That’s right; your competition does the majority of the research while you reap the rewards.

To see the Tom Sawyer method in action, go to Market Leap's Link Popularity Tool at www.marketleap.com/publinkpop/ and enter your URL and the URLs of up to three of your biggest competitors or other industry leaders. The report that’s generated is interesting in itself as it shows the actual number of links to your competition’s website as indexed by the major search engines – Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, etc., but click on your competition’s numbers and you’ll see the real value of this method. Every site that is linked to your competition’s website is listed.  Again, your competition has done the research for you. Just as with doing a simple Internet search, examine the results, decide on the best links, and start asking to be linked.

Building a website means nothing without visitors. While advertising and other forms of marketing and site promotion are indispensable in driving those visitors to your site, establishing links must be considered equally important. With a little imagination, the right tools, and just a bit of time devoted to research, the links you establish to your website will pay off handsomely in boosting your site’s popularity and more importantly, your bottom line.

p.s. You can start your linking efforts right here in the
Alaska Business Directory.

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