Do-It-Yourself Search Engine Optimization
PART III: OFF-PAGE FACTORS

Once you have selected your keyphrases and optimized your pages for them, the last step is to make sure that you get linked from the best directories, and from lots of quality sites with a topic related to your site's. The best search engines, and in particular Google (who alone can deliver 80% of the search engine traffic to your site) "crawl" the web looking for links to your site. They interpret a link to your page as a vote, and the more links (votes) you have coming from quality sites the higher your page rank will be, and the higher the possibility that your page will achieve a good position in the search results pages.  It's that simple.  Following these four steps is the best way to get the quality links you need:

  • Get listed in DMOZ: The Open Directory Project ( http://www.dmoz.org ) is the world's largest directory. It is maintained by voluntary editors who review your site prior to inclusion. Being listed in this directory is important because it is used by Google and America Online to build their directories. Getting listed is free, but it may take a few weeks or even months to get listed, which can be a bit frustrating. However, there is a strong believe among search engine optimization experts that an Open Directory Project listing can significantly increase your page rank in Google, so you must take the time to submit your site and do it right (list your site in the right category and strictly follow their submission guidelines). For tips on getting listed in the Open Directory Project visit the following site: http://www.apromotionguide.com/dmoz.html .

  • Get listed in Yahoo!: Submissions to Yahoo! are no longer free for commercial sites (your site can be reviewed in about a week for a fee of $299 although inclusion in the directory is not guaranteed.  However, if you do get accepted, the $299 fee will be due every year if you want your site to continue to be listed). A link from Yahoo!'s directory is still one of the best links you can get, and it is worth the money you spend getting listed. For tips on getting listed in Yahoo! visit the following site: http://www.apromotionguide.com/yahoo.html .

  • Submit articles: There are many sites where you can publish articles in your field of expertise. This is a great way to establish yourself as an expert and to drive quality traffic to your site. The key is to include your resource box at the end of your article. A resource box is a small paragraph with a brief description of you and your business, where you include a link to your site. This way, every time somebody picks up your article and publishes it in their website or newsletter, your link will be there for readers and search engines to see and follow. For tips of getting traffic by writing articles you can visit: http://www.theinternetdigest.net/archive/write.html .

  • Exchange links with reputable sites: You must try to find quality sites that are compatible to your site's topic (not direct competitors), and ask the webmaster for a link exchange. This will give you highly targeted traffic and will improve your score with the search engines. For tips for a good link exchange campaign, visit: http://www.theinternetdigest.net/archive/inboundlinks.html .bd14582_.gif (185 bytes)

You can freely reprint this article.  Just include the following resource box at the end:

Mario Sanchez publishes The Internet Digest ( http://www.theinternetdigest.net ), an online collection of web design and Internet marketing articles and resources.   You can freely reprint his weekly articles in your website, ezine, newsletter or ebook.

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