But a good linking strategy is necessary to build link popularity - a measure of popularity of a website based on number of

other website's linking to it. And at same time it has become very difficult to compete on internet with websites that have

1000s of backlinks, sites that have their carefully chosen anchor text firmly in place.

So let's do math. If you as a webmaster were to gain one new link to your site every day for one year you would only have 365

backlinks. Even with a more optimistic 2 links a day we are still only talking about 730 links. They may seem like a lot but in real

world of internet and depending on keywords you are competing for, you may need hundreds or even thousands more.

Why? Because link popularity is ultimate tool in achieving ranking. Link popularity is measured by number and quality of

inbound links to your site. The more you increase link popularity of your web site, probability of maintaining a higher search

engine position for a longer period of time becomes more likely. Inbound links help to attain high search engine rankings for your web

site, while producing traffic from visitors clicking through on links themselves.

So you have a dilemma. You need hundreds maybe even thousands of inbound links to your site. But how can one individual possibly

achieve this goal given numbers of backlinks needed and hours it takes to accomplish such a task?

Here are 5 questions to flex your mental muscle to. The answers and explanations are at end - no cheating now!

RULES: There are no trick questions. You cannot ask audience but I welcome you to 'Phone a Friend' (and forward this article onto them!).

*Question 1:

"What happens if you submit your website to Google more than once?"

A. Nothing.

B. You are at risk of being penalised for multiple submissions

C. Your submission is bumped to back of queue

*Question 2:

"According to a survey conducted by AC Nielsen in December 2004 what did people state as their primary reason for doing their Christmas shopping online?"

A. Saves time

B. Better prices

C. Ability to find a more personalized gift

*Question 3:

"In Internet terms, what is a 'spider'?"

A. It's a virus that spreads using loopholes in certain web technologies

B. It's a software tool that search engines use to retrieve information from websites

C. It's another word for a person that browses websites

*Question 4:

"What is industry average click through rate for banner advertisements? I.e. what percentage of all banner ads are actually clicked on?"

A. 0.39%

B. 1.39%

C. 2.39%

*Question 5:

"According to latest research from Computer Industry Almanac what was worldwide online population in 2004? I.e. how many of people, worldwide, accessed Internet at some point in 2004?"

A. 934 million

B. 714 million

C. 579 million

**THE ANSWERS

Q.1 - "What happens if you submit your website to Google more than once?"

A. Nothing.

Google doesn't mind how many times you submit your website. However there are search engines out there that will penalise you for submitting too often. This is what Google says about submitting to its site:

"You are free to submit as often as you wish. However, given nature of our inclusion process your time is better spent improving content and links of your site."

Q.2 - "According to a survey conducted by AC Nielsen in December 2004 what did people state as their primary reason for doing their Christmas shopping online?"

A. Saves time

78% of 1007 people surveyed gave ‘Saves time' as their answer when asked their reasons for shopping online. The survey findings:

Reasons for Shopping Online: