How to run a successful link exchange program?
By Joe Balestrino
Link Exchanges are a very time consuming project. The time it takes to find the sites to exchange with, contact them and place a link on your page can seem like an eternity. The hardest part about link exchanges isn't the research, it's the waiting. This article will give you some tips to help speed response time to your requests.
"How long does it normally take?" you ask. The average wait can be 2 to 3 weeks, sometimes even longer. The reason for this is that many people operate their web site as a hobby or side business and may not be on top of their email. Keep these timeframes in mind before you judge the successfulness of a link campaign.
The first step is to find sites related to your web site that DO NOT have a large directory of links posted. You want to link to sites that have less than 100 links on their link page. Their Page Rank (PR) should be at least equal to yours. Higher is better, so always aim for the heavy hitters. Now, on to the business of saving you time.
Once you have located a site to contact, send a short but poignant email. If your email is too long, it may not be read. What should be in your email? First of all, your email should be personalized. Don't send the same email to dozens of people, send one at a time. This will help avoid being thought of as a spammer. The personalized touch shows you are serious and that the email was sent by a real person. Nothing says "this is of little importance to me" like a form letter, so avoid using them.
The letter should also include:
The HTML code to your text ad. This will make it easier for people to add your link to their site.
A link to your link page. This will make easier for whom ever you are requesting a link from to find your page.
Also, if they ask for you to link first, do so. If you have already been to their site (and certainly you should have if you are requesting a link), you will more than likely
know if they want a good faith link up. The email you send them should have a confirmation that their link is up and that you are requesting a reciprocal link.
Once you make contact with the web site owner, how long will you wait? A week? Two weeks? Honestly, it may be a month before you see your link unless you show some persistence. It doesn't always depend on how often they do updates. I would contact them once a week after your initial inquiry after checking their site first. They may have placed a link up without notifying you.
So, in summary:
Spend time finding sites that will be an asset to your enterprise to save time by not corresponding with those that won't.
Succinct, personalized E-mails
Include all coding and links necessary to make it easy on the site you want to exchange with
Research their link policy ahead of time
Be persistent
Link exchanges are very time consuming. It takes patients and great recorded keeping to keep track of who has and has not added you. I do this with an excel spread sheet. It makes keeping track a lot easier to do. Especially, if you are doing large link campaigns.
Good luck.
Should you buy text links?
by Matt Colyer
You can rank number one (Or at least in the top ten) for just about any search phrase by just buying text link ads, even if the web site isn't related to the search phrase in anyway, it can still rank in the top ten of the search results. Some web site owners see this as the only true way to the top ten. So, should you buy your way to the top? Or should you play it safe?
Some say it's better to be safe than sorry. While others say if you play it safe and never make it to the top ten of the search results, your losing anyway. So, it must be much better not to play by the rules and get a top ten ranking and make a little money before you get banned from the search engines. Well, it's not that easy and you can see the cons and pros in both ways.
First let's look at the pros of playing it safe. The first one is obvious and it's that you have a lot less chance of getting banned and much safer. At the same time you can peacefully sleep at night without worrying whether you'll be banned the next day you wake up. It also allows you to save money and spend it else where, such as PPC (Pay Per Click) search engines, banner advertisement, mailing list and offline advertising.
You can also rank number one without buying text link ads if you provide good content because many other webmasters will link to you just because you have good content and it provides their users with valuable information. You could also exchange links with other web sites. If you correctly SEO (Search Engine Optimization) your web site you can get a fairly good search engine ranking.
There are also several cons of playing it safe. Besides the fact that text link ads help improve your search engine ranking, they also bring in a good amount of traffic. In order to get a good amount traffic from links you would need more than just a few backlinks, but since you won't be buying them, you will not being getting that many web sites linking to you and most of them are from web sites that are not popular among internet users.
All the major search engines see backlinks from quality sites as a vote for the web site being linked to, by playing it safe it will take much longer to get a top ten ranking because of the lack of backlinks. It can take years before you will rank for any popular search term because you will only be getting links the natural way. Without many backlinks you'll also have a hard time getting in the search engines.
Now the pros of buying text link ads. Buying text links ads will help improve your search engine ranking, which can bring more traffic than from a link from any web site because. Each link acts as a vote your web site in the search engine's eye, so the more you buy, the higher you'll rank. If you buy an enough text link ads your web site can rank number one for just about any search term.
Text link ads can also send a fair amount of visitors that's targeted. Resulting in more and new customers. Getting a link from a web site that's trusted and well known can help build your web site's brand and increase your credibility because visitors will see the link as a recommendation to your web site. Which will also help bring in new customers because they trust you more than they did before.
The cons of buying text link ads make many people think twice about buying text link ads. It will cost a lot of money to buy text link ads. You need to pay for your link to stay on a web site for at least two months before you will see any major boost in your search engine ranking. You may never get your money back because there's so many things that can go wrong.
It can also hurt your search engine rankings if you don't do it correctly and safely. You should never buy a lot of text links ads all at once, some search engines can detect this and may ban your web site from the search results due to this. There are other ways the search engines can find out that the links are being sold, meaning some links on certain web sites may never count in the search engines.
