There are many techniques that SEM/SEO experts use to optimize Web sites. One of the more important techniques is “Link Popularity.”

Link popularity is referred to as an off-page factor in the search engine world, and is representative of one of the more important elements in influencing a Web site’s position in search engine result pages (SERPS). The top questions relating to link popularity are answered for you below.

1. What is link popularity and why is it important?

Link Popularity is a score that search engines give to a Web site based on how many links are pointing to or linking to any particular page in your Web site. The greater your link popularity, the more important, or relative, search engines consider your Web site.

Good link popularity can dramatically increase traffic to your Web site. Since most search engines factor in link popularity into their relevancy algorithms, increasing your link popularity score can help your Web site’s position in the search engine results pages (SERPS).

2. Are there different types of links?

There are 4 main classes of links that contribute to your Web site’s overall link popularity score:

External – An external link is a link on your Web site that leads to an outside Web site. This type of link is used when you want to provide additional or complimentary information to the user.

Internal – Internal links are links on your Web site that lead to other pages within your Web site. A good internal linking strategy will enable all of your pages to be found easily by both search engine spiders and users alike.

Inbound – An Inbound link is a link on another Web site that directs the user into your Web site. Inbound links are important because search engines see them as being indicative to quality.

Reciprocal/Link exchange – Reciprocal linking is when two or more Web sites agree to display each other’s Web site link somewhere on their website.

3. Are some links better then than others?

Yes, it is true that not all links are not equal. The effectiveness of the link depends on the following factors:.

Relevance – A relevant link means that the link is on a page or Web site that has the same subject matter as the page it links to. For example, for an attorney, a link from the state bar association page to an attorney’s Web site would be a relevant link. A link from a local floral shop would not be relevant.

Quality – A quality link means that the link is from a popular, well- visited Web site. Link text – The text used to describe a link is important. You want to use relevant key phrases. For example, rather then a link that says “contact us,” using something like “contact a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney” will be more valuable.

4. What exactly is PageRank and it is important?

PageRank can be summed up as how relevant Google considers a particular Web page. Pagerank is a value from 0-10, with zero being the least significant and ten10 of which very few websites obtain being the most relevant. Very few Web sites are able to obtain the highest ranking of 10.