How Do I Optimise my Website for the Search Engines?

B) Off-site factors for SEO:

We could write 10 pages on the importance of backlinks in ranking high in the search engines, and you should read the discussions in our SEO forum, for advanced discussions and tips of any backlink campaign.

We'll summarise here by saying; get backlinks, backlinks and more back links to your website.

A backlink from another website is a vote for your site, and increases the worth of your site in the search engines.

A backlink can be something as simple as: "Here's a great website; http://www.example.com"

But the most effective backlinks have your keyword phrase in the link (or anchor text), like this: "Here's a great website about blue widgets"
where "blue widgets" is the keyword phrase you are targeting.

Get backlinks by:

• Submitting your site to web directories.
  
  
• Writing internet press releases eg at http://www.prweb.com
  
  
• Writing articles with a link to your site and publishing them on the web via article directories.
  
  
• Forum signatures.When you join a discussion forum, you are encouraged to place a link to your site so that forum members can have a look at your site.
  
  
• Forum signatures also count as backlinks in many search engines, but make sure it's a relevant forum you are joining.
  
  
• Also you have to contribute in the forum. If you write specious, unhelpful comments to try and build up signature links, you will be banned from that forum!
  
  
• For more advanced webmasters only: you can write to other webmasters and ask them to put up a link to your site in exchange for a link from your site. There are dangers though, and you should learn a liitle more SEO before attempting to get backlinks via this method.

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