Link Popularity, link prominence or link reputation is one of the most important elements search engines use to know if a site is an authority site, that is a quality site. However, like all other search engine ranking criteria, webmasters have found ways to beat this hurdle of link popularity. They have done this by exchanging links with one another. This is called reciprocal linking. You link to me and I to you, and both of us have increased our link popularity by one.

Webmasters have realized the importance search engines attached to link popularity for top search engine positioning and have therefore resorted to reciprocal linking. However, in the near future this strategy will become obsolete, because these links are artificial links. Not generated voluntarily. And so they do not indicate a site as being an authority site.

How do you acquire these one way inbound links?

1. Provide some useful resource at your site. This is a very powerful incentive for webmasters to link to your site. More so, if this resource is free. It could be a free tool , free software download, free content etc. This gives an incentive for webmasters to point their visitors at this resource. Some the resources you could provide are:

(a) Link popularity check tool
(b) Meta tag generator
(c) Search engine page analyzer
(d) Free CGI scripts
(e) Search engine page ranking check tool etc.

For free and paid scripts go to Hotscript.com or Searchscripts.com. There, you will find all kinds of scripts that perform specific functions. Or you can hire a programmer to write a custom script for you. You will find programmers at many sites such as Elance.com.

2. Write good articles and submit to article sites, article syndicate sites and ezine announcement sites. Your article will be published along with your byline with a link pointing to your site. Make sure that the text link has your keywords in it and not your domain name. For example, <a href="http://www.your-web-site.com"> your keywords here </a> and not <a href="http://www.your-web-site.com">www.your-web-site.com</a>

Webmasters are always looking for good content for their websites . By stating in your article that your byline be left intact you will have many one way inbound links pointing at your site in no time. If you cannot write, hire a writer to write your articles for you. There are many places on the net where you can hire a writer for as little as 5 dollars per article. One of these places to hire a writer is Elance.com.

Writing in your area of expertise is better. Then you can present your own unique perspective to the topic. If it is not your area of expertise then be sure to research the topic very well . An incisive, well-written article will be snapped up and published by other webmasters, thereby increasing your link popularity considerably.

3.Participate intensively in newsgroups and discussion forums. By making good and valuable contributions (postings) you establish yourself as an expert. Always try to be different and stand out. Others will see this and check out your profile. This will lead them to check out your site and eventually link to it. If signature files are allowed in the forum use a well-crafted signature file that will pull forum members to your site.

4. Enter your site for an award at award sites. If your site is selected for an award, a link will be placed to your site and this will increase your one way inbound links.

5. Offer to provide testimonials for products you have purchased. Send the manufacturer of the product or service an email offering to provide a testimonial at his/her site or sales page in return for a link back to your site.

6. Submit your site to directories. Especially, niche or specialized directories. Regional directories are also okay. Submitting your site to specialized directories gives your site a greater chance of being picked up by the search engines than when you submit to a general directory. Also consider paying for submission to some important directories. For a fee, these directories will index your site in their database within two to five business days.

7. Consider hiring a link building company to do your link popularity campaign for you. For a fee they will typically guarantee a certain number of quality one way inbound links to your site. This might be expensive but the investment will surely pay off with traffic from free search engines.

8. Offer a discount to webmaster on services you provide at your site in return for a link from their sites.

9. Consider setting up an affiliate program. This is a very good way of rapidly building your link prominence. Make sure your affiliate software is hosted on your server. This ensures that your affiliates' links point back to your site . Using an affiliate service will most likely mean affiliate links will be pointing at their server, thereby depriving you of links.

Some points to note when building one way inbound links

Your link popularity increases as websites link to you. However, it must be said that it is not the number but the quality of the links that is important. That is, emphasis should be on quality and not quantity. Not all links are equal. Some are more favored (carry more weight) than others. Some of the things to keep in mind when carrying out inbound links are:

1. Look for quality sites to acquire links from. A link from Dmoz or Yahoo has more weight than one from a small private web site. Submit to free or paid listings in important directories.

2. The way other sites link to you is very important. Try as much as possible, to see that your keywords are in the text link that is linking to you and not your domain name. With your keywords in the text link it portrays your site as an authority site for the keyword.

3. Acquire links from complementary sites. Sites that are in the same industry as yours, but are not your competitors. Links from these type of sites have more weight than from those that are not related to your site.

4. Links from specialized or niche directories also carry more weight than those from more general directories, and your links are easier to find by the search engines.

5. If you have several websites, link them together in such a way that the links are one way inbound links, and not reciprocal links. Also don't share the same IP address for the sites. All the sites should have a unique IP address. This you can ensure by using a different host for each web site.

Conclusion

Acquiring one way inbound links is the future of link popularity. Sooner the search engines will recognize the artificial nature of reciprocal linking in judging authority sites and will discount this in their algorithm or award less points (weight) to reciprocal links. The methods listed above in acquiring one way inbound links are basic, must-do actions for every webmaster wishing to stay long at the top of the search engines.

The author has been earning his living online since 2000. For comprehensive home base business ideas check out one of his sites at http://www.ebizstartups.com There you will find solid, easy-to-do strategies for building a successful home base business