Search engines know the reputable sites in most fields, so by linking your site to these reputable sources your site is likely to also be recognised as a reputable source. “If you don’t link out to anybody,” Clay said, “It’s the kiss of death.”

A method of ranking based on linking – known as PageRank – was the prime reason behind Google’s success as a search engine. They’ve got extensive information about how it all works – at a high level of course – on their website. While the concept is patented, I expect most other engines use a similar method of link analysis in their engines to improve their results.

Given PageRank rates your site higher based on the more links you have coming into you, try and have other websites link to yours. And when people link to your site, make sure the “anchor text” (the words within the linking text) is extremely relevant to your website and business.