In the early days of the World Wide Web (the mid 1990s), the search engines of that time generally did not take into the account the links that point back to a Website. They simply used "on page" analysis of content, and ranked sites as best they could.

       Google changed all of that. Google was built specifically to not only analyze the page content, but also to account for the popularity of the site by examining the links that point back to the site. The general concept was that a site that had links pointing to it was more worthy of good rankings, since those links, in general, represent citations or references to worthy content.

       Using link analysis, Google was immediately able to identify sites that had considerable "reach", via their link popularity. In fact, sites that were well established within a niche have tended to do well in Google, ever since the beginning of that search engine.

       Google users were generally very satisfied with this new way of ranking sites, and Google began to earn a reputation as the search engine of choice. Link analysis was the major difference.

       Since that time, due to competitive pressure, every major search engine now appears to use link analysis of one form or another (Google's method is patented). That certainly makes sense, since the World Wide Web is really just a network of links from one page to another page.

       Links are, in fact, the very foundation of the World Wide Web and the concept of links is the core capability behind the Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) that is used to build Web pages. Links matter. They always have and always will, one way or another. Without links from one page to another, there is no World Wide Web. Sites with large links networks have a huge advantage, even without search engines.

       As the world of Web marketing and search marketing evolved with respect to links, people have tried hard to "game" the search engines, creating artificial link arrangements that they hoped would earn them unwarranted search rankings. So the engines have had to re-group, and develop the means to identify links that are not valid, while rewarding sites that have genuine link popularity. It's a continual cat and mouse game.

       The engines have since developed methods that look for relevance and trust. That is, is the link from one page relevant to the page that they are linking to? Is the link coming from a legitimate Website, or just an empty shell that was built for gaming purposes? These questions are typical of the new analysis that takes place.

       Over the last several years, Google, for one, has implemented various algorithm changes that attempt to combat the link gamers. You may see these updates referred to as the "Florida" update, or "Big Daddy", and other slang names within the SEO industry. It's a culture unto itself.

       Certainly, the Google algorithm with respect to linking is far more complex than our brief description, and a detailed discussion is beyond our scope here (thankfully, for all of us!). What we need to take away here is that links are important, and links from sites that are related to our own are the most important.

       By and large, because of our experience with linking that reaches back as far as 1997, and covers hundreds of different situations, we can now state confidently that sites that have linked properly and relevantly have continued to enjoy excellent search results. Sites that attempted to game the search engines have not fared as well.

       How To Get Links?

       If links to your site are important, and you need them, then where do you get them? It's a common question. Links come from all manner of citations and references.

       Here are just a few examples, some of which may not specifically apply to real estate, but they will give you a good understanding of how links occur:

· Product references - People who have bought products from a site, or have reviewed those products and specifications, may well link to them from either their own site, or from a discussion board site that is related to that industry. Automotive, musician and other enthusiast hobbies can benefit considerably from this kind of link activity.

· Content Citations - Sites that present expert advice will often have it cited by others in various forums. Useful content creates it's own buzz. Hopefully, you found this article via a content citation.

· Directories and Lists - Membership lists, directories of vendors, resource directories and other consolidated lists are places that can provide links.

· Customers, Vendors, Associates & Affiliates - Their sites can all provide links to your Website, and vice versa.

· Publicity and Press Releases - Are you helping a local charity with a fundraiser? Chances are, you link is on their site. Are you hosting or sponsoring an event? Then your link may well show up on other sites, because of that event reference. If you publish press releases with links, these can be picked up by other sites.

· Giveaways, Contests, & Promotions - If you can give something of value to your site visitors, then you will likely earn links from that. With Websites, that is often a data management tool of some kind, like a collectibles spreadsheet, or free classifieds. They can be hard to accomplish in a way that is effective. This is wide-open territory, and the spoils go to those who are most creative.

· Outright Purchase - It is possible to buy links on other sites. I'd advise a lot of caution. Make sure the site is related to your own, and don't overpay.

       Certainly, there are many more ways than that to get links. But that should provide you some ways that a site can build it's own unique link network.

       Establishing links is essentially just establishing your brand on the World Wide Web. If you had an automotive site, and you had links from 1000 other automotive sites, that'd be powerful. It's all about building your brand, via links.

       Reciprocation, to Your Mutual Benefit

       In the earliest days of the World Wide Web (around 1994, 1995), there were not any major search engines. Those had not yet been developed.

       But there were Websites, often run by Webmasters with a niche interest of some kind. These site owners realized that, in order to help their site visitors, they would compile a list of other sites in their realm of interest. Let's recall that the Web is just a set of HTML pages, connected by links. People want to know what is available, and navigate effectively.

       Many of these informal lists of links evolved into more formal directories, neatly categorized and well presented. The directories became focal points of the Websites that hosted them, with new additions being eagerly visited and reviewed, as an ever-expanding series of sites and pages were being developed. The WWW was building, one link at a time.

       You may recall that YAHOO! was initially started as a well-categorized link directory, and people flocked to it, in order to find what they wanted from the World Wide Web. Good directories are powerful.

       As more sites entered a particular realm of interest, they wanted to get listed in the existing directories for that realm. One of the prerequisites to get listed was often an act of simple courtesy. That is, if you link to my site, I'll link to yours, as long as both sides agreed that the exchange had some benefit to their our own site visitors.

       This practice of mutual link exchange is referred to as reciprocal linking, and it is a well-established practice that pre-dates every search engine.

       Alert site owners would compile lists of other sites within their realm that had link directories and that offered to reciprocate. They'd pursue these linking opportunities, and earn large numbers of links back to their own site in the process, thus building their own traffic.

       Keep in mind here that reciprocation requires that both parties place the link. If one side feels that the other site is not worthy, or not relevant, then there is no reciprocation. It was, and still is, editorially based linking for both parties. These days, passing that review can be considerable, as sites are wary of linking indiscriminately and off subject.

       Sites that pursued reciprocation found out early on that Google was a search engine that not only saw those links, but rewarded them as well. That continues to this day. Reciprocation was the primary traffic catalyst for a lot of niche interest Websites, before Google, and even more so after.

       Link popularity can build quickly within a niche, as the links are generally accessible to other sites within that niche, just for the asking. However, earning links from reciprocation sounds easy, but it takes good data management tools to do it effectively.

       Link Solutions The best links of all are the ones in which you do next to nothing to get. That happens when someone links to your site out of genuine goodwill. The problem is that doing next to nothing usually results in next to nothing, and it often takes forever to get nowhere.

       In order to earn links, you have to take some kind of action. You have to prompt someone, in some way, in order to get them placed. And links are usually not free for the asking. You often have to give something, to get something.

       Of the various methods of earning links that we have discussed above, all of them have certain attributes, such as:

· Cost - What does it cost to get and keep that link?

· Accessibility - Is the link even possible to get, then what are the criteria? Not all links are accessible to all sites, even within a realm. Links from competitors are usually not accessible.

· Time to Placement - How long will it take, if ever, to get that link?

· Stability - How long will that link remain in place?

· Relevance - How relevant is a link from that site to my site?

· Quality - Is the link from a legitimate site, or from a shell that was placed there only to provide links?