For those of you who may not be aware, Google has a set of Webmaster Tools available with web site recommendations on everything from content to structure to SEO.  Following the guidelines should help keep your site from getting dropped off of the search results entirely, keep you in the good graces of the search giant and maybe even help your rankings.  But recently, Google made a change to their paid link recommendations and it’s caused some concern in the search world.

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Google’s Webmaster Tools recently edited out two bullet points of recommendation:

• Have other relevant sites link to yours.
• Submit your site to relevant directories such as the Open Directory Project and Yahoo!, as well as to other industry-specific expert sites.

The removal of the first bullet point was done to discourage individuals from “forcing” other sites to link to you, or nagging them until they give in.  Google feels sites should want to do this naturally, which is true.
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If your content is good, and applicable to your audience, the free incoming links should be plentiful.  If you’re not getting enough links, try following these tips:

• Local Web Sites – Does your local newspaper have a listing of businesses in the area?  Are there organized groups in your area to assist consumers in finding companies like yours?  If so, get on these web sites by reaching out to them directly.  Make your case and you’ll likely get a link.  Just don’t nag.  If they don’t respond, move on to another opportunity.
• Industry-specific sites – If you’re not already listed, approach them for a link.  If you’re relevant to the industry and your content is good, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t include you.
• Social Bookmarking – Digg, Delicious, Reddit, StumbleUpon – If you publish articles, research materials or have a blog, make sure you have some kind of widget that lets your readers bookmark that article, paper or post to their favorite social bookmarking site.  Read more about getting started with Social Bookmarking (link to other blog post).
• Research your competitors – Find out who’s linking to them and, if it’s appropriate, approach the linking site for a link to your site.  To see who’s linking to your competitors, go to Google and type in:  Link:www.websiteURL.com.
• Set up business profile pages on Social Networking sites – Facebook, Linked In, MySpace, YouTube – if you have content others will find interesting, you can bet you’ll find value in promoting your profile page via these sites.

But the second bullet point is what begs the question “Are Paid Links Bad For My Site”?
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And, with everything pertaining to Google, the answer is “It depends”.
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It does not appear that Google will be penalizing sites with paid directory links, like the Yahoo Directory or the Open Directory Project, but the value those links might have previously provided could decrease or even become null.
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If you’re going to pay for links, here’s what to do and what not to do:

• Do evaluate paid link opportunities to judge if it’s appropriate for your target market, if it’s a site where you need a presence against competitors, or if you believe the paid link will bring traffic to your site.
• Do not pay for any services that promise thousands of links for a fee.  These are most often automatic submission services and the search engines can tell if your site suddenly increases its link popularity by 1,000 links overnight.
• Do not pay for a link simply to get a link. 

Lastly, when you get incoming links, make sure you’re using a keyword or two within the anchor text of the link – the actual text that links to your site.  Example:  Rather than using www.websiteURL.com as the link to your site, try using a phrase that includes a keyword you want to get ranked for.  i.e.  [Insert keyword here] Products and Services.

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