We all know it, links are absolutely crucial if a website is to do well on major search engines. There are naturally questions we get asked about links and link building - we have narrowed these questions down to the 'top 5'. These questions aren't necessarily ridiculous or obvious, but are the most commonly asked, therefore, i3Search.Worx shall answer them.

How many links does it take to get to first page of Google?

This is basically asking 'How long is a piece of string?' - no one can answer this accurately. 1 million or 1? Not until we analyse a specific industry, competing sites and look at their link profile can we even begin to understand the amount. Then again, is it the amount that's important? Do you think Google and the other search engines would make it that easy? Nope. Quality is also extraordinarily important. There are hundreds of variables that go into deciphering what makes a 'good link'. Some of these attributes consist of how many outbound links there are on a specific page that you are linking to? Too many can dilute the power of the link as the 'link love' is spread evenly amongst links - but even then, even the positioning of the link can play a big part in how much link love you actually receive from search engines. Then there's other factors such as relevancy, age of the domain you are linking to, how many inbound links THEY have - the list goes on. So the honest answer here is - noone will actually ever be able to tell you how many precisely, but through competitive analysis you can gain fundamental understanding of the task that lie ahead.

I am currently a PageRank 2 and want to be a PageRank 5 - How many links will this take?

The first rule of SEO club is, you do not talk about PageRank. Second rule of SEO club is, YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT PAGERANK. Far too many businesses put far too much emphasis on that little green bar in your web browser - STOP IT. PageRank reflects your importance to Google's index, but it DOES NOT mean that you will rank higher in the search engines. That's why you will find sites with a PageRank 3 outranking sites with a PageRank 5. There was a time where Google wore it's PageRank on it's sleeve, we then took that information and manipulated it - remember the days where you could buy a link on a PageRank 5 site and you'd rocket up the SERP's? Long gone - hence the reason Google DOES NOT show you it's inbound link count (at least not an accurate link count) - Search Engines just do not want to be manipulated and to say that's to keep a quality index, I am all for that. It makes for an even playing field. Just focus on building quality links, your rankings WILL follow - just don't take shortcuts.

Why can't I just build links to the homepage?

Simple, it's un-natural. Ok, so if a link counts as a 'recommendation' or 'vote' for a particular website, surely those votes won't just always be pointed to a homepage of a website? We call it 'spreading the link love' - each page deserves a vote or recommendation, each page deserves a link and the more natural that link profile looks the more chance you have of ranking well in major search engines. Think of an e-commerce site selling over 3000 items of clothing, you're telling me that the only decent page for someone to link to is the homepage? Hmmmm....

When can I stop link building?

Never. This is for the long term and is here to stay. I always use this as an idea of what I mean. Imagine your keywords and each individual company optimising around that particular keyword - it's basically a battlefield - thousands and in some cases millions of companies competing for the same keyword that is going to be mega lucrative to their business. As such if you were to stop link building, it gives others a prime opportunity to outrank you and believe me, they will. So you think if you are sitting at number 1 you will stay there with no off-page activity? Nope, noway. Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear, but link building will always need to be close to your website's heart.

How many links can I get for £1000?

I have a perfect answer for this - which you would prefer - 10,000 links that do nothing to improve your rankings or 1 that does? Fairplay, you probably wouldn't be happy with 1 link, but the point is - Quantity VS Quality - it's a big deal. Our ethos is, don't buy links. Simple. You'll never know what your getting exactly. Source them the proper way, create decent content, go out to relevant blogs and forums and talk to communities, become a 'blogger' in your niche - these links are almost guaranteed to be more authorative. Go natural, that's what we say.

Posted: 13/10/10 14:55