Increasingly search engines are trying to adjust their algorithms to provide more meaningful results for users. Better results will encourage more loyalty and users will use their search engine more frequently.

But how to deliver better results...? If a site attracts lots of visitors (i.e. is popular), then the content must be good. So Search Engines are favouring "popularity" as a major factor in determining their rankings. DirectHit even looks at how long a user stays on a site - the longer on a site the more useful it must be! So good content is key too!

So if popularity is so important - how can a site improve it s popularity? Well, the most frequent method is to set up reciprocal links between sites. Write to other webmasters to offer the exchange of links. Try to choose sites which are popular (unfortunately, this is often more difficult). Effective but time consuming!

An approach that many sites try is to join a "link farm". Web sites that create link pages which you have to host on your site in an reciprocal agreement. Unfortunately, search engines frown on this activity and have been known to ban participating sites from their search engine listings.

So be wary!

mySearchEngineRanking.com utilise dynamic portal and directory pages. Each page contains categorised links to various sites. The information is useful and search engines are less inclined to take any action.

Each site contributing to the directory / links pages also hosts the same dynamic pages. As you join the scheme, your site is added to the "database", and the dynamic pages will display your link. Search engines spider the pages and your popularity increases.