Link Popularity & Your FirmSite

There are many techniques that can be used to optimize Findlaw FirmSites. One technique you may not know of concerns something called “Link Popularity.” While the custom content on each page of your web site would be considered an on-page factor in your search engine rankings, link popularity is referred to as an off-page factor in the search engine world. Link Popularity is an important element in influencing a Web site's position in search engine result pages (SERPs). Top questions relating to link popularity are answered for you below.

1. What is link popularity and why is it important?

Link Popularity is a score that search engines give to a web site based on how many quality links are pointing to or linking to any particular page in your web site. The greater your link popularity, the more important, or relevant, search engines consider your Web site.

Good link popularity can dramatically increase traffic to your web site. Since most search engines factor in link popularity into their relevancy algorithms, increasing your link popularity score can help your web site’s position in the SERPS.

However, it is important to remember that each search engine’s algorithm is different.

2. Are there different types of links?

There are 4 main classes of links that contribute to your web site’s overall link popularity score:

• External/Outbound - An external link is a link on your web site that leads to an outside web site. This type of link is used when you want to provide additional or complimentary information to the user.
  
• Internal - Internal links are links on your web site that lead to other pages within your Web site. A good internal linking strategy will enable all of your pages to be found easily by both search engine spiders and users alike.
  
  
• Inbound – An Inbound link is a link on another web site that directs the user into your web site. Inbound links are important because search engines see them as being indicative to quality.
  
  
• Reciprocal/Link exchange – Reciprocal linking is when two or more Web sites agree to display each other’s Web site link somewhere on their site. (IE exchanging an outbound link for an inbound link)

3. Are some links better than others?

Yes, it is true that all links are not equal. The effectiveness of the link depends on the following factors:

• Relevance - A relevant link means that the link is on a page or web site that has the same subject matter as the page it links to. For example, a link for the state bar association page to an attorney’s web site would be a relevant link. A link from a local floral shop would not be relevant.
• Quality- A quality link means that the link is from a popular, well-visited web site.
• Link text - The text used to describe a link is important. You want to use relevant key phrases. For example, rather then a link that says “contact us,” using something like “contact a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney” will be more valuable. 

4. What exactly is PageRank and is it important?

PageRank is a measure of the relevance or importance of your web site to a user. It is based on the quantity and quality of inbound links as well as the content of the web site.

PageRank is a value from 0-10, with zero being the least significant and 10 being the most relevant. Very few web sites are able to obtain the highest ranking of 10.

PageRank is often abbreviated as PR, and Google determines this PR by evaluating how many web sites link to yours.

A link from a popular and well-visited web site can be invaluable if it sends you qualified traffic that converts into clients. The true value of a link has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with PageRank.

5. How do I view a web site’s PageRank?

The easiest way to view a Web site’s PageRank is by installing the Google toolbar.
Located on the toolbar is a PageRank slider.

6. What can I do to increase link popularity?

If you belong to a bar association, local chamber of commerce, or rotary club, be sure to update your online profile with them to include your Web site URL. If you teach CLEs, try to include your web address on your bio page on the sponsoring organization’s site.

Other ideas may be to write articles and allow them to be republished with your Web site URL, join online forums and place your Web site address in your signature line, or even start your own online Blog.

7.  How many links should my Web site have?

The number of links you should have is dependent upon the competitive nature of your Web site’s focus. If you check and see how many links your competition has, that will give you an idea of how many links you need in order to be competitive.

It is important to continually work on developing your Web site’s linking strategy. A good linking strategy will help with your Web site’s positioning in the search engines.

8. How can I find out how many links my Web site has?

Knowing how many Web sites link to yours, and increasing the number of quality links, is an important part of any Web site’s online marketing campaign. To find out how many links your Web site has, type the following into the search box:

link:yourwebsiteurl.com (for MSN or Google) 
linkdomain:yourwebsiteurl.com  (for Yahoo) 
(Example: Link:findlaw.com) 

Your link popularity total will often fluctuate from search engine to search engine. Each search engine will show a selection of the links they know of to your site, so any listing should not be considered absolute or complete. The search engines are constantly re-indexing and reorganizing their databases, so which links and how many a search engine sees pointing to your Web site can vary at any given time.

9. Is it possible to have too many links?

Yes and no. It has to do with the time it takes to accumulate the links in question.

The answer is no, if you acquire the links over the natural progression of a Web site’s existence (adding a few links at a time)

The answer is yes, if you accumulate an overabundance of links in a short period of time. This will trigger a search engine’s spam filter. This unnatural growth of links can be associated with “link farms” (a Web site that exists solely to link to other Web sites) and can be considered BAD in the eyes of the search engines. Some search engines penalize for this type of activity, and might even ban your Web site from their index.

10. What does FindLaw do to help increase link popularity for Firmsites?

An important thing to remember about inbound links is that they are best developed by the owner of the FirmSite – meaning the attorney or law firm the site describes. This is because each attorney knows best what professional organizations and civic organizations are available to them, and what professional contacts may be appropriate to request an inbound or reciprocal link with.

FindLaw provides an inbound link by adding your Web site URL to your findlaw.com profile.

It is very important that your Web site is listed in the world’s major search engines and directories. For this reason, FindLaw submits your Web site to dozens of search engines and directories.

Search engine marketing is an organic process and there are no guarantees in positioning. FindLaw abides by an SEO Code of Ethics that condemns the “whatever it takes” approach to optimization. We take an honest, ethical approach to helping our clients perform well in search engines and have seen great success.