Site Promotion Information |
The Reality of Linking
On a regular basis I receive e-mail through all my various sites from other site owners offering to exchange links. Most approach me in the wrong manner and I can tell they have no idea about the proper way to run an effective linking program. See, in a real linking program, it isn't just about you - it should be about both sites involved in the process. So many of these notices are not from complimentary sites in topic or design - some are actually competitors making me wonder why they would think I would link to them. Many having absolutely nothing even remotely similar to the site of mine that they have e-mailed. If they state they have already linked to my site, which is what you want to do when building a valuable link directory - not a link farm - the majority of these requests are immediately responded to asking their link to my site be removed. I know I do not want to have one of my sites "in bed" with another site that can have a detrimental effect on either my rankings or the juried resources I offer my visitors. Poor grammar, unnecessary formatting and a one-sided approach can doom your link program from the start. Yes, links are important - but all links are not created equal! You will be ranked by the links you keep! You have to be discriminating when it comes to the sites you link to as well as with those who link back. A big warning sign is if the requester is in direct competition with you. This lets you know they will be burying their link directory and really don't plan on site visitors finding it and you - their competitor. Not a good sign! Here are some basic tips you need to keep in mind and integrate in your linking efforts based in the reality of having an effective and ethical approach. If you cannot take the time to put these issues in play, don't waste your or the other site owner's time. => Stay Away From and Do Not Create Link Farms: "Link Farms" is a term used to describe groups of links that have nothing in common other than the sites involved have all agreed to link to each other for the sole purpose of effecting their organic search engine listings. Quality of content, design or site focus is not a consideration that is a requirement to participate. When you create a link directory on your site, you want to have set of guidelines that will be required for sites to be added to your link directory. Only quality links, relational to your site's focus that you know will benefit your site visitors should be considered. Just as you want to see those requesting links from you have done the same. => Links Need to Make Sense for Both Sites: On my Lake County, Illinois site, LakeOnline.com, I only exchange links with non-commercial community groups and organizations located within Lake County, Illinois. This makes sense as that is the focus of my site and it benefits the groups within that category to have a link from such a popular site that has proven longevity. It is a win-win for both sides. My site visitors then have links available to them of other Lake County, Illinois resources and the sites that link to LakeOnline.com are linking to a quality Lake County, Illinois resource. If the site linking to you has no direct relationship to yours in topic or is a poor quality site - don't exchange links. Just having links for the sake of doing so doesn't benefit either site. Think in terms of the fact that the links off your site need to compliment and add to the overall offering for your site visitors. => Consider Google's Page Rank: Page rank is not the end-all-be-all! Don't live or die by Page Rank. (From what I've read as of late Google is way behind in updating their PageRank.) However, when it comes to linking it can be a useful tool you can use to guide you. Before you begin requesting links, you want to ensure that you at least have a page rank for your top page for a start. No page rank is an indication of a newer Web site or a site that is not considered to have quality valuable content - that is when PageRank is working properly. Just like everything online, Google's PageRank glitches on occasion too - that is why I stress you use it as a guide not your bible. Page rank is accomplished by having a valuable resource site that others feel is worthy of linking to. If you are all sales pitch with very little content, page rank is difficult to attain. Always check a site's page rank to determine if it has been determined to have any value. Without a page rank, linking for the sake of linking is moot. Sites with higher page ranks are given more relevancy, as are the sites they in turn link to. => Organize and Categorize Your Directory of Links: Google has been known to ignore pages with more than 50 or so links. This is because tons of unorganized links on a page indicate "link farm" and do not indicate any sort of value or relational substance to the site in question. Categorize your links and create a new page when necessary for new topics. When a specific topic starts approaching 50, create a subcategory or an additional page. You want to do everything you can to avoid the perception of linking purely to manipulate your rankings. When I receive requests from sites with over 50 links and their link directory is not categorized, I generally do not respond as I know they are creating a link farm which will offer no benefit to me and may have even have a detrimental effect on my natural listings. => Have a Plan Before You Request Links: After you have reviewed the sites you would like to exchange links with, (Never spam for link exchanges! See #2 above.) here are some tips to keep in mind before you e-mail them with your request. 1. Create a brief but concise e-mail that includes specific instructions on how they can link back to you. You want to make sure that your requested return link text, if at all possible, includes a couple of your main keywords in the link. 2. Be sure to mention why your site and the one you are contacting are complimentary and why a reciprocal link will benefit both sides. If you cannot make this analogy, you probably should not be requesting a link in the first place. 3. Have the other site's link already in place on your site before you e-mail your request and let them know exactly where that is. Be sure if you said their link is in place that it is or you loose credibility and look as though you are not sincere in your offer. 