Why Is This So Difficult?

calpub

***SEO is mostly about backlinks***

I've been trying to find related link partners all day and am having a terrible time. Why? Because very few sites have a links page (to give a return link) and most sites are so bad it would be embarrassing to link to them.

The trouble with getting a cookie cutter template bases site is that you are very limited in how you present your information. Sure it costs $5/month and you can build a site in an afternoon with pictures and your logo but you should know that you are building a tiny little island in the middle if a very big ocean making it difficult to link to you.

1) If you want links, get a links page, a links policy (type of links you accepts etc) and instruction on how to request a link. Please.

2) If you want people to link to you make your site look professional. I did not say 'make it look good'.

3) READ your email and answer link requests on time if you want them.

I see some people here have 2000+ forum posts so I know you have free time on your computer. If you had 200 links you'd be a genius.

Now back to looking for people with a links page ...

Leo G

PC of cake, I have 2020 inbound links.

__________________
Sawdust Follows Me Everywhere

http://lrgwood.com
Custom Cabinets in Hartford County Connecticut

calpub

You have a PR of 1 and I make your link count as 34. Forum links don't count.

I know of a site with four PR4 links, one PR5 link and one PR6 link. Result = PR3 site. That doesn't mean they are optimized for all keywords but it does mean that quality matters over quantity.

Leo G

I find it amazing that I have 34 inbound links. I figure all my links are forum related. What program are you using to determine the status. I'd like to give it a whirl.

__________________
Sawdust Follows Me Everywhere

http://lrgwood.com
Custom Cabinets in Hartford County Connecticut

calpub

Type this into google:

link:lrgwood.com

Google doesn't report all the links this way but if you have Google Webmaster tools you can see all of them.

SLSTech

CalPub - sorry, but your flat out wrong

SEO is more than backlinks & for someone to lambaste others sites without showing / listing yours is laughable at best

__________________
Alabama Full Service Remodeling, Renovation, and Preservation by SLS Construction
Certified Energy Efficiency Audits, Ratings, Modeling, Verifications, & Consulting
Residential, Commercial, & Industrial Infrared Thermography Scans

LNG24

I second SLSTech!

SEO is not about back links AND you need to be really careful with link juice. If you link to my site and I start violating linking rules and get banned by Search Engines, guess who else gets a penalty? Who ever backlinked to me.

Build a site around content. Relative, Reliable, Current content. Add, change or revise your content often to show the spiders your content is fresh. And then get yourself a SEO book or pay an expert to do it.

The ONLY thing MORE COMPLICATED than SEO is the Federal Tax Code

__________________
Larry
www.Lexie-Rides.com
www.SportTouringGear.com
St. Lawrence Properties

calpub

How does a search engine know that your collection of words constitutes good content?

Leo G

Because they are programmed that way.

__________________
Sawdust Follows Me Everywhere

http://lrgwood.com
Custom Cabinets in Hartford County Connecticut

cyezza

sign up for http://linksmanager.com/ it is a good start also http://www.linkmarket.com

LNG24

First Calpub, its not a search engine that figures out what value your content is, its the spiders they send out. The search engine tracts click through, bounce rates and a 100 other items to determine if your site is good.

Get some Google Analytic Reports and then you can begin seeing just some of the features that make you rank high.

FYI: If anyone actually knew how google ranks a web site, they'd be very rich for a day, then google would change it. This is a science and there are SEO masters who study this on a daily basis. They test there theories, tract results and advise clients.

Its not something you will learn to do overnight and certainly not something you will have time to do if its not your business, but the books and blogs out there help us from making critical mistakes.

__________________
Larry
www.Lexie-Rides.com
www.SportTouringGear.com
St. Lawrence Properties

calpub

cyezza,

Those look convenient but there is a risk involved in using them. If you link to another site that has a reputation of getting links just for SEO and not for relevancy you may be in trouble.

I'd rather create some good content that would be helpful to visitors of another site that would compel them to link to me without a reciprocal link. Thats the best way.

Other than that I would like to exchange links with relevant sites from pages other than link pages. For example if you do business in many cities have a different page for each city and have links with a description not just a link directory.

If that is not possible then a link from a link page with at most 25 links would be great.

The trouble is that not many site have taken the trouble to build their site with link building in mind.

cbscreative

I would second that in a major way. If your business is construction, it doesn't make sense to be webmaster or SEO guru. The time spent on either takes away from the construction you should be doing and getting paid for. However, knowing enough to avoid the snake oil is important too.

You guys here have it made. Since you usually only need to target a specific geographic area, getting ranked is comparatively easy and not very expensive if you hire a pro. Many of my clients pay considerably more than someone in construction needs to. Imagine if you had to get ranked for watercolor artist, plastics manufacturing, or some other type of business where you are competing with millions of contenders. That's a lot more difficult, but I still enjoy the challenge.

__________________
Steve Chittenden
Web/SEO Geek • Graphic Artist • Writer • Marketing Guy
One reason I know so much about the web and marketing is that I don't have to know as much about construction.

cyezza

You pick and choose, it has me get to page one. Also you only link with other sites that are relevant to yours. You'll find it hard to get others to link to your site without a reciprocal link in exchange, but if you find some let me know

calpub

Hi Cyezza, how has it worked for you? Can you tell me how many links you found and how it has helped your results?

Thanks.

cyezza

As many as you want, just be choosy which ones you accept, it's a start. It's not a link farm

andres

Agreed.

I'd also like to add that links just for the sake of links don't add much value. Search engines don't count reciprocal links as one-way links and they also discount links that do not carry editorial weight (e.g. links from a "links" page are not the same than links from a content page within the content).

If you are really serious about this, I'd suggest to spend 90% of resources creating content (e.g. a blog) and 10% helping distribute it (and getting links).

Rgs.