In the past I’ve used a number of tools and plugins to determine this but it wasn’t till recently that I found the perfect tool to fit this task perfectly. This tool was FoxyRank for firefox.

Link building factors that came to mind;

• Does the page you’re getting a link from have PageRank?
• How many other links are on the page?
• Does the site appear to be trustworthy?
• Is the page relevant?
• How long will it take me to require the link?
• Can I use anchor text?

Analyzing Hundreds of Factors

These where just some of the factors that came to my mind right away. As with any part of SEO there is no single factor. The truth is there are hundreds of SEO factors and a lot of it comes down to a sixth sense that is acquired after doing SEO for a while. After creating your own sites and analyzing others you can quickly see strong and weak points on your sites and the sites which link to you.

So What is the Most Important Factor?

If I was forced to pick the single most important factor when building links I would have to say relevancy. The reason for this choice is because this is exactly what search engines are trying to provide to their users whether it’s Google, Bing or Twitter search they all want to provide the best answer to the users query so that the user continues to use their service. If you ensure that your website is relevant and the links to your website are also relevant then you’re on your way to building a strong online presence.

Thanks!

1. Google Local (PR 8/10) – Google maps is quickly becoming the most widely used and accessible mapping applications. By listed your website in Google local you get additional search engine rankings within Google search results. Also it allows customers to post reviews of your business and these can be very valuable to potential clients.
2. Yahoo Local (PR 7/10) – Yahoo has been around for a very long time and shows no signs of stopping. This has the same benefits as Google Local plus a few more bells and whistles.
3. Dmoz (PR 8/10) – The Open Directory Project is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory found on the Web. If your website makes it into this directory this gives your domain a boost in overall trust. It may take anywhere from 2 weeks to a few months before your website shows up so please be patient.
4. LinkedIn (PR 8/10) – LinkedIn is a fast growing social network for business professionals. A link isn’t the only thing that can be valuable to your business you can network with other business and find potential clients. Get you and your co-workers on this network and you could have a few links in no time.
5. mixx (PR 7/10) – This is one of the most popular social bookmarking sites out there and it doesn’t hurt that it has high page rank and the links pass juice. Social Bookmarking is a great way to syndicate/promote your website content and have it quickly crawled by search engines.
6. propeller (PR 8/10) – Another popular social bookmarking website that is powered by AOL, who also bought Netscape. Links from this site will index quickly and are considered very authoritative.
7. ezine articles (PR 6/10) – Arguably the most used and highest ranking article submission service available. You have probably seen an ezine article in your search results before so get your website involved and add your own.
8. PRWeb (PR 7/10) – Their website says it best: ” a leader in online news and press release distribution, has been used by more than 40,000 organizations of all sizes to increase the visibility of their news, improve their search engine rankings and drive traffic to their Web site.”
9. Better Business Bureau (PR 8/10) – a link from here won’t be free but getting your business listed in the Better Business Bureau is a smart move for any business.

Building links is essential to your strength within major search engines. By placing a link to your website on these major authorities you can get your website on highly important websites. Each link will count as a boost in your overall web authority and Google page rank but your SEO doesn’t end there. Make sure your website has a plan and presence to keep it’s importance relevant and on-going.

Even before Google’s algorithm came around, links were still a very important part of increasing your online visibility. Just ask link building expert Eric Ward who’s been building links since 1994.  Before search engines became your internet portal people would travel from one site to another through links and nearly every website had a page dedicated to linking to related pages or sites the webmaster just happened to like.

Link and be Linked to
Those days are long gone and having a page just for external links is usually frowned upon by SEOs and search engines, but don’t let that get you down. When you’re making your next blog post, filling our your next social media profile or making your next forum post remind yourself to think links. Every contribution you make online is an oportunity for a link or to build a relationship for a potential link in the near future. When publishing content to your website don’t be afraid to link to other websites as a reference(as long as they are trust worthy) because they may find out and link to you in-return.

Set Link Goals
Like many, you probably spend an hour or two reading and contributing online. Try this;  make a note to keep links in mind and look for 1, 2, 3 or 4 link opportunities a day; dofollow or nofollow.

Let me know how it goes!