Finding and Managing Quality Reciprocal Links: A Tutorial for The Newbie

All of us want to increase traffic to our web sites. It helps our search engine rankings, and is a very cost-effective way to provide us with potential new customers. One of the best, and certainly least expensive, ways to do that is by exchanging links with sites similar to our own, or that contain content our own visitors are likely to find interesting and useful. It is important to restrict our exchanges to such sites because if we indiscriminately exchange with everybody and anybody we become what is known as a "link farm" and wind up being banned by the search engines.

No one wants to be banned by the search engines, so this article will discuss how to find relevant sites with whom to exchange links, and how to keep track of them after you have exchanged the links. Even though there are software programs that will do most if not all of this for you, they have various flaws and inadequacies. If you are one of those people who prefer the personal touch, this article is for you!

The first thing to do is to type your key words or phrases into a search engine and see what comes up. The sites you see on the first few pages have made it to the top of the search engine rankings. Go to these sites and look around on the home page for the phrase "links exchange" or sometimes just "links." Some sites now use "resources." They will have instructions for how to place a link to their site on your site, and instructions on the information they need from you in order for them to place a link to your site on theirs. Some have a form for you to fill out; others want you to e-mail it to them. Have your information (your site Title, URL (your home page where you want them to point their link), Description, and the URL of your links page where you have placed their link, your name and e-mail address) saved in a document ready to cut and paste into both forms and e-mails. It will save you tons of time.

Always remember that the Golden Rule applies here. You want them to place a link to you on their site so you need to reciprocate. If you are uncomfortable with the content of their links page and would prefer not to be associated with that site, then just move on. There are plenty of others.

Some of the higher ranked sites will have non-content related restrictions about with whom they will exchange or will not links. They will only exchange with you if your site and/or links pages have achieved a certain Google PageRank. (To download the Google Toolbar click here.) Even if you do not have such a page rank yourself, you can request an exchange with such sites but do not be surprised if they decline or ignore you. If your site is new, be sure not to stop looking after the first page or two in the search engines. There are many wonderful sites not on the first few pages and most of them would be more than happy to exchange links with you.

Repeat this search frequently because nothing is static on search engines; you might get different results every day searching for the very same word or phrase!

Once you have exchanged links with a site check out the other sites on their links pages. Some sites have links pages loaded with other sites that would be a good match for you. Go ahead and offer to exchange links with them, also. Beware however that some sites may not have been very discerning in their choices of exchange partners. You, however, will be very discerning and will choose wisely the sites with whom you will exchange links! Be careful not to be too narrow, though. Remember that you want to exchange with sites that have content your visitors may find interesting and useful.

If you only exchange with clones or near clones of your site, nobody will be interested for very long. For instance, if your site is about a particular breed of dog, don't limit your exchanges to other sites about that breed, or even other breeds. Try sites that deal in dog food, dog care in general, grooming products, training methods, dog accessories, shows and other events, etc.

Set your site up so that each category has its own page or set of pages, and alphabetize the links on each page by site title if your software does not do that automatically. What you want to avoid are sites that have nothing whatsoever to do with the main topic of your site. In our example of a site about a breed of dog, avoid exchanging links with sites offering bargain vacations on the other side of the globe, casinos, real estate, music, etc. You get the idea. Remember that people who visit your site are looking for dog related information, not that other stuff.

Now that you have accumulated several pages of links, you need to be able to keep track of them so that you don't request exchanges from the same webmasters more than once. It would be embarrassing for them to respond to your request with "I exchanged with you 2 months ago" or something like that. So, what do you do if your software does not do it for you?

Set up a simple spread sheet. Don't worry about setting it up to print out on neat pages, because you shouldn't have to print it out. Make the columns as wide as you need to. You will need to set them up as follows: Title / Description / Category /URL / Reciprocal URL. You can add optional columns for webmaster name and e-mail if you want. Your categories in our hypothetical site would be food, training, accessories, etc. As you add a link to your site, add it to the bottom of your spreadsheet. You can then alphabetize your spreadsheet by whichever column you need. Not only will you know which sites you already have, but you can see at a glance where on your site you have put it! I have used this system extensively and it works extremely well.

One last thing. Please don't ever refuse to exchange links with someone without a high enough page rank because they are new. Everyone was new once and started out with a page rank of "0" including those who are now at the top of the list for their chosen key words and phrases. As people help you to get started when you are new, turn around and help others behind you as they get started.

