Here are answers to three linking questions that are heard most often.



(Q1) INCOMING LINKS - I want to get some links coming into my new website really fast. Is there any way that buying links can hurt me?

(A1) Probably not - although SEOs are still divided on the issue of whether buying links from a "link store" is now being detected by Google. They also disagree as to whether bought links are given less weight when it comes to Google PageRank (PR). If PR matters to you, you may want to limit the number of links you buy.

Instead of just buying links, try investing in some high PR text link ads, then link them to your home page and perhaps some targeted pages using good anchor text. Gradually, you should see your Google PR benefit from those ?real? links. This is exactly how high-priced SEO firms build links for their clients, one step at a time.

(Q2) I recently saw the term ?RUN OF SITE? linking used in connection with sites that got demoted when Google did an update. What does this term mean, and should I avoid this type of linking?

(A2) Run of site linking refers to ads or links that appear on every single page of a large web site. The idea behind run of site linking is to drive thousands of inbound links to a single page, such as a sitemap or home page, with little effort.

You may also have heard of this by its other name?Google Bowling.? It usually occurrs when a hostile competitor trys to lower the rank of another person's site by purchasing "run of site links" on link farms or other ?bad neighborhoods.?

Most reputable SEOs believe that Google Bowling is a myth, and that run of site linking is not penalized - at least not significantly. For example, blogs often use navigation includes, so the same set of navigational links will inevitably repeat on every page. It's unreasonable to assume that when the blog grows to thousands of pages, all the sites it links to will suddenly incur a search engine penalty.

Google has stated that there is almost nothing a competitor can do to harm your site, and that you are not penalized for external factors you cannot control. I'm not sure what "almost nothing" means, but at least that statement gives some reason not to worry.

(Q3) I'd like to try RECIPROCAL LINKING to see if it will help me increase traffic to my site. How do I get started?

(A3) To request a reciprocal link, send an email and ask the webmaster to provide a link to your site. The usual common sense guidelines apply - use tact, courtesy, and professionalism. Avoid spam-like subject lines such as "Let's Trade Links!" The age old saying still goes: if it looks like spam, and quacks like spam, it will get deleted like spam.

Also, don't make your email sound like a commercial advertisement. Don't ?sell yourself,? because it will most likely be viewed as spam and suffer the usual fate. You don't want your carefully crafted request to wind up in the Junk Mail folder.

Always try to make a link exchange a a win-win situation for both parties. Offer something of value in exchange for a link and you're more likely to get a response from the webmaster.

Hopefully, now you are more clear about what your linking strategy should be. Keep all of these things in mind, and you'll be many steps ahead of others as you build your professional, money-making websites.