The Conclusion - Now that you have seen the pros and cons you can decide for your self whether you should buy them or not.
How to Approach Potential Link Exchange Partners
by Mark Hochhaus
Exchanging links can be a great way to build relations with other sites and boost your ranking at the same time. You never know how many friends you can make and what you can learn from them. So let's get started.
First, you need to create a links page. This links page needs to look and feel the same as the rest of your site and should include instructions on how to link to your site and an example of the description you want. If you use buttons for links, make sure you include a text link somewhere so search engines can find your links page easily.
Now that you have your links page ready, it's time to start looking for link partners. When searching for link partners, start by searching for your keywords in Google and choose 10 to 20 sites that have content that is related to or can compliment your site. Then, add a text link with a brief description of thier site on your links page.
Now it's time to send off an email to each site and ask if they will exchange links with you. I have a basic form letter I use for this (form letter at end of article). However, I add something personal about their site, a compliment about something I liked. This lets them know that I'm not a bot sending spam, but a real person interested in exchanging links that has actually took the time to review their site.
If you have not heard from them in 5 to 7 days, go ahead and send another request but not the same one, change this one. You might mention that you have not heard back from them and that you feel your visitors could benefit from their content. You may also want to see if they have a phone number listed and give them a call. I know, as a seasoned webmaster, I enjoy the phone calls I get. Don't be afraid to make several contact attempts. Following up on your link requests is essential. However, don't bombard their email with requests. Always send one last email letting them know you're removing their link and that maybe you can exchange links another time. Always end on a positive note. The idea is to build business relationships, not upset people.
When you get a response that your request has been accepted, go and verify your link is accurate and that the description is to your liking. Don't be afraid to ask for an edit if you're unhappy with the link.
Having a link on a site with a high page rank in Google is better than a page with no or low page rank. Although, until you gain page rank of your own, you may have to settle for links that have low rank. This does not mean you can't request links from high ranking sites. Just be prepared that they may not accept you until you have high page rank. Save these contacts for a latter campaign.
Next week, we will look into some software that can help you with your reciprocal linking campaign and review some websites designed to help you exchange links.
Form letter example for approaching link partners.
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Dear John Doe,
My name is Your Name, I am the webmaster for yoursite.com. I have visited your site, sitename.com, and I think that the content could be of interest to our web site visitors.
I have already placed a link to your site along with a description at www.yourstie.com/link.html If you want anything modified or if you have any other cross-promotion ideas, let me know.
I would appreciate if you placed a link back to our site. As soon as I am aware that you have done so, I will move your link to the top of the list in your category. If you put our link on your main page, I will also do the same for you. If you have a banner you'd rather use, let me know.
You can find our linking code at: www.yourstie.com/suggest-link.html.
Guide to Getting Linked
by Erich Winnecke
Getting links from other websites pointing to your site can sometimes seem very hard and time consuming. There are several ways to get people interested in your site, you've just got to be creative with it and think more in terms of putting yourself in the other webmaster's shoes- figure out what the advantages are for them to be linked to you!
One thing that you often hear is that to attain a high Page Rank thru Google, (which, let's face it, is the Big Daddy of Search Engines) that you have to link to other high PR sites. This is not necessarily true. No one is 100% on the relevance of PR rank affecting a link exchange. Link to as many non-link farm sites that are similar to your site as you possibly can, because the more inbound links pointing to your site that you have, the more search engines will look at your site as an important site in the business or opportunity that you are promoting or selling. So don't look down on sites that have low a low PR, everyone at one point or another has a zero PR, doesn't mean that they don't get traffic, you just never know. Just because someone has a low PR doesn't mean that they don't get monster traffic to their site, whether it's through pay-per-click advertising, or other means, so no one should turn their nose up at anyone who doesn't have a great PR.
If you are a new webmaster and have just started a new website, sell the fact that you're new, and that you're going to be focusing on putting quality CONTENT on your site. Because, A Number 1 as far as Google is concerned is to have relevant content on your site relating to your business or opportunities. Making a business grow and succeed is based solely on the ability of a webmaster to make his/or her site relevant to search engine spiders, whom look every day for great content.
Another idea is to promote what you are advertising to a webmaster, showing that the product/or opportunity is viable and is something that makes your website worth linking to. Either by having testimonials, or by having them sign up as an affiliate to see results for themselves, showing how much you believe in your opportunity might show a webmaster that you are committed to making your site everything it can possibly be, and thus, possibly giving their website more exposure.
Even with the hassles that go along with linking to other sites it really is a great way to show that your site does have importance. Being partners through links with others in your online business makes for long lasting business relationships, and support for others that are getting started. There's room for everyone to succeed online, and helping others along the way is as important to the growth of online business as anything else. Here's to your success!!
Erich Winnecke, Jr. is a webmaster who authors articles and his website is geared for people who are interested in finding an online work at home opportunity or starting a low cost or free Home Based Business.
