So, you’ve put a lot of work into your Web site, but you’re frustrated that the search engines don’t seem to care. When you plug a relevant keyword into a search box, your site is nowhere to be seen --- at least on the first page of results. What’s an aspiring entrepreneur to do?

There’s plenty you can do, at a relatively low cost. But, first, know that search-engine rankings are fiercely competitive today, and some of the factors involved in rankings are beyond your control. What you can control is the quality of content on your site and the number and caliber of links to it.

Yes, having content that makes your site worth a link --- be it smart how-to articles or free tools and downloads --- is important. For more on this point, read How to get links to your site.

But you can also improve your rankings by getting links to it from key “authority” Web sites and blogs, such as professional associations and the like, that serve your target audience. Catherine Seda is an Internet marketing strategist and author of a new book, “How to Win Sales & Influence Spiders.” She recently compiled for Microsoft Office Live her top five spots to get quality links:

1.      Professional or trade associations. It’s probably the easiest link you can get, Seda says, because a link from the association’s site to yours is likely included in your membership fee. If not, submit your URL and ask that a link be added. Or write an article for the association site, or even pay for an ad, if necessary. “It’s worth the money,” Seda says, because the association site is certain to be rich in the content your audience seeks. (Need a directory of professional associations? See these pages on Yahoo or Google.)

2.      Other Web sites in your niche. Rather than merely trading links with as many Web sites as you can muster, seek out quality sites with content similar to yours. Contact site owners and offer to write articles for those sites. In any articles, include a byline and link to your bio. Search-engine spiders will notice the links and so will prospects.

3.      Blogs in your niche. Use blog engines such as Icerocket and Technorati to find blogs related to your business.  Search for those with rich content and worthwhile discussions. Post a helpful comment on someone’s blog; oftentimes, you’ll be given a link back to your site. Don’t pitch your business; simply share a relevant tip or tool in your post. Hollow “I love your blog!” posts likely will smell like spam and be deleted.

4.      Social networking sites. Sites such as YouTube, Flickr, Digg, and MySpace may sound unrelated to your business, but don’t dismiss them. Most allow you to create a profile page where you can build your brand and link to your site. Social networking sites work best if you’re targeting a younger demographic. Still, they are immensely popular, and could drive spiders and prospects to your sites.

5.      Press release services. Newswires such as PRWeb and Newsforce can help you get your message out via a press release. For a fee, they can optimize your press releases with good keywords for higher visibility on news engines such as Yahoo! News and, in turn, on general search engines. Expect to spend $70 or more per release, but it may be worth it.

Focus on these efforts, Seda says, and then take a look at your rankings. In a future post, I will talk about what sites NOT to get links from.

Monte Enbysk