4. Include a comment of exactly where on their site or in what category of their link directory that you would like to see your link. This lets the other side know that you've reviewed their site and see the reciprocal value and are not just spamming for links. => Your Link Directory is Easy to Find: Hiding your link directory deep within your site or not obviously linking to your link directory is a sure sign that you are gathering links for all the wrong reasons. Understand the search engines have a way of determining link relevancy based on topic, popularity and as well as other evolving factors. If you are hiding your link directory this is a big clue that is probably has no value to your site visitors or why would you be hiding it? If you cannot have obvious navigation to your link directory, you know that you are not offering value and need to rethink your strategy. One of the other benefits of exchanging links is the hope that those who visit the other site, will find yours by following the link to your site. If their link directory is hidden, folks cannot find you which prevents you from garnering this potential additional traffic. If you receive a request to exchange links and see that the other site has their link directory buried where their site visitors will have difficulty finding it, I would decline the request as they are not offering me anything. Work only with site owners who understand what linking is all about and have a link directory that is well organized and easily found on their site. => Spammy Link Requests: You've probably received those yourself. Some marketer asking if you are interested in exchanging links with a site they are unwilling to identify until you show interest. What is that!? If exchanging links makes sense there should be no reason to hide the identity of any site. This is an indication the site most likely has no page rank, is not related to yours, or is creating a link farm. Use these e-mail as an example of what you don't want to do. Hit the Delete button. Link exchanges serve two purposes. The first being they add value to both sites and offer visibility to an entire set of site visitors who may not have known the other site even exists to search for it. The secondary reason is that search engines have a ranking algorithm that is built upon evaluating incoming and out going links to your site. If you do not want to deal with the link exchange process all you have to do is have a high quality, content rich site and the links will happen without you having to make a single request. Create a site worth linking to and the links will come. About the Author:
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Make Your Website Sticky! Five Nifty Ways to Make Your Site Sticky!'Stickiness' is one of the most overlooked aspects of sitepromotion. Webmasters, jump thru hoops to optimize theirsites for the search engines, work like mad to find the right keywords, and double over backwards to build links. Why You Need Submit Articles To E-zines Ezine publishes have large amount of loyal subscribers. If you send articles to ezine publishes, readers have trust their editors' recommendation. Novel Free-For-All Idea Almost anyone who has tried submitting to free-for-all sites will say that they are no longer worth the effort as a traffic generating tool. Automated FFA submissions to "millions" of sites are also not that useful as most of these sites are only ever "visited" by automated submission scripts and not by human eyes. Are You A Winner Or A Loser? What do you do next! you have been working so hard to perfect your website you are certain there is nothing else you can do to improve it. So why is there no sign of it in any searches?Boredom is setting in and you are wondering if it was worth all the bother after all. How To Get Valuable Feedback From Your Customers You can learn many things you didn't know about your business by getting valuable feedback from your customers. Your customers may buy your main product just to get the free gifts. I Have A Web Store?? So What? Just because you put up a web store doesn't mean people will come, take a look and then give you their hard earned dollars. The most successful e-commerce sites have systems in place that entice people to come and buy-again and again. Joint Venture 101 - The Quickest Way To Build Your eBusiness (PART 1) This article reveal the same techniques that many Internetmarketing experts uses every day to make millions of dollarsin profits - no kidding! In my own opinion it is the mostprofitable and powerful concept ever used on the Internetfield. So, stay close and read it carefully. How To Ignite Your Sales If you own a website, you definitely want to improve visibility and get more traffic. There are a number of ways to do so like using search engine optimization, pay-per-click, submit to directories and more. Website Promotion Have you ever wondered why some websites get a thousand hits a day while others don't? Well, the secret lies in something called 'website promotion'.When I mean 'website promotion' it does not require you to spend loads on money to ensure that your site stands out. Internet Web Site Marketing: The Secrets Of Endorsement Marketing What is endorsement marketing?Endorsement marketing is having famous or reputable peoplerecommend your product or service to others.It is an important internet web site marketing that cangive your business credibility and propel it to the top. How to Test a Keyword for Success! Finding the successful keywords is crucial in order to get not only a lot but the right quality of traffic to the website. Attractive Keywords are important for both: search engine optimization and CPC campaigns. Top 7 Ways To Promote Your Website, NOW We will start with the best, than make our way to the bottom of the list. This article will give you a good ideal where the best ways to promote your site!1) Exchange links, trade link, swap links, I think you got it now!When you start a site you should exchange many as possable links with sites that are RELATED to YOUR site. Searches and Summaries The Web is constantly growing and changing. The key issue for users of the Web is to know what is there that might help them, or inform them, or entertain them, and to find out in a timely fashion without spending all their time looking. 10 Website Blunders Guaranteed to Send Your Visitors Elsewhere When you build your website you need to have a plan first. The reason for this is if you do not have a plan you will likely make mistakes, forget to include information, and overall have an unorganized and not a well thought out page. How to Increase Traffic When Your Promotion Budget is Tiny Writing articles for your site and for the use of others, is asimple proven way low cost way to get more traffic.Articles can be used for all subjects and just like newspapersand magazines, is a recognised way of sharing information. So You Have A New Website But The Phone Isnt Ringing Off The Hook? So you have a new website but the phone isn't ringing off the hook? Were you expecting an overnight success with your website?Having a website professionally designed ensures you have a good looking site that is optimised for the search engines. This article is not about web design or search engine optimisation but outlines some suggestions that you, the site owner, can take to help boost genuine visitors to your site once it has been professionally designed. 7 Must Knows for Measuring Web Site Activities Record keeping measurements for Internet marketing Record keeping tracks money -- where it goes, when it comes in. Internet record keeping is also required for success. How To Quickly Make Money With Your Website? Quickly making money with a website is the dream of all new online marketers but can it be done and if so how is it done. This article tells what I did in order to start making money in less than 3 weeks with a brand new website in the competitive insurance industry. 3 Super-tips To Build, Promote And Profit More From Your Website! Are you happy with your website? (Does your business even have one?)Does it 'perform' as well as you'd like?I'm a professional web designer and I always try to influence the design of a client site with the following three so-called super-tips. If I apply these tips to a new (or existing) site, I always feel that the site will 'deliver' much more. Discover How To BOOST Your Website Don't you just hate the process of exchanging web site links? Finding sites that are relevant, placing a link on our site, contacting the web master to request a link swap, waiting for a response, that may never come.. |
home | site map | contact us |