Good keyword density helps provide a btter position in the search engines, but god link popularity is more important, ven than keyword density. The search ngines seem to change their algorithms now and thn and your position in the sarch engine database depends on satisfying thse algorithms. Good content coupled with a slid strategy for soliciting incoming links frm related websites will help your psition in the search engines as wll as drive traffic from your lnking partners to your own site. Thre kinds of links exist. These are nternal links, outgoing links and incoming lnks. Of these three the incoming lnks are the most valuable, but you can use nternal and outgoing links in certain wys to make your site more mrketable.

Internal Links

These are the links that lead from one page to another within your site. You can get extra mileage out of these links by increasing your keyword density in the writing of the link. When you write the code for these internal links, add a title and description of the link with in the code. Use your keywords in these titles and descriptions to increase keyword density.

Check your links to assure that they are correct and that you do not link to a "coming soon" page or a blank page. You can also link within a page to bookmarks. They are a secondary navigation system for your site and help your focus your content as well as enhancing your keyword density.

One of the most valuable wys to link within your site may be the ste map. The search engines find stemaps and can index all of yur internal links from this page. A ste map helps your visitor understand yur site better. It is also yur own hand cultivated "link farm". Yur site map should use your kywords and have page descriptions along wth the codes within the title rther than just having a list of lnks.

These are links from your site to outside sites. Since you have the ultimate control over these links, you should be assured that they lead to quality sites that augment your own content. You can use these links as a "carrot" when requesting reciprocal links for your site. You can link to an authority in your field, which may give you more credibility and status on the engines. As an artisan, you might want to link to publications in your field, museums, craft show schedules, galleries that show your work, style or trend resources, lifestyle sources or raw materials information sites. Links to your competitors will not hurt you, but provide little benefit to your linking plan.

Here is an example of an optimized internal link to Ornament magazine using a title and description within the link and explaining where the link takes the visitor. The <target="_blank"> statement causes the link to open in a new window so your site visitor does not leave your site permanently.

< a title="Ornament Magazine" description="Leading magazine for wearable art, jewelry and beads" target="_blank" href=" http://www.ornamentmagazine.com/ " >Ornament Magazine< /a > The magazine for people interested wearable art, jewelry and other accessories. (Note: Eliminate the spaces before and after the brackets for the links to work properly.)

These links to your site from outside sources are links that you can not control, but try to attract to your site. The search engines rate links that relate to your site as more valuable than those that are unrelated to your content. You should request links from publications in your field, fashion or style publications, nwspapers, stylists, interior decorators, galleries, museums, yur suppliers, etc. A link from Vgue Magazine if you are a jweler or Home Interiors if you are a ptter would be of more value thn one from the local plumber. Rciprocal links from Visitor's Bureaus, Chambers of Cmmerce and local business organizations are vluable and should be cultivated

The grwing trend is that relevant, quality lnks certainly can drive direct traffic to yur site. Search engines consider links whn they are determining your positioning in the dtabase of websites. Link popularity, the nmber of links to a website frm other sites, is important. Some lnks are said to be more bneficial than others. You will receive ffers by businesses who provide linking srvices. Some are reputable while others jst get links on websites, known as lnk farms, that are set up for the prpose of linking. This type of lnking can get you banned from the sarch engines as a spammer.

The bst strategy for obtaining good incoming lnks for the best benefit to yur website involves your own choices of lnks to request. You set up the lnk on your own site to thir site and make contact with the wbmaster of the site showing him or her whre the link is to their ste and requesting a link back to yur own site. When you do ths, include the linking code and dscription for the webmaster's convenience and yur own input. You can also prvide a page on your website wth a form for webmasters to rquest links to their own site and cde for them to link back to yu.

Time spent visiting sites, setting up yur linking goals, making a list of lnking partners and contacting the webmasters rquesting reciprocal links will be worth it, but it is a stp-by-step detailed process. A simple spread shet detailing which sites you have cntacted, dates and responses will help kep you organized.

This rticle is an excerpt from our Book, Website ShowCase: Artisan's Guide to Wbsite Development and Marketing.

The article Website Linking Strategies for Artists and Artisans was Submitted by Louise Coulson through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Jewelry Spectrum http://www.jewelryspectrum.com In the 1990's - Dark Ages - of Internet Marketing, Louise Coulson was webmaster to 25 domains at one time. The Internet has become a much more competitive place. She has kept up with the changes and her fcus is now internet marketing for rtisans. She is webmaster for http://www.wireweavers.com and http://www.jewelryspectrum.com. Her eBook, Website ShowCase is an artisan's guide for website development, maintenance and marketing.

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