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Wednesday 2 March 2011

How To Find Out Who Links To Your Website

I can’t stress how important links from other relevant websites are to your website’s standing with Google.
Every link  from another website (or any web presence for that matter, Facebook, Twitter You Tube etc etc; but that’s another kettle of fish, let’s stay with websites) is seen as an independent ‘vote’ for your website.

The more votes you get, the more Google likes you. Simple. Not quite. Google also cares where these ‘votes’ are coming from. If you have a friend that is a Plumber and you link to him from your High End Audio Visual Retailers; Google is not stupid, and it’s not only going to ignore it as irrelevant; BUT, it may even knock a teensy weensy bit off your ranking.

Also, don’t use Automatic Link Building Farms. Google knows if you have used one. They can smell it a mile off; and they will DEFINITELY mark you down for that one. If it was that easy, we’d all have pages and pages of website links and no useful information or content; and it’s the sites with useful information and content AND ‘votes’ for that information and content that gets Google excited.

So how many links from other websites do you have ?
To find out go to www.google.co.uk to get Google’s Homepage.

In the search bar type
Links:{your site}
So for example for my own HW Marketing site, I would type
Links:www.hwmarketing.co.uk
Don’t forget the colon after ‘links’.
If the site has any links at all, you will get results that display each of the site pages that link to you.

If your results return something similar, then you can see immediately what sites, and how many, link to your site.

If you have very few links, then look out for next weeks blog which will show you how to get a whole bunch of relevant votes for your website and nudge you ahead of the competition.

Here is one HOT tip on linking that can put you just that little bit further ahead.
You see, although Google likes links to your site it’s not all that keen, well I say not all that keen; consensus is that you get a lower score, marginally for Reciprocal links. What I mean by that is that for example is that if you have a website that is say a Hairdressers and your business friend the Tanning Booth Shop links to your site; from what I’ve said, that’s a good relevant vote for your site, but the catch is that your friend is going to want you to link back in return. Ok . Now you’ve both got relevant votes from each other. That’s a good thing right? I just said so earlier on.  Yes it is. But Google knows that it is likely this is an arranged ‘vote’ and marks it ever so ever so slightly lower than if the link is not reciprocated. That’s because it knows that the vote is likely not an ‘independent vote’.
To swing the ever so ever so slight marking the other way you could set up an incoming link  arrangement. This requires at least three participants.
Your hairdresser links to the tanning booth, the tanning booth to a local nail parlour, the nail parlour to the café next door, the café next door to a fashion boutique and they to you.
No reciprocal links, everybody has an independent vote, and there’s a basis for relevance all the way through.


HW Marketing UK are the Affordable Website Design Company of choice for Small or Startup Businesses in the area. Easily understandable pricing packages start at £250. 


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