Link Popularity and Direct Links: Convert Your Affiliate Program into a Link Popularity Powerhouse.
by Todd Farmer, The Big Kahuna, KowaBunga! Technologies
What is link popularity?
As far as websurfer's know, it's "Hey! I saw that ad on Yahoo and AOL - two places! Maybe that's a good site to visit?"
But to search engines, "link popularity" means more. It tells them that your site is a good site because good sites link to it; therefore, you site is a site they should present to their users in search results.
More now than ever, search engines are using "link popularity" as a key element in their ranking algorithms. But, how do search engines determine "link popularity"? What counts towards your website's "link popularity" score?
- Do links to your site that are found on an advertiser's site count?
- Do links you place through an ad network count?
- Do links you place on your affiliate's sites count?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Search engines love relevancy; they thrive on it. They need to know that the sites they recommend to their users are relevant to the user's queries - and these sites answer the user's needs. Apparently, more and more search engines strongly believe that "link popularity" is a good measure for relevancy.
So, exactly how do search engines define "link popularity"?
Link Popularity seems to be defined (by the search engines), as a product of (1) a direct, measurable link from one site to another (2) the quality of the originating site.
Laymen Definitions: 1. A Direct Measurable Link: A direct link from one site to yours is measurable, yet a link through a tracking script may not be measurable.
2. The quality of the originating site: A direct link from MSN's health section to your "healthcarewebsite.com" will be considered a better, more relevant link than a direct link from an obscure health-oriented website to your "healthcarewebsite.com")
But the key factor here, is the link must be a "direct link" in order to be measurable.
You see, if sites link to you through a "tracking script" or a "redirect script", there is a good chance that the link will not be measurable. Therefore, it is probable that your link popularity will not be improved, because this link may not be considered a true "link" to your site. (If the link is not "direct" to a static page on your site, search engines may not be able to measure it.)
If, however, the sites that link to you have a "Direct Link" to your site (meaning the link from their site links directly from their webpage to a static page on your website), then there is no denying the link exists; it is simple for search engines to acknowledge and measure this link.
So, as long as you have marketing links out there, generating targeted traffic to your site, you may be able to benefit from increased Search Engine Ranking, too.
Our Solution : Link Popularity Module
Now, we aren't claiming to be "search engine marketing" experts… yet. But, we have a theory that you may wish to test. (Or, you can always wait until our test results come in before you make your move.)
Again, our theory is this: A link from Site A that lands directly on a static page on Site B is more likely to generate link popularity than a link from Site A that lands visitors on a page on Site B only after being processed through an "intermediary" tracking link.
This "intermediary" tracking link can be on your site (whether the software is hosted on one of your servers or not), or it can be on a third party server. The results are likely to be the same: the tracking link causes search engines to be unable to measure the link, because it's a "redirect" link.
What you may need is a direct, static link to your site, from other relevant sites.
Our Link Popularity Module will give each of your advertisers a static page on your website, and their banners (or other marketing material) can link directly to this static page on your site. Therefore, the link is measurable by the search engines.
For more on the Link Popularity Module, click here:
http://www.myaffiliateprogram.com/u/a/t.asp?id=2390&p=linkpopularity.asp
