Text Link Ads - Cost and Results

All of these concepts are important when determining the quality and quantity of links to purchase; however, perhaps the most important aspect of this entire discussion is determining a reasonable price for link ads.

Most link brokers charge a flat monthly rate. This rate is based upon a number of factors including PageRank, location of the link on the page and relevancy of the site. Although not the sole factor in determining a page’s popularity, PageRank is still an important measure of a site’s significance. Higher PR sites are generally priced accordingly. Regarding location, text link ads placed in an area of high visibility on a page are generally more expensive as well. The content of the site also is a determining factor in the price of text links. Some websites, with themes such as gambling, travel and education, are more valuable because they either have a high volume of traffic or increased level of respect.

Patience is the key to success

Although it is natural to want an immediate return on one’s investment, the true benefit of an effective link strategy can take as long as 90 days to become apparent. There may be an immediate up tick once links have been purchased, but this effect almost always dissipates within a few days. Generally, there is lag time between the addition of a link and its inclusion as a factor in a search engine’s algorithm.

Once a strategy is in place and links have been purchased it is important to track the results and determine benefit over time. Primarily there are three tools used to determine the effectiveness of link purchases -- link popularity, search engine rankings and site traffic.

Regarding link popularity, the easiest way to check the quantity of back links is as follows…

· Type “Link:http://www.YourSiteHere.com” into the search box of any of the three major search engines.

· A results page will display the total number of back links, as well as the individual listing of the link addresses and site descriptions.

As mentioned previously, search engine rankings can take up to 90 days to display a full and valid measurement of a particular website. As for traffic to the site, there are several tools that can be incorporated into a site which analyze not only the number of visitors to a site, but various other bits of information, such as browsers and operating systems being used by visitors to the site.