Why Inbound Links are SO Important to Your Website

First, let's define an 'inbound, or incoming link'. An incoming link is a link on SOMEONE ELSE'S web site that directs visitors who click on it, to YOUR web site. Here's an example from text on the Cotopaxi Arkansas River KOA website on the page that talks about all the things to do while staying at their campground, under the 'Fishing' header:

"Brown and Rainbow Trout predominate, ranging from small fish, up to 22 inches long and maybe longer! You can catch-and-keep fish with bait here on the campground, and for miles up and down the river. There are catch-and-release, artificial waters nearby. Licenses are required for people 16 years of age and older. Check with the Colorado State Division of Wildlife for specific rules and regulations. For guided trips, supplies and information, we recommend Royal Gorge Anglers of Canon City."

The KOA site links directly to Royal Gorge Anglers' web site, so this is an 'inbound link' for Royal Gorge Anglers.

Why is that such a great thing for Royal Gorge Anglers? *TRAFFIC* is what it's all about. People visiting the KOA web site and interested in fishing while in the area will click on the Royal Gorge Anglers link there. Royal Gorge Anglers gets web traffic interested in the information and products their site has to offer. Interested traffic is always the best kind of traffic to get. Some estimates put the percentage of internet traffic resulting from this kind of link as high as 21% of total traffic.

Ok, so you now have an inbound link. Why would people click on it? One reason is they may see it as an endorsement. They're not from around here and don't know where to go for advice and services on fishing this area. By putting a link on its website, KOA has in effect told their visitors that "We know this company and think you'll find their web site helpful." Another reason is just plain old curiosity. If there is a link, especially in the text of the page, folks will click on it just to see what it's about - mainly because the site they're visiting put it there.

Inbound links are important in 3 ways:
1. They drive interested web traffic to your site, where you might not be found any other way. A link on a camping website is convenient for them to follow. Otherwise, they have to go to a search engine and take their chances on getting relevant results.

2. A link to your site from another tells the search engines that your site is relevant to the context. The Royal Gorge Anglers inbound link is in the KOA text about Fishing. That says to the search engines that Royal Gorge Anglers is about fishing, or an endorsement to the search engines about the relevance of your site to that keyword.

3. Once you get several inbound links, and I'm talking about 50-75 here, you'll get more traffic. If you get more traffice, the search engines make note of that as well, and rank you higher in their results for that key word or phrase. Their idea is "If so many real people are visiting this site for fishing information, it must be relevant to fishing."

Ok, now maybe I've convinced you that inbound links are important. You next question should be: What's the best way to GET inbound links? Stay tuned, the next article will go into detail on that....