Many webmasters who have been following the discussions about Google’s dislike of paid links have been confused about what constitutes bad links and good links, in the eyes of the search engine companies. In this article, I will seek to answer many of the questíons people have on this topic.

There are two kinds of links that you can pay to have made for you: rented or paid links, and permanent links.

Introduction To Paid Links, Or More Accurately Rented Links
With Rented links, you can generally make your purchase decision based on the PageRank of a page.

The downside with rented links is that Google has stated that they do not like links that are sold on the basis of PageRank, and they are trying to create systems to identify links rented for PageRank, for the purpose of discounting those links. While they may eventually be able to target and negate links developed by systems like Text-Link-Ads.com or TextLinkBrokers.com, they will never be able to completely identify and discount all links that are sold for the purposes of PageRank.

In the end, I suppose Google is not going to penalize the Source or Target websites for those links, but they will nullify the value of the individual links in the Google algorithms. Cutts suggested and implemented the “rel=nofollow” a while back as a tool webmasters could use for the purpose of identifying links for which the webmaster did not want to pass PageRank. The only thing that Google’s algorithm will actually do to links identified as rented or paid links is that it will treat those links as “rel=nofollow’s”. If Google succeeds in their quest, the webmaster buying the links will be throwing away his or her money, if they are buying placement on a webpage solely for the purpose of influencing PageRank.

The Story Of Permanent Links
The second kind of link is the permanent link. Permanent links come in many formats, and in most cases should generally be viewed as non-rental links. With rental links, you pay a fee for placement once a month, quarter or year.

Of course, the Yahoo directory is not viewed as a paid link by the Google engineers, because although you “pay” to get the link, Yahoo does not guarantee placement of your link in their directory. Instead, Yahoo says that we are paying them to “review our link.” This is why Google is not discounting links from the Yahoo directory. Those Yahoo links are nice to have, but they still do require a yearly review for commercial websites, which must be paid for on a yearly basis.

Permanent in all cases is in the eye of the beholder. Permanent as a rule in the Internet world means that you will not have to pay another fee later to keep that link on the page, where it will reside. In the context of links on the Internet, permanent actually means that the link will live at that location, until the webmaster who owns the website changes his or her website’s direction OR goes out of business.

In my experience, perhaps 10% of the websites where we get links placed will go under within one year. Towards the end of the second year, webmasters will look at their Profit/Loss and make a determination whether their income level will justify shooting for a third year of operation. Another 20% will close their website at the end of the second year run. So, 30% will drop out of business, within their first two years. Of the remaining 70%, many of those websites will survive to the fifth year and beyond. I don’t know how long one will be able to count on a permanent link just yet, but links that I built for myself in 1999 continue to produce traffíc for my websites today, and those links have sent me continuous traffíc for years.

Permanent, One-Way Links
Many permanent one-way links can be acquired on pages that currently have PageRank on them. In those cases, it may simply be a matter of your link being added to a líst of links already on someone’s web page.

However, any link created through a content development method, such as pay-per-post or article marketing, will be posted on a new page on the Internet. All new pages on the Internet begin life at PageRank Zero. It is like the birth of a baby. The baby begins small, but grows into a child, then a teen, and finally an adult. All article pages begin their lives at PageRank Zero, and most of those new pages will íncrease in PageRank as they age. Some web pages will nevër mature beyond PR1, but others can grow into pages that are as high as PR6 (at least that is the highest I have seen an article page to date).

If you trust Matt Cutts of Google, he has indicated that all new pages begin life at PageRank Zero and in the Supplemental Results. He also said that Supplementals are not the end of the road. Cutts stated that the only thing required to bring a web page out of the Supplemental Results is to have that web page gain PageRank. (For those curious why a page went from the Primary Results to Supplemental Results, the answer is that either Google began counting links differently OR the links that gave a web page PageRank no longer exist.)

Three Reasons Why Article Marketing Helps Link Building
My conclusion from this information, and I might be biased, is that the use of article marketing for link building is a positive in the Google algorithms.

• I conclude this because links developed through article marketing begin on pages that have a PR Zero. So, we are obviously not getting links placed on websites for the sole purpose of acquiring PageRank, not directly anyway. We are placing links for the sake of having links, but with good luck, many of those links will gain PageRank over the long haul.
• By the very nature of article marketing, we can ensure that the links we develop for our websites reside on web pages that are tightly focused and targeted to the content of our websites.
• Most websites that post articles do so through a process of moderation, meaning that all article placements have been human reviewed. That human review process at the other end of the transaction puts most article websites on par with Yahoo’s human-reviewed directory.

