When trying to achieve higher ranks on search engines, link popularity is a big factor. Basically, it is a measure of how many links are pointing to your website. The more the better and there are many ways to accomplish this.
One well known method is submitting to any and every free directory you can find with hopes that search engine spiders will find you within these directories. Another good method is regularly posting to message boards and forums making sure to include your URL in your signature line. Most posts of this nature are permanent and will eventually be detected by spiders. Not to mention, this is a pretty good form of free promotion! Also, starting an affiliate program can also work pretty well for you. As you recruit affiliates, they will put their affiliate link on their website and as long as the link is point to your domain, it will build your link popularity. Running an affiliate program through companies like ClickBank won't help your rating because all affiliate links point to ClickBank, not your website. These are three easier ways to go about getting incoming links, but unfortunately not everything is easy.
Trading links with other websites is a good way to establish link popularity, but it does take a little work. When making link partnering decisions, start by survey websites and their content. Make sure that a website draws the right audience for your product or service. Once you find a site that looks good, email the owner. There are tons of thing you could say to convince this person to trade links with you, but consider this format:
Dear (first name or website name),
(Compliment to their site)
(Offer link partnership)
(Tell about your site. Describe products/services)
(Benefits)
(Signature)
If I was writing a letter to another website to request a link partnership with VisitorFinder.com, I might write a letter like this:
Dear xyz.com,
After passing by your site, I couldn't help but noticing your outstanding design. Your layout is handled very well and includes a lot of rich content. I would very much be interested in trading links with xyz.com.
My site, http://www.visitorfinder.com offers guaranteed traffic, banner advertising, and email marketing. I also offer monthly subscription packages that act as one stop solutions for any size business.
I believe that our sites cater to the same general audience and that we could both benefit from a link exchange. If you are interested, I would like to talk with you further regarding this matter. Feel free to email me at sales@visitorfinder.com, or contact me directly by phone at 812-841-5526. I will be looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Kyle Smith
VisitorFinder.com
http://www.visitorfinder.com
If you're having trouble finding words, feel free to copy and paste the example letter I wrote. Just be sure to insert your own information! Anyhow, I hope these tips prove helpful to you on your quest for link popularity.