Click Your Way to Sales: 4 Steps to Maximize Your Traffic Exchange Program
Many webmasters use a common service, called free traffic exchange programs, to increase hits to their sites. Also known as start page exchanges, these websites promise free traffic to you, in exchange for your visiting other sites. Generally, webmasters sign up at these sites and are given a code to install on their web browsers. They earn credits based on a ratio for every other member's site that they visit, and as these credits are earned, their websites are shown on other member's browsers.
Some webmasters use this service thinking that all these free hits will magically lead to product purchases. Unfortunately, traffic exchange programs rarely lead to sales, due mainly to the fact that most visitors are fellow webmasters who are primarily concerned with generating hits for their own websites. Although these visitors tend not to buy anything when they initially view your site, there are ways that you can use their visit to lead to future purchases. By following these below steps, you can ensure a healthy return from your free traffic.
Step 1: Design a page that will attract their attention – A common mistake made by many webmasters is to direct visitors to their main page. Instead of doing this, focus on creating a well-designed ‘teaser' page that will create interest in your product without pushing visitors to purchase anything. Since each traffic exchange service requires you to look at a website for a certain length of time before you can get 'credit' for the visit, you have only a limited time frame before visitors move on to another site. To get their attention, create a page with only a few pieces of information that doesn't require them to scroll down. In addition, be sure to include a form where they can add their email address to your mailing list.
Step 2: Develop a freebie and make visitors sign up to get it - Once you have your visitor's attention, offer something for free that has intrinsic value. Some common items used by many webmasters are free ebooks, or contests for your products. By providing a free and useful item to your prospect, you attract their attention without forcing them to purchase anything at that moment. You have also obtained that visitor's email address--after they sign up. Once this is done, send them an automatic response email that lets them know how to obtain their freebie. (One quick warning: On the entry form, let the person know that they are joining a mailing list. Don't hide this fact, because you could be accused of spamming.)
Step 3: Find good traffic exchange services and start surfing – After designing your page and including the freebie, browse for a few quality traffic exchange services. When searching, take into account the following factors:
Find sites that have good ratios Sign up for services that give you a fair ratio of sites which you visit, to times that your URL is displayed. Any traffic exchange service should have at least a 2:1 ratio.
Check the regularity of the websites that are being shown when you visit other sites If you see the same website over and over again, that means that the "hits" that you are earning are being wasted on the same visitors.
Study their anti-cheating methods Any good traffic exchange service will have built in mechanisms that prevent people from earning credits without actually viewing your site. Most of the time, these anti-cheating items require you to click on a certain icon. If a service automatically loads a new page every few seconds, rest assured that no one is actually looking at your site.
To help you get started, I have listed a few websites that I have successfully used to generate hits and subscribers: (http://www.nomorehits.com/cgi-bin/redir.cgi?user=mizambar) (http://www.AllFreshClicks.com/cgi-bin/run.cgi?userid=mizambar) (http://trafficroundup.com/start.php?username=mizambar) (http://www.webmasterquest.com/members/surf.php?Start=1&time=1074251255) (http://www.domain-tip.com/cgi-bin/exchange/start.cgi?member=mizambar)
Step 4: Contact your visitors - Once you have collected a good database of visitors who are interested in your product, contact them. In the email, remind them of the freebie or contest that they joined. After that, create a sales message that discusses how your product or service can help fulfill their specific needs. Since this e-mail reaches them when they are not concerned with generating hits for their own site, you have a better chance of making a sale.
If you follow these 4 steps and use the resources that are provided, you will see an increase in quality visitors and email subscriptions. Ultimately, you should generate more sales! Start clicking now…
SEO: Linking Strategy
Here's my take on what you should do..
For reciprocal links.. Do it yourself and BY HAND. Don't use one of those 1000+ link directory sites. Keep your links relevant to the PAGES you want to link to. Don't always use your homepage as the page that the incoming reciprocal link is coming to, and try and mix up your anchor text so it's not the same damn thing over and over. If you add more keywords and turn your anchor text into more of a one liner description with your primary and secondary keywords inside, you'll see better results on a broader scale, rather than just hitting one keyword at a time.
For direct links.. outsource it. I always do. Don't buy those pay per month links either, because those aren't permanent if you decide you don't want to shell out $50 a month anymore. Get someone from elance or RAC or somewhere like that and make them understand that you want RELEVANT and TOPIC RELATED direct links. They'll probably charge you a one time fee of $10-$20 per link, but it's a premanent link so it's probably worth it. Don't worry about pagerank either, because it's fairly useless. Make sure the pages that are linking to you are ones that are visited often by the engines and are RELEVANT to your PAGES. Follow the same anchor text rules as above..
Be patient and once the link has been established LEAVE IT ALONE. Don't play around with it. Let the engines take it's course and keep updating your links every month. Don't get greedy either. A maximum of 30 links per month is just fine.
This should give you substantial rankings over the next 3-6 months. Follow this method and I can almost assure you it will beat out whatever current method you're using. If you're worried about using this on a primary site of yours, then you should have test/dummy sites where you use them for testing out new seo methods without risking your primary sites.
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