When we can get our keywords embedded into the link pointing to our websites, then that is always a much better deal. But, that outcome will be affected by the webmaster at the other end of the process. Each webmaster has his or her own rules for article placement, and some of those folks simply do not permit embedded keywords in our links, either in the body of the article or in the about the author information. A plain text link is better than no link at all, although we always strive to get embedded keywords in our links.

Final Thoughts
When you write a great article people will link to it, no matter where it may reside. So in time, the pages that house your article will gain PageRank. As the article’s author, you are in total control of the relevance of the web page linking to your website. Just as you are in control of relevance, you are also in control of whether people will choose to reprint your article.

Write a good article, and people will use it.

By Bill Platt
Bill Platt has been involved in article marketing since 1999, and he introduced his link building service in 2004. Bill employs article marketing in his link building efforts, and he guarantees embedded keywords in his links. He says, “Our link building service is not for everyone. Our service is more for the person looking for a permanent, long-term solution for their search marketing efforts.” Bill can be reached by telephone at 405-780-7745, Mon-Fri, from 9am-6pm. Learn more: http://www.LinksAndTraffic.com

Introduction
You’re website reads well and you’re proud of it. But, you’ve tried and tried to create something that looks good too, and you can’t seem to get it together. You’re waiting for rave reviews but none have come your way. Your website is a flop. Not to worry. You’re not alone. You want to fix it but you don’t have the big budget you need to hire a great web developer. Check out some simple ways you can improve your website and get it into better shape, now!

1. Balance your page
When users enter a website, their focus first starts at the top left of the page, and hovers there before slowly tracking to the right. Contrary to what many think, the web user is focused more on the text of the page, rather than images or graphics. This is where balance comes into place.

Balance will not only make your page more visually appealing, but it will make your page easier to read and items easier to find. A good layout will help the objects on your page to flow.

2. Keep it simple
Less is more. Clean your website up by removing all the unnecessary visual elements. This will allow important items to stand out. Leave some white space on the page. The illusion of space is visually pleasing, as well as easier to navigate. Otherwise, your visitor will get whiplash by darting their head from left to right in an attempt to look at all the information crammed on your screen. Or worse, they’ll click on out of there in a hurry.

3. Fix your fonts
The size and type of font you select will have an effect on how your reader takes in your information. What font should you use? San-serif fonts such as Arial and Verdana are popular choices for on-screen reading. And keep the size in mind too. The font size should be no smaller than 10 points and no larger than 14 points. You don’t want the reader to be able to read the information from across the room, but you don’t want them squinting and leaning closer to the monitor either.

4. Clean backgrounds
Go subtle. The background textures and colors you choose have the ability to gauge the overall appeal of the website. Lots of texture and graphics in the background can be distracting, and the more texture you add to the background, the less noticeable your text and images become.

If you’re going to use a color on the background, make sure there is a significant contrast between the background color and the text. Strike a good balance, or you may compromise the readability of the text. Make good choices. You will rarely go wrong with black text on a white background. It’s crisp, clean, and easy to read. Be cautious when using darker and brighter colors such as red or yellow. They cause visual fatigue and the reader will lose their focus on the text.

5. Graphics
Graphics are often overused on webpages. We often clutter the pages with objects that look cool but serve no purpose other than to increase the download time. Here are some instances where you can use graphics to enhance your pages:

• Logo – Your logo is your brand recognition and it adds visual appeal to your webpages.
• Title bars – The title bar lets your visitors know which page they are on.
• Horizontal rules – Graphic lines are often used to separate categories or sections of a webpage.
• Background images – Are used to add visual appeal or make a web site easier to navigate.
• Photos – Personalize a website and make it inviting.
• Navigation icons, such as `home’ and ‘back’ enhance a page because they are familiar and users anticipate seeing them.

6. Easy navigation
Create a toolbar with links that are easy to navigate. Position the toolbar in an area that makes sense. Web users often look for the toolbar across the top or down the left hand side of the page. Going with the norm will create a sense of familiarity and facilitate the ease of navigation. And don’t forget a link to your homepage. It’s often forgotten but very important to point your users to your home page. Check out www.invesp.com for an example of easy and well structured website navigation.

7. Text readability
You have great copy, but are you displaying it effectively? Make your pages easy to read. Break up blocks of text and create short paragraphs.

• Consider the key points on each page and create headings and subheadings.
• Only use one or two fonts. Select one font for your headings and subheadings and another for the body text.
• Highlight key words and phrases by bolding or using a different color. Be careful when selecting colors, and don’t use every color in the rainbow. Many, such as yellow and pink, don’t stand out well if you’ve selected a white or black background. 

