Strategic Linking for
Success
by Bob Cortez
According to the Graphic,
Visualization, & Usability Center's (GVU) 8th WWW User Survey,
Most users find new web pages
through other web pages (88%) and through search engines
(82%). For the past year (Sixth
& Seventh surveys) search engines have outranked other
web pages as the source of new
pages, that trend has reversed again.
http://www.gvu.gatech.edu/user_surveys/survey-1997-10/
bulleted/use_bullets.html
As getting a good (top 20)
listing in the major search engines and directories becomes
increasingly difficult, having a
good base of incoming links from other web sites will become
proportionately important. Some
search engines will even rank you higher based on the
number of incoming links that
your site has, providing a dual benefit. If these two reasons
aren't enough to convince you to
start a strategic linking program today, then consider these:
1)Quality links provide a
valuable resource that visitors appreciate and give them a reason to
return often.
2)Quality links tell visitors
that you are well known and respected by others in your area of
expertise.
3)Quality links carry on the
traditions that the Internet was built on, the free exchange of
knowledge, resources, and
information.
Do these reasons outweigh the
reasons not to link to others? Excuse number one why not to
link to other sites; Links just
open the door for visitors to leave my site and that is a sale lost.
If that visitor wasn't convinced
enough to buy and was just researching the market, they would
leave anyway. The only way you
can receive a benefit from a visitor leaving is through a
reciprocal link of one form or
another. The reason we call them visitors is because they all leave
at one point or another, with or
without our product. If they leave without our product, isn't it
better that they leave via a
route that provides us a benefit? Excuse number two: I don't want
to be bothered with having to
check to see if my link is up at the other site. If your links are
well chosen and well executed in
the beginning then this isn't a problem. Sure you may lose a
link once in awhile, but it
shouldn't be that big of a deal, because you are still adding value to
your visitors and that is
important too.
There is a variety of forms for exchanging
links. From the least effective free-for-all, to the most
effective content provider. Links
can be banners or text. They may lead to a site, an email
address, or an auto responder. In
exchange, you could receive any of these in return. You
could choose to use one or all of
these methods depending on your needs and the needs of
the other site. You can just list
them randomly, first in, alphabetically, placed in a searchable
directory, or spread throughout
your site. Choose the method that works best for your product
and your presentation. I
currently use all of these forms of link exchanges at both of my sites.
http://www.tqm-online.com and
http://www.ptialaska.net/~cortez/. Who are you going to target
for link partners? Think first in
terms of what would be of value to your visitors. Where do you
go for information and resources?
Who are your suppliers? Who offers a product that
compliments yours? Who are your
competitors?
Yes, I said competitors. Here is
why:
1)If you are offering a quality
product, competitively priced, you will help close the deal with
your customer by providing them
the information they need to make a decision.
2)If they are researching
options, they will probably find your competition anyway (may as well
get a link in return).
3)It makes good business sense to
have good relationships with your competition. If you can't
help a customer because you are
too busy, or their requirements don't fit yours for whatever
reason, it never hurts to have a
place that you can refer them to. It is also beneficial to be able
to just have someone in the same
field that you can share ideas, problems, or vent a little steam
when things are frustrating.
I suggest you approach looking
for link partners the same way you approach looking for
customers. Be very specific in
what you are looking for, and what you have to offer.
Constantly watch for and be open
to opportunities to link with sites.
I was doing some research for a
potential client and came across Senior Search
http://www.seniorssearch.com.
They have a directory of web sites particularly for the over 50
age group. I never thought of
that as a primary target for my services, but it has turned out to
be one of my leading link traffic
generators and all that it has cost me is a button on my site and
about 10 minutes of my time. I am
constantly looking for potential link partners, just like I am
constantly looking for customers
and opportunities. What specialized directories or
associations can you partner with
to your mutual benefit? Another good example of this is
SOHO Web.
Two good resources to get started.
Link-O-Matic is a directory of
web sites that are looking for reciprocal linking arrangements.
You can post the information
about your site and what you are looking for in potential link
partners.
http://www.linkomatic.com/reciprocate.cgi?1601
LinkUp is a discussion list type
service that you can send messages to seeking link partners,
and receive messages from others
looking as well. TO SUBSCRIBE:
mailto:Subscribe-LinkUp@CommerceStreet.com
Many times as I am surfing
through sites for the first time if I think they would be of value to
my site visitors I will use the
feedback form or email to ask the web master about the possibility
of exchanging links in some way.
This is probably the most effective and efficient method. You
are at the site, you know whether
or not they exchange links and with what type of sites. It
only takes a minute of your time
and could be the beginning of a very lucrative and long-term
relationship.
By the way, would you like to exchange
links? bobak@eagle.ptialaska.net
