How best to use Links By Clare Lawrence 21st August 2003 Introduction
Google is
world’s leading search engine and it measures link popularity as a key component of its ranking algorithm, using what is calls PageRank.
Read following quote from Google’s advice to webmasters:
www.google.com/technology/index.html
PageRank Explained PageRank relies on uniquely democratic nature of web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes page that casts vote.
Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important." Important, high-quality sites receive a higher PageRank, which Google remembers each time it conducts a search. Of course, important pages mean nothing to you if they don't match your query.
So, Google combines PageRank with sophisticated text-matching techniques to find pages that are both important and relevant to your search. Google goes far beyond number of times a term appears on a page and examines all aspects of page's content (and content of pages linking to it) to determine if it's a good match for your query.
Integrity Google's complex, automated methods make human tampering with our results extremely difficult. And though we do run relevant ads above and next to our results, Google does not sell placement within results themselves (i.e., no one can buy a higher PageRank). A Google search is an easy, honest and objective way to find high-quality websites with information relevant to your search.
Sites with many relevant and quality links are awarded a higher page rank than those with less relevant and lower quality links. Developing a strategy for improving use of links is therefore very important if you want a good ranking in Google.
Beware of link farms or link exchange programs Google’s advice to webmasters is clear www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html · Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's ranking or PageRank. In particular, avoid links to web spammers or "bad neighborhoods" on web as your own ranking may be affected adversely by those links. · Don't use unauthorized computer programs to submit pages, check rankings, etc. Such programs consume computing resources and violate our terms of service. Google does not recommend use of products such as WebPosition Gold™ that send automatic or programmatic queries to Google.
