Increase Your Hub Traffic with Backlinks

I've been on Hubpages for almost a year now, but have just recently really started getting in the weeds about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and how to utilize backlinks to increase traffic to your articles. In this hub I explain the what, why, and how about backlinks. I also provide recommendations for my favorite backlink sites.

If you follow the video above, you'll get some slightly skewed results. I suggest you follow this format:

link "your url" (with the quotes)

Example:

link "http://hubpages.com/hub/Mens-Locker-Room-Etiquette"

This provides the exact information on who Google shows as linking to my Men's Locker Room Etiquette article. Cool, huh?

Backlinks are simply links from another site that link "back" to your article. For instance, if I go to digg.com and submit a new link to one of my hubs, this would be considered a backlink. The most common sites used for backlinking are known as social bookmarking sites. Social bookmarking sites are basically sites where any user can "bookmark" their favorite websites. All users can typically see other users' bookmarks and can "vote" on them if they enjoy the link. The more votes a particular link, or bookmark, receives the higher in popularity that link becomes, resulting in more traffic to the linked site.

There is really only one reason to use backlinks -- to increase traffic to your hub/article!

Backlinks increase traffic in two ways:

1. Members of the social bookmarking site you are using to backlink to your site may see your "bookmark" (backlink) and find it interesting. This is basically "spreading the word" about your article. This is particularly useful for niche social bookmarking sites. For instance, if you have hubs about cute kittens, it would be beneficial to find a social bookmarking site that is tailored to pets or even cats. Use Google to search for a niche social bookmarking site. If you can't find a niche social bookmarking site for your particular topic, you can use a generic social bookmarking site. Just be sure to "categorize" your backlink and use "tags" (keywords describing your content) appropriately. This helps focus users with interests related to your article to your backlink.

2. Google uses backlinks to calculate your rank (how high you place in the order) in search results. Not to get in the weeds too much on page ranks, but basically, the more backlinks you have, the closer to the top of the list you'll place based on related searches to your article's content. Basically, Google figures that if a lot of other sites are "backlinking" to your site, then your site must be fairly decent. Also, Google doesn't view all websites equally - each website is assigned a "page rank." Basically, the higher the page rank, the more Google values the site. This generally means you are better off placing your backlinks on social bookmarking sites that Google has assigned a higher page rank. Page ranks rate from 0-10, with 10 being the best. In my experience, a lot of social bookmarking sites with high Page Ranks are overly crowded and they really didn't do much for my traffic. I don't want to get too in the weeds with this now though; I have my own philosophy, based on my experience with Page Rank validity in relation to increases in traffic. I plan to write an article on this topic in the near future.

• redgage.com- I really like this site. The cool thing about redgage.com is you can share videos, pictures, links (backlinks), etc. And, you get paid for all your content. For instance, I've shared a few pictures and have made a few cents on each picture over a couple days - that's not a lot, but it's still pretty cool. I've also noticed that the members of redgage.com seem the friendliest of any site I've joined, minus Hubpages! If you're curious about redgage.com's Page Rank, it is 4. I just verified using the Google Toolbar.

If you're interested in a site's Page Rank, download the Google Toolbar and use it to check the Page Rank. In my experience, a lot of people merely pass along unverified Page Ranks as being true. Check for yourself - get the Google Toolbar here.

• shetoldme.com- this is a relatively new site that you can use for backlinking and both Google Adsense and Chitika revenue sharing. For more details, read this article on shetoldme.com I wrote the other day. shetoldme.com has a Page Rank of 5. Again, I verified using the Google Toolbar.
• xomba.com- this is another cool site. I like the layout of this site and xomba.com also shares Google Adsense revenue with you. A backlink on xomba.com is referred to as a "Xomblurb." Xomba's Page Rank is 5, again verified with the Google Toolbar.

• Backlinking - excellent advice from one of HubPages' most thorough researcher, and HupPages Elite, darkside!
• Wikipedia's Backlink info - decent definition of backlinks and how they relate to search engine rankings
  

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