Link Popularity : Almost all of search engines use link popularity in their ranking algorithms. Google uses it as one of the most important factor in ranking sites. HotBot, AltaVista, MSN, Inktomi, and others also use link popularity in their formulas. Developing and maintaining it are therefore essential to your search engine placement.

Link popularity can do a lot for your site. Not only will many search engines rank you higher, but links from other sites will also drive more traffic to you. Link popularity is much more than a measure of how many links point to a site. Search engines use far more sophisticated formulas to gauge how popular sites are. In general, however, link popularity is measured by the following factors:

Number of Links - The more, the better. Although lots of irrelevant links are less effective than a few relevant ones, they're better than nothing. Inktomi, a company that provides search results to engines like HotBot, still values the number of links more than anything else.

Link text - The text used to describe a link can also affect your rankings. These three links all point to the same URL but use different text:

Yourwebsite.com | Your Keywords | Click here