8. Scrolling
Horizontal scrolling? Yikes. That needs to go, now! Users hate, hate, hate to scroll left to right. It’s disorienting and annoying, so if you’ve got it, lose it. Vertical scrolling is ok if you have to have it, but consider moving larger blocks of information to another page and providing links. There’s also the danger of missing vital information that falls below the screen if a user decides not to scroll down to view it. So if you’ve got to have a scrolling page, try to keep all your important information above the fold.

9. Make it quick
We all get impatient when it takes more than 5 seconds to connect to a website. Users want to make contact, and make it quick. Ensure that your pages load as quickly as possible. Eliminate unnecessary graphics, especially flash graphics…they can be time hogs. You need to make an immediate impression, and the only impression you’re leaving as your page slowly grinds in to view is “this page sucks”…if they’re still there to see it at all.

By Ayat Shukairy

Analyzing your web traffic statistics can be an invaluable tool for a number of different reasons. But before you can make full use of this tool, you need to understand how to interpret the data.

Most web hosting companies will provide you with basic web traffic information that you then have to interpret and make pertinent use of. However, the data you receive from your host company can be overwhelming if you don’t understand how to apply it to your particular business and website. Let’s start by examining the most basic data - the average visitors to your site on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

These figures are the most accurate measure of your website’s activity. It would appear on the surface that the more traffic you see recorded, the better you can assume your website is doing, but this is an inaccurate perception. You must also look at the behavior of your visitors once they come to your website to accurately gauge the effectiveness of your site.

Traffic Analysis
There is often a great misconception about what is commonly known as “hits” and what is really effective, quality traffic to your site. Hits simply means the number of information requests received by the server. If you think about the fact that a hit can simply equate to the number of graphics per page, you will get an idea of how overblown the concept of hits can be. For example, if your homepage has 15 graphics on it, the server records this as 15 hits, when in reality we are talking about a single visitor checking out a single page on your site. As you can see, hits are not useful in analyzing your website traffic.

The more visitors that come to your website, the more accurate your interpretation will become. The greater the traffic is to your website, the more precise your analysis will be of overall trends in visitor behavior. The smaller the number of visitors, the more a few anomalous visitors can distort the analysis.

The aim is to use the web traffic statistics to figure out how well or how poorly your site is working for your visitors. One way to determine this is to find out how long on average your visitors spend on your site. If the time spent is relatively brief, it usually indicates an underlying problem. Then the challenge is to figure out what that problem is.

It could be that your keywords are directing the wrong type of visitors to your website, or that your graphics are confusing or intimidating, causing the visitor to exit rapidly. Use the knowledge of how much time visitors are spending on your site to pinpoint specific problems, and after you fix those problems, continue to use time spent as a gauge of how effective your fix has been.

Additionally, web traffic stats can help you determine effective and ineffective areas of your website. If you have a page that you believe is important, but visitors are exiting it rapidly, that page needs attention. You could, for example, consider improving the link to this page by making the link more noticeable and enticing, or you could improve the look of the page or the ease that your visitors can access the necessary information on that page.

If, on the other hand, you notice that visitors are spending a lot of time on pages that you think are less important, you might consider moving some of your sales copy and marketing focus to that particular page.

As you can see, these statistics will reveal vital information about the effectiveness of individual pages, and visitor habits and motivation. This is essential information to any successful Internet marketing campaign.

Your website undoubtedly has exit pages, such as a final order or contact form. This is a page you can expect your visitor to exit rapidly. However, not every visitor to your site is going to find exactly what he or she is looking for, so statistics may show you a number of different exit pages. This is normal unless you notice an exit trend on a particular page that is not intended as an exit page. In the case that a significant percentage of visitors are exiting your website on a page not designed for that purpose, you must closely examine that particular page to discern what the problem is. Once you pinpoint potential weaknesses on that page, minor modifications in content or graphics may have a significant impact on the keeping visitors moving through your site instead of exiting at the wrong page.

After you have analyzed your visitor statistics, it’s time to turn to your keywords and phrases. Notice if particular keywords are directing a specific type of visitor to your site. The more targeted the visitor - meaning that they find what they are looking for on your site, and even better, fill out your contact form or make a purchase - the more valuable that keyword is.

However, if you find a large number of visitors are being directed - or should I say misdirected - to your site by a particular keyword or phrase, that keyword demands adjustment. Keywords are vital to bringing quality visitors to your site who are ready to do business with you. Close analysis of the keywords your visitors are using to find your site will give you a vital understanding of your visitor’s needs and motivations.

Finally, if you notice that users are finding your website by typing in your company name, break open the champagne! It means you have achieved a significant level of brand recognition, and this is a sure sign of burgeoning success.

By Don Resh