Inbound links are one of the most important factors that Google uses to determine the position of a website in the search results. Some years ago, it was sufficient to get a lot of inbound links to top Google’s search results. Nowadays, it’s not that easy. Google has started to detect unnatural linking patterns. So what is an ‘unnatural linking pattern’? They are links that have no topical relevancy and exist solely to increase the search engine ranking of the website.
Links that are useful to web surfers are links that search engines find relevant. Therefore, it is extremely important that new inbound links are topically relevant to your website. A link from another attorney, legal association, or legal directory would all be considered relevant. A link from a patio-furniture store would not. In fact a non-relevant link from a patio furniture store will actually hurt your ranking. This is why you want to avoid anyone promising lots of inbound links within a short period of time. They are likely link farms that will get your site in trouble with the search engines.
So how do you know who is linking to you? Input your firm’s URL into the website www.linkpopularity.com, and click on the Yahoo results page. This will give you a pretty accurate picture of your inbound link profile. If you need help with adding quality links to your firmsite or removing bad ones, contact me and I will be happy to help.