5 top tips for search engine success: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

4. Boost your link popularity

It's important to try to increase your link popularity by getting as many inward links to your content as possible. Many search engines' algorithms now factor in link popularity when ranking web pages. They check to see how popular content actually is by seeing how many other sites link to it. The more sites linking to your web page, the better it's ranking will be. The more "popular" the page linking to your content, the bigger the bonus effect this has on your page's rank.

How much time and money you throw at this will be determined by how important search engine referrals are in achieving your business objectives. Start by getting your site listed in the major online directories. It's worth spending some time finding the right category under which to be listed, and you may want to be listed under more than one.

There are also plenty of other local business listings, trade directories and industry-specific portals out there that will let you add a short entry for free (and a bigger, better one if you pay them). Some people go further, and actively approach owners of other relevant websites who may be prepared to exchange reciprocal links.

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