Reciprocal linking is the art of getting other websites
to link to yours. Done properly, it's a powerful mar-
keting tool that can improve your search engine rankings
and bring you highly qualified traffic. If you can get
enough websites to link to yours it can help you greatly
with what's known as "link popularity," which is one of
the criteria used by most of the major search engines
when ranking websites. Theoretically, the better your
popularity,the higher you rank.
Your first step should be to set up a page on your site
that will hold the link swaps you're going to arrange.
Some people call these pages "links" or "fav links"
or sometimes "related links."
What I hear from many site owners is "if I link out won't
I be sending my traffic away?" The answer is yes... and
no. When choosing sites to link to, choose related sites
that complement what you do but don't directly compete
with you instead of linking to your competitors.
A smart tip to keep in mind when adding these sites
to your webpage is to set them up so they'll open in a new
window. This way, your site will remain open in the
background, making it easy for your visitors to return.
Now I'm not going to kid you about this: The hardest
part in swapping links is finding the sites you wish
to link to, contacting the webmaster, then adding
the link. Even after all of this is said and done
you'll still need to monitor the sites who've agreed
to swap with you to make sure they're living up to
their end of the bargain.
The good news is there are online programs and
software that make all of this
work a whole lot easier.
1) LinksManager: http://www.LinksManager.com
If you'd like to completely outsource the job, Links-
Manager is for you. No software to install on your
end at all. Even though your actual links page will
reside on their server they do allow you to customize
the look to blend with your existing website. It
constantly monitors all links on your link page to
verify that none of the reciprocal links you've arranged
have been dropped. The cost is $19.95 a month, but if
you refer one sign up a month your service will be
free.
2) Link-Spy: http://www.Link-Spy.com
With Link Spy you use their site to keep track of
all of your links. To set up your own free account
just visit the site and fill in the short form. Then
log in and begin adding the url's of all of the sites
that are suppose to be linking back to yours. Make sure
you enter the exact page not just a root url. For
example, 'www.mcpromotions.com' would not be good if the
links page was located at 'www.mcpromotions.com/links.htm'
They do all of the monitoring and notify you by email
when someone has dropped your link.
3) Linkagexpress: http://www.linkagexpress.com
This service hand tailors a linkage campaign
specifically for your website. They find the
links in your niche market and guarantee to increase
your traffic in only 30 days or less. Take advantage
of the free link popularity consultation offered to
see if it's right for you. A minimum of 50 link requests
is required, with Campaigns starting as low as $500.
That breaks down to a per link request cost of $10.00
a link.
4) Zeus: http://www.Cyber-Robotics.com
Easy to use, this Internet robot builds a link directory
and creates reciprocal links for your website all on
its own. Well, ok, you have to help a little bit. The
software sends personalized reciprocal link requests under
your supervision, after you visit the sites and approve
the ones you want to include in your directory. There
are two versions available: Pro for $199.00 or a
free sponsored version that is limited.
5) LinkTrader: http://www.freeclassifiedlinks.com/linktrader.html
This handy piece of free software allows you to enter in
the url's of all the sites that are suppose to be linking
to you and run a live report. After LinkTrader scans the
sites in your list it generates a report of the sites
that do and don't have your link. An optional email can
be sent to each site asking why they have removed your
link if you like.
6) LinkCrafter: http://linkcrafter.bannermation.com/
This free piece of Windows software will automatically find
pages related to yours, creates link to them, and notify
their owners that you have done so. This software was given
ZD Net's 5 star rating.
Gathering reciprocal links for your website is a powerful
promotional tool that you should be utilizing in order to
increase your traffic and improve your link popularity.
By adding only relevant links that relate to your site's
topic you'll also be adding an additional value for your
visitors as well. Popularity was important in High School
and on the Internet it's no different. If you use it
to your advantage you'll be one of the most popular sites
on the web in no time at all.....and that you can count on.
About the Author
Merle http://www.EzineAdAuction.com
"Where some of the BEST Deals in Ezine Advertising are Made"
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