The Psychology of Linking

Since we have established the importance of links, the next logical question is how to go about getting them.

Why Are Links Created?

It is important to step back and examine why links are created in the first place. Why did a given person decide to link to that particular website? There are many possible reasons:

  1. The publisher was paid for the link. Although this is a perfectly legitimate reason, in the search engines’ eyes it carries no editorial value (and search engines may even penalize sites for linking or acquiring links in this fashion).

  2. Links were traded between sites. Also called reciprocal linking, the practice of trading links between sites is popular. However, search engines view this as barter and therefore as having limited editorial value.

  3. Something on your site triggered an emotional reaction from the publisher, causing her to link to your site. For example, perhaps your site had the funniest cartoon the publisher had ever seen, or it offered an inflammatory political opinion.

  4. The publisher saw something of value on your site and wanted his site’s visitors to know about it. The majority of the highest-value links are given for this reason.

  5. A business relationship came into play. For example, you may have a network of distributors and resellers for your product. Do they all link back to you?

How Can Sites Approach Getting Links?

The keys to acquiring links are points 3, 4, and 5 in the preceding list. Understanding these link triggers is the key to ...

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