Reciprocal Link Exchanges
What you need to know about this popular way of increasing site
traffic.
Exchanging Links
Content is vital to websites, and what you don't supply yourself
has to be brought in from complementary sites. Linking is therefore
an obvious strategy, referring visitors to outside sites where
they can find material to enhance or back up what you have to
sell. These sites in turn provide links back to you, or to other
sites. Everyone benefits, at least in theory.
Incoming links will also boost your ranking in the search
engines. The number of sites linking to your site plays an
important part in the ranking your site will get in Google, Altavista
and Inktomi.
Unfortunately, not all is gain. Providing links to outside sites
may cause you to lose visitors before a sale is made. If those
other sites are more interesting, or offer better value, then
of course your visitors may never return. And if that weren't
all, many of the linking techniques are simply not worth the trouble,
or don't even work properly.
There are four approaches: directory listings, reciprocal links,
using reciprocal link directories and using link exchanges.
Directory Listings
You should feature in industry and trade associations. Be sure
to ask to be added to their listings. It is also worth paying
to appear in local business directories if your market is also
local: charges are usually very reasonable.
Reciprocal Links
Here you simply exchange links. You identify suitable candidates
through the search engines and directories, assure yourself that
there is mutual benefit in exchanging links, and contact the webmaster
or Sales Department concerned. Both parties will examine the other
site, look to see they have comparable levels of traffic, the
company bona fides, and ensure that the product or service is
worth endorsing. Appraisal takes time, but no money changes hands.
Reciprocal Links Directories
It's not a big job to find suitable candidates, but you may wish
to speed up the process by using a reciprocal links directory.
These directories maintain lists of companies who actively wish
to exchange links. As these lists are usually categorized under
market sectors, you can save yourself hours of search and email
conversations by going direct to the choices. You scrutinize the
names, collect the reciprocal links directory snippet of code,
and then sign up.
But there is a catch. Often you will have to use a separate page
— what is called a FFA (free for all) page to host such links
— and these FFAs will not help your rankings on the search
engines. More particularly, visitors will have to click from the
FFA page to get to your site, and many won't bother. The FFA pages
will also display the directory banner, which may suggest you
haven't hand-picked the sites for your visitor's benefit.
Sometimes the snippet of code goes directly on to your site page
or pages. Then appears someone else's banner, randomly usually,
but at an agreed frequency. But whose banners are they? And how
do they affect the aesthetics or authority of your page? You often
have little control over what appears, and it's not unknown for
competitor sites to feature.
The result is not always increased traffic, therefore, but simply
unwanted email — spam — and you'll be buried if you
don't use a throwaway email address from Hotmail, etc. All in
all, you may be better off finding reciprocal links yourself,
but we list reciprocal links directories on our resources
page.
Link Exchanges
Link exchanges are also directories, but have one essential difference.
You have to do the clicking. Again there are the lists of sites,
which are maintained free of charge, but visitors from other sites
will only visit yours to the extent that you visit theirs. The
number of visits you make is carefully recorded (you earn 'credits')
and this determines the visitors you get in return.
Unless yours is a very esoteric site that wouldn't otherwise
attract many visitors, or you are offering some very high value
items, you may think your time could be more productively spent
elsewhere. We do list some popular link exchanges on our resources
page, however, and may wish to check them out.
Sites listed in our e-book provide
more information on reciprocal link exchanges.
Company | Disclaimer |
Email
Copyright © 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 LitLangs All Rights Reserved
