Linking

Thursday, April 05, 2007

One popular way to optimize webpages for search engines, especially among Polish site owners, is with link exchanges or buying high PageRank links. Unfortunately, in the choice of link partners, some site owners' priority has not always been on what is best for the user. This causes some people to link to totally unrelated pages or engage in link exchanges with spammy sites. This kind of linking does not provide additional value to the page's visitors and is a SEO method that, like hiding text, can be considered spammy. Google's webmaster guidelines refer clearly to methods of this type under "quality guidelines".

Caring about our Polish users, Google recently improved algorithms and methods of link validation for our Polish search results. We do this because we want to provide our users with the best SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) possible.

If you want to increase your PageRank and to improve your position in the SERPs, you should always be thinking about your visitors' needs. This refers to content as much as to linking.

Linking to and from related sites is still very much appreciated by Google and it will have a positive impact on the position in the index. Simultaneously, Google will work to stop the impact of excessive off-topic link exchanging or bought links, including automated link exchange programs.

The best way to gain relevant links is to create unique, relevant content that can quickly gain p opularity in the Internet community, especially among those who are interested in the topic, such as blog publishers. Also, look for editorially given links based on merit, since naturally grown links tend to exist longer; and such links will pass the test of time. Therefore, the best way to go is to focus on your visitors' needs, no matter how this is related to content or linking. Before making any single decision, you should ask yourself the question: Is this going to be beneficial for my page's visitors?