| 08 March 2010
Contrary to popular belief it is possible for website owners to contribute to their own ranking in the Google Search listings. Some reputable SEO Companies may even provide you with free advice regarding the two of the most important elements, namely Offsite SEO and Basic Link Building.
Link Building is probably the singularly most important element in the criteria that determines a website’s ranking on all the major search engines. Once a website has undergone the onsite optimisation phase of an SEO Campaign, building quality inbound links are the key factor in driving up search rankings and maintaining them. Although link building is generally a time consuming and laborious process it is more than possible for the website owner to make use of the information detailed on the internet to get a basic grounding in the link building process.
The most popular method of basic link building is by way of Directory Submissions. The first step is to submit the website in order for it to be considered for inclusion. If approved, the website will be placed in a related or relevant sector and the link directed back to your website. Google will then pick up on these inbound, themed links and subsequently give more authority to your website. A word of caution though, there are literally hundreds of online directories, take care to use the ones that Google regards highly. Some of the directories require a payment and some are free, it is probably worth submitting to a few of each.
Social Bookmarks are another way that a website’s Google ranking can be enhanced by DIY SEO. Bookmark websites contain links to other websites or bookmarks with information about the website. Users who are searching for the type of products and service you provide click on these bookmarks and are taken to your website. If the person likes your website they can bookmark it to be found my others.
Article submissions are another way of obtaining good quality backlinks from pages that have content that is keyword rich. Literally anyone can write a 400-500 word article that is centred around their sector or particular area of interest. The article should be interesting, informative and easy to read. Many articles require some information about the author; you can use this section to include contact details and also a link back to your site. Again, there are several article submission sites out there, some yield considerably better results than others, so research and select carefully.
There are a number of online resources and SEO Companies which can provide additional information for the SEO novice.
Andy Birt is the Managing Director of the UK’s Largest SEO Company Smart Traffic. Andy is an expert at developing and implementing SEO strategies for a range of clients from the self employed to large multinational organisations.