In case you might be wondering how to tell the difference between a new site with a page rank of "0" and a link farm with a page rank of "0", the new site with have a cached page and the link farm will not. The link farm will have a bizillion links and the new site will have few if any. To find this information look for the icon on the Google Toolbar that looks like a blue circle with a lower case white "i" in the middle, located right next to the little green bar that shows you your current page rank. When you click on that icon you will see a drop down menu that includes both "cached snapshot page" (what your page looked like last time Google checked out your site) and "backward links" which shows how many links Google shows point to your site from other sites.

If when you click on one of those drop down menu choices you find that Google has no record of that site, it's best to wait to exchange links until you find our why there is no record. If the site has been up for more than a few days, there should be at least a cached page. If there isn't, the site may have been banned, and you should not associate with banned sites.

Sandi Moses has been involved in internet marketing since November, 2003. Visit her sites at http://www.123iwork4me.com http://www.123-home-based-business-works-4- me.com

---

How To Get Web Site Traffic

Web site traffic is essential to having a thriving online... Read More

Utilize Those Traffic Exchanges.

I`ve had people come to me and say "Traffic Exchanges... Read More

Marketing Tourism Online, Part Two: Attracting Visitors to your Website

This is part two of an article series which will... Read More

Increase Online Traffic with Directory Listings

Some of the best advertising available online would be getting... Read More

How to Quickly Gain Traffic to Your New Web Site

Have you spent a lot of money on advertising with... Read More

Build Links, Build Business

Increasing your online business hinges on your ability to optimize... Read More

Dont Be A Reciprocal Linking Turkey!

I had an email exchange with an SEO client today... Read More

How to Easily Turn Free Content into Traffic or Cash Fast

I bet you already knew this.The two largest problems that... Read More

The Best Traffic Secret I Ever Learned

If you could get high quality traffic that would grow... Read More

Aim At The Bullseye And Your Online Home Business Will Prosper

Traffic is one thing, but targeted traffic is everything.You have... Read More

Wacky Test Marketing: Part 3

Once again I used my wacky test marketing strategy to... Read More

Email Can Be Extremely Irritating

There are some extremely irritating things that have become an... Read More

5 Illustrious Strategies To Explode Your Web Site Traffic

Are you spending hundreds of dollars on advertising campaigns, only... Read More

Free Tips to Generate Traffic for Webmasters

Starting a new website and developing a traffic base if... Read More

8 Steps for Getting Free Traffic to Your Website

Want to Make Free Money on the Internet?One of the... Read More

Free Traffic Course - Day 6

We will start with one Internet Marketing myth - the... Read More

Get More Visitors to your Website using Free Traffic Exchanges

Trying to get traffic to your new website or to... Read More

Winning The Hit Exchange Game

"How do I get more traffic to your site?" That's... Read More

Marketing Made Easy

Is website traffic convertible to cash? The answer is yes.... Read More

Buying Links for Free Traffic - Is it Worth the Price?

The debate rages on forums all over the internet-should one... Read More

Marketing Your Website Inexpensively

There are a number ways you can go about marketing... Read More

How to Get Your Traffic to Take Off in a Hurry without Paying a Dime

The desire of every webmaster and in fact anybody with... Read More

Do You Need to Marry The Daughter?

For the sake of this article let's forget about search... Read More

Unleash A Thundering, Non-Stop Traffic Stampede To Your Site -- Practically Overnight!

There is a new tool available that promise to do... Read More

For Both Search Engines And Real Estate, Location Is Everything

It's all about location, location, location!In the past...back in the... Read More

Generating Traffic On A Budget

Most webmasters keep their prized web traffic generating systems to... Read More

Costly Link Exchange Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When you are trying to promote your website, you want... Read More

Why Getting More Traffic is the Biggest Mistake Web Owners Make

Want to know the #1 misconception among Internet marketers and... Read More

Build Your Inbound Site Links Without Requesting Reciprocal Links

A funny thing happened to me three months ago. I... Read More

Using an e-Signature to Guarantee a Boost in Your Web Traffic!

Using an e-signature is one of the easiest, most effective... Read More

Reasons Why You Should Have A Weblogger Installed On Your Web Site

I don't know about you, but when I built my... Read More

Traffic Genereation: The Number One Skill That Will Generate Cash Flow (Part 2 of 3)

If you're feeling a bit of confusion and frustration about... Read More

25 Common Link Exchange & Search Engine Terms

In today's world of website promotion and traffic building, a... Read More