We have all heard everyone say that quality inbound links are crucial to any search engine optimization campaign. But that said, what exactly qualifies as a quality link? Is it just a link from a PR6 site or higher? Is it a link from a site that ranks for your chosen keywords? Is it a site that sells links through a text link broker? You would probably be surprised that the answer can be yes or no, but it is up to you to identify what makes a quality link and one makes a link you’d be better off passing on.

There are many factors that can go into identifying what makes a quality link from a site. Let’s look at some of the things that makes a link a quality link and how to know if there are potential buyer-beware issues for each.

How does the site rank? Does the site rank well for competitive keywords within the search engines? Is this a site you have been aware of being in the space for a while, or did it suddenly pop up in the search results very recently?

Does the site have decent PR? While the lack of PR might not necessarily mean a bad site, getting a link from a high PR page that passes PageRank is often a great linking opportunity.

How well does the page you are being linked from rank? Is it a new page or one that has been indexed for a while? Check the site’s robots.txt and the meta robots tag to avoid any surprises.

Are the outgoing links set to no follow or going through an internal hoplink script, such as through an internal ad tracking server scipt? No follow links won’t pass the link juice on to your site, and while some internal hoplinks do pass the juice, not many do.

How deep is your link? If your link is stuck two or three directories deep, it won’t be as useful a link to you as one found on the homepage or one directory level deep.

Is the site spammy? Do a spam check on the potential link site. Any hidden text or divs? Does it already have a collection of outgoing links to off-topic sites like viagra or texas holdem? If so, this is the kind of site to avoid.

Check the backlinks to both the site in question and the page your link will appear on. Does it have a slew of spam trackbacks as backlinks? Or does it have quality incoming links of the variety you’d be happy to have for yourself?

Check the site’s cache. Again, best to avoid surprises when you discover the site that served you quality content was actually serving Google a spammy doorway page with thousands of keywords stuffed inside. And along the same lines, do a check in archive.org to double check that the site hasn’t rebranded itself after years as a adult, pharmaceutical or gambling website.

Is the site in the same market area as the site you are wanting a quality link for? Getting a link from a pregnancy site for your baby name site is far more beneficial than getting a link from an XBox 360 gamer site, even if that site has slightly higher PR.

Is it your URL that is being linked to or will you have anchor text? Search Engine Optimization Consultant is far better in terms of anchor text than if I was linked to simply with http://www.JenniferSlegg.com.

Is the link within the content of the site, or is it listed in a sidebar or footer with other sites? Getting a link that is embedded right within the article on the site, with your chosen keywords linked, is far better than being listed in an obvious link exchange or sold text links listed in the sidebar.

How many external links are located on the page your link will be on? The fewer non-authority links, the better. And if you are purchasing the link, try and negotiate an exclusivity deal. If the link is an absolute gem, it is worth its weight in gold to not only see your link be the only link on the page but to prevent your competitor’s from getting a link from the same site as well (which definitely happens).

Is it a one-way link or does it require a reciprocal link. While there is still some value in reciprocal linking, one-way links are the golden child of links because in a sense that site is vouching for the quality of your site, rather than it being a “I’ll only be your friend if you’re my friend too” situation.

Is your link going to be on a page that is titled “Link Exchanges” or “Link Partners” or on a URL that ends with links.html or something similar? Again, you’d be better off getting links from a page or site that doesn’t blatantly advertise that it is a links page.

Is it in the same IP block as other links you have previously obtained? It is best to gather your links from unique IP blocks, and to definitely avoid getting links from sites all hosted on the same shared IP. If too many of your links come from a single IP, the links could be discounted or even cause your site to be penalized.

Is it a paid link from a text link broker company? Tread carefully. While some of these paid links will pass scrutiny as well as PR beautifully, it doesn’t take much to expose sites selling links through link sale companies, especially when they reveal their text link inventory complete with sites that are selling links. That said, you can definitely pay for links and avoid penalty. However, this is primarily by approaching webmasters who do not go through brokers who reveal their link inventory (going direct rather than through a middleman) or through smaller personalized text link sellers.

Of course, even with all these criteria for the things that make a quality link, there are definitely sites that seem to fall well within one of the above categories, yet are definitely not a great link source, such as a high PR page that has been tagged with selling PageRank so that it no longer passes link juice. Sometimes it will simply be a case of trial and error, or if you happen to know webmasters who already have a link on the page, to ask if they found it beneficial in their link campaign.

Quality links are a very effective search engine optimization technique for webmasters. Great quality links can be priceless and there is the definite thrill in finding a free or inexpensive quality link that has gone undiscovered until now. Building your link campaign for your site is one of the best things to do, despite the fact it can also be one of the most tedious and boring jobs for optimizers. So hopefully these tips will make it easier to identify those quality links and leave the ones that you are better off leaving for your competitor to find.

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Written on April 5, 2007 at 5:20 pm and filed under Linking, Search Engine Optimization. You can make a comment, or trackback from your own site.