Ever since Google introduced its 'Page Rank' system, which places the value of incoming links to a site as a 'vote' for that site's importance on the internet, webmasters and website owners have been scrambling to gain more and more incoming links to their websites. In the Google system, the more incoming links you have to your website the more valuable that website is seen to the internet community at large. As such it gains a higher 'Page Rank' and is placed higher (ie near the top of the first page) within Google's result system.

The truth, however, is that not all incoming links to your site have the same weight and that non-reciprocal links to your site are given far more weight than reciprocal links (those links you trade for). As a result, if you want good ranking for your site you will need to pay attention to these non-reciprocal links. Below are some methods for attracting and/or attaining these links.

1. Get your site listed in the major directories.

Of the various free directories on the web, by far the most important ones at this time are Yahoo! and the Open Directory Project (dmoz.org). Yahoo! is one of the oldest on the net and despite the levying of a fairly hefty $299 fee for inclusion a link to your site from Yahoo!'s main directory can still do wonders to boost the standing of your website. In contrast the Open Directory Project is free of charge to join and is edited by volunteers. This does mean that listings are scrutinized and if you don't have original content then it's unlikely that you will be included. In addition, the number of new sites available is far greater than than the volunteer editors have opportunities to deal with so it may take months for your site to be included. Despite this, however, inclusion is well worth the effort and you should definitely persist. Inclusion in Yahoo! and the Open Directory Project can make a huge difference to your page ranks and your placing on Google's result pages.

2. Get your site listed in directories relevant to your product or service.

There are many resource directories that serve particular areas of interest. If you offer software that would be helpful to webmasters, for example, then do a search for webmaster resource directories and you will find sites where you can add your URL. Do you have a hotel? Then, find travel directories, and apply to be listed. You will have to spend time, but once again persistence will pay off, not only in improvement of your page rank but listing in specific industry or product oriented directories will bring you targeted traffic-people particularly interested in what you have to offer.

3. Get your site listed in directories where you can pay for placement.

There are many directories where you can pay $1 to have your site included with a brief description of the site. These are great for giving you cheap non-reciprocal links. The only problem is that Google only indexes the first 100 links on a page. As a result, if the site doesn't split listings into sub-pages your site may simply drop off the list! Also, the more general the site the better for your link. A site that also offers links in conjunction with, say, a charity campaign can do wonders for your site both in terms of linkage with the charity or campaign and the number of people who view your site. $1 is a cheap price for good will and the kudos that goes with it.

4. Write Articles for Publication.

This is an excellent way of getting your site noticed. You write articles either to article directories such as this one or to newsgroups or blogs or even other websites. Indeed, there are millions of websites on the web, and many are hungry for quality content. As you have published your own website and have something to offer, this makes you an 'expert' in your particular field. Use this expertise to write simple, but useful articles in your field and send these to other webmasters. If they publish your article, they will include your 'resource box' with a link back to your site. The link will once again boost your Page Rank, but just as importantly, it will establish you as an authority in your field and will help "brand" your product or service.

5. Get your Product or Service Reviewed by other Websites.

If you have published an e-book or have an information product or software service available then you could offer a free copy to any websites with similar themes or content to yours. If they look at your product and write a review then you will gain a free link back to your website. You can also take these reviews and publish them on your own site, which gives additional veracity to your own claims about your product.

6. Improve the content on your own site.

The old adage that 'content is king' remains a truism for the internet. One of the best ways to improve Page Rank is to get organic links to your various pages. This happens if you have unique content, information and/or services. Others who come across these will publish information about them in blogs, newsgroups or on their own websites. This therefore gives you a large number of in-bound links based solely on how good your information or service is. Indeed, if your site is filled with interesting articles, reports, data and reference material then you will get links without even asking for them. You can add content to your site, by writing and publishing your own articles, the same ones that you will offer to other sites, as well as by publishing the articles of others.

By follwing these steps you will soon see new links into your website and your page rank and therefor search engine placement will increase as a result.