Many moons ago I joined a program called Link Partners.I confess it was back at a time when I really did nothave a clue about reciprocal linking, the best methods,the right way to go about it.
Today while scanning through my incoming mail I madenote of several opportunities or offers to swap linksthat I received through this program.
The problem
Not a single one was appropriate - not for me and mywebsite nor them.
So why did they ask Because it was easy, too easy, toask.
Reciprocal linking, link swapping, can truly help yourratings in the search engines if they conform to a fewsimple guidelines. These guidelines include:
1. A common interest
While swapping links with a competitor is probably notthe brightest idea, there are shades of competition.
What youd want to look for are websites that do havea common thread to what you are promoting. The reasonfor this is simple. When someone finds their websitethey are probably looking for something specific. Ifyour website is similar to, but not the same as, thesite with your link on it, you stand a more than fairchance that once the visitor is done, theyll clickthrough to your site to see what you offer.
And, since youve taken the time to ensure your website is not in direct competition with the other website, your chance of arranging a beneficial swap greatly increases.
2. Link wisely - link forward
There is typically only one major winner to the link swap - though that should not stop you from hosting a link even if you are not the top dog. Just besure to do your homework if you are the one beingasked.
Who wins The website linking forward.
We all know that there are great web rankings. Weall strive to achieve those top 10 spots or top10 page spots - both are excellent search enginepositions.
When looking for link swaps, check the other websitesratings in Google or Yahoo or your own favorite search engine.
If the site is way out there, this swap is not reallygoing to benefit you - in fact recently Ive readthat too many out there links can actually harmyour own rankings, so do investigate first.
Link forward whenever possible, or look for other complimentary websites with similar rankings as your own.
3. Avoid link farms
As youve surfed, you may have run across searchablepages (set up in categories and the like) where theowner invites you to add your link.
One of the first things to do is check their rankings.Again, harking back to #2 above, listing your websiteeven for free on a webpage with poor search engineplacement will do your website absolutely no good.
In addition, the search engine spiders are gettingsmarter. Just because a website has a billion anda half outbound links, when they are unrelated or poor content matches for your own website you arehurting yourself and your chances to move up inthe rankings.
4. The classified ad board
Often publishers offer a free classified ad boardat their website. Im of mixed opinions about this,but I believe that if the page on which its presentedspecifically has content explaining what the boardis and why its there, it may not do any harm.
Just be sure, as the publisher or owner of the board,to provide a reason why it is there. In the contentof that webpage be sure to use a heavy (but notoverly abundant) use of your meta tag keywords andkey phrases. Stress the importance of providingyour subscribers with the means to post advertising,ezine advertising, at your website... that sort ofthing. Do take the time to word your page correctly.Dont just slap it up there and hope for the best.
In any event, if youve added a board recently keepyour eye on your search engine placement. If yourwebsite begins to slip, it could be the board andits outbound, but unrelated, web links.
Conversely, given the right programs posted on yourclassified board who knows...! It could actuallypull your site forward :)
Just stay on top of your own rankings and makeadjustments if needed.
Wrapping this up...
Good search engine placement is a must. Yes, word of mouth is perhaps the finest method for good, solid growth, but millions upon millions upon millions use the search engines every minute of the day.
Dont blow your chances with poor link swapping.Use discretion, research and understand first why any offer would or would not be a good match for YOU andact/react accordingly.
Theresa Cahill - All Rights Reserved. Feel free to distribute this article. Please keep it intact and with the resource box included below.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Theresa Cahill, a two decade veteran of marketing, is the owner of and invites you to take a look at the services of MWA and download fr.ee helpful information and more at
One law of physics tells us that for every actionthere is an equal and opposite reaction.
Well Im here to tell you that, in the case of theinternet, that is all wrong.
There is nothing equal about the reactions ofinternet users!
You know what I mean if youve ever, for example,received an email from a friend (who received theiremail from a friend of a friend...) telling youyou may have a vir*us on your computer. Theseemails generally include instructions on how toremove some vital piece of necessary programmingfrom your operating system - something no sensibleperson would ever do without investigating first.
Then... a few minutes or hours later, you get a second email, only this one is an apology. Yourfriend is embarassed but willing to admit thathe/she was duped and now has in his/her possessionproof that the above WAS all just a hoax.
In the meantime, the first email caused a gutreaction. The receivers of the first initialemail, again without investigation, freaked outand, wanting to make sure THEIR friends didntsuffer a similar fate, emailed a whole new setof internet users to watch out!
They of course mailed their friends, who mailedtheir friends, who... you get the idea.
So I have proof positive that the law of reactionary physics as the scientists perceive itis all wrong!
There is NO equal reaction on the internet - itescalates all out of proportion quickly, easily,efficiently.
TAKING A LOOK AT CURRENT EVENTS:
We are once again at that stage. The latestout of proportion action/reaction is theinternets response to the anti-sp*am lawsgoing before the courts.
Normal, rational people in all walks of lifewith internet mailing lists are reactingperhaps totally out of proportion to thiscurrent state of affairs.
Now, dont get me wrong - there is legislationin the works to try to do something about allthis junk we ALL are getting!
Bully for them, but if theyd done their ownhomework, the legislators would realize that a huge portion of this JUNK comes out of Asia, from isps with absolutely NO INTEREST in operating in an ethical fashion. These isps are so well hidden that no amount of legislation from all the countries in the universe is going tomake an iota of difference.
So while legislators react to lobbyists - withouta hope of really ever making a difference - wevegot the regular Joe online also over-reacting.
He or she thinks they are doing the right thingby conforming to laws that dont even exist yet.
And, in reality, these laws may never come to pass.Already challenges are being made through legalchannels. These challenges may hold off anydecision for years to come.
Any sane person knows these attempts to makenew laws will not work, but like anything itwill takes years or decades of tying up the courtsbefore anyone is going to admit it.
So are you going to just react from the guton this latest one - without researching, without considering the fact that you may haveALWAYS been doing business the right and ethicalway... without being told
If you HAVE been collecting names and emails,and if they come with an isp identifier evenbetter - youve been doing it right all along.
The newest step to cover ones..., ah, you know,is to add a disclaimer at your signup site,and inside each mailing, that you run ads.
These ads can be anything from programs youyourself are promoting to your downline, tothe ezine publisher who runs his/her own adsand those of their subscribers.
Just be sure to tell would-be signer-uppers that they will be getting ads from you andtheir fellow downliners/subscribers/affiliatesif applicable.
That really covers it. Existing lists arepeople whove always been given numerousopportunities to leave that list at anygiven time. Duh, they know theyve beengetting ads... right
Now just add in the ad disclaimer andbe sure to always have the click hereto re*move yourself link in all yourmailings.
There, you are in essence compliant.
I am not an attorney, and Ill be the firstperson to say things may change and evolveover time, but that is why doing your own homework is so vital - regardless of thelatest happenings online.
More research - less gut reaction. Dont rely on what youve heard.
Be sensible, do YOUR OWN homework, applywhat you learn, and make adjustments ifneeded. But dont destroy what youve built.
Adapt then react... with a proportionalresponse.
Theresa Cahill - All Rights Reserved. Feel free to distribute this article. Please keep it intact and with the resource box included below.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Theresa Cahill, a two decade veteran of marketing, is the owner of and invites you to take a look at the services of MWA and download fr.ee helpful information and more at