1. Figuring out what kind of site to link with.
2. Research the site's you may want to link with.
3. Request the link.
4. Linking to the other site.
5. Add the reciprocal link to your own site.
6. Verify your link is in place and stays in place.
1. Figuring out what kind of site to link with.
Research is the key to figuring out what kind of site to link with.
For so many reasons on so many levels, I strongly suggest you don't link with just anybody. More on this a little later.
OK, first make a list of the type of sites you think your visitors would be interested in. For example if your site sells something like pink elephant polish for pygmy elephants, your visitors might be interested in yummy little elephant treats, or maybe obedience training for elephants kept in small apartments. Try to think of as many different key phrase alternatives as possible just work to keep them on topic, and try to come up with 20 or so. Your key phrases should have approximately three or more keywords in each phrase. (For example: pink, elephant, polish).
2. Research the site's you may want to link with.
The next step in the research exercise is to conduct some searches. The best way to do this is to use a good Meta-Search" Engine. I suggest using http://www.AIMetaSearch.com but there's many others available online, just find one that suits you best.
Since you've already determined that these keywords most accurately represent the kind of sites you are interested in, sites with all three keywords should have priority.
Start visiting the sites from the top down. I usually try to do 50 to 100 at a time, but do whatever you're comfortable with. Quickly go through and scan each site. I usually take a couple of minutes to look around, doing a broad YES or NO to see if the site is relative enough to bookmark, if not I just move on to the next site. Usually by the time I'm done I have 15 to 20 sites bookmarked.
Now at this point I go back and revisit each site and more carefully inspect it. I'm looking to see if the information or services it offers would be something that my visitors might be interested in. I also try to determine if my own website will offer anything useful to the visitors of the other site. I always take a little extra time to look around before my final decision, I'm looking for anything that might be inappropriate like links to adult sites.
After I'm satisfied I place the site on my short list and go on to the next step.
3. Request the link.
You need to draft a short one paragraph letter to the webmaster or contact person at each website. Don't get too wordy keep the information short and relevant. Web masters from a well ranked site literally get hundreds of requests a month, don't waste their time get write to the point, and be sure to show a relevant interest in their site.
For example:
Hello there. I visited your site on elephant polishing earlier today and found it very interesting. I was especially interested in your article on grooming products for pygmy elephants. I run a site about elephant dental care (http://MYURL) and I was wondering if you might be interested in exchanging links with me. I am sure that visitors to my site would benefit from your information when considering grooming products for their pet elephants.
I look forward to hearing from you soon,
John P Brain
WebMaster, Elephant dental care
Quick tip: You can find a number of template examples of reciprocal link request emails on the Internet, I suggest if you're going to use them, make sure you modify them each time they are sent to different sites so they at least appear original.
I receive a certain note template regularly and disregard it as it appears to me that the person sending it has not reviewed my site properly and really doesn't take the process seriously. If another web master points towards a certain article or section of Franklyns Bay, it motivates me to review what the web master has to offer my site visitors.
Back to my letter, Do you think it needs a little work? Hhmm... I'll work on it.
Everything is there: interest in the target site, reason for interest, and "bait". The "bait" is very important: you have to literally make your point and sell your site in the space of one or two lines. You have to sell yourself in reverse: give the target site a compelling reason for YOU to link to THEM, and the reciprocal link will come naturally.
Now, if you send out approximately 30 responses. What can you expect to get back? Well if you went through all the steps and completed them properly, you can expect about 30 to 50% to be a positive response. But you have to take in to consideration some other factors that may influence your results. Did the target sites have a reciprocal link policy, was your approach compelling enough and did they visit your site and find it professional enough.
If you didn't receive a reply DO NOT FOLLOW UP with another e-mail. I've seen it get ugly too often, just let it go. I don't care if you believe your approach was perfect in your research was thorough, and know it didn't get lost in the mail. the target site genuinely is not interested in linking to yours. For whatever reason it doesn't matter just accept the fact, and move on to the next site.
4. Linking to the other site.
Congratulations somebody wants to exchange a link with you. OK now that you've agreed to exchange links with someone let's get everything ready to go. It's time to sort out details For example the type of link and where the link is going to appear.
I would caution you not to be too stubborn, especially when dealing with very popular sites. My experience shows that even an less than an equal exchange can be very beneficial to your site.
Set up the text or graphical link and test it. Make sure that the graphic loads, and that there is an ALT text tag for any graphics. This is no time to be sloppy. Ask the target site what text they would like if they have not specified it already.
Very important, Don't forget to use the correct anchor text, and always check that the link works, and that it points to the right page. You wouldn't believe some of the mistakes I've seen from not checking. Make it as easy as possible for them, put the html code in an email and send it to them, so they only have to copy and paste one time and you get the exact link you want.
Once the link is set up on your site, mail the target site webmaster a quick note, to the effect that the link is now "live" and can be found at http://LINK YOUR URL / Then WAIT. Be patient. Waiting about a week to see if your link appears. If after several days your link has still not been added to the target site, send a gentle reminder but DO NOT PUSH IT!
Some web masters are so busy they only update links once every two or three weeks specially on the larger sites. After all your hard work you don't want to lose out at this point.
Normally after three weeks I would follow up with another e-mail. Remember Just a gentle reminder. About 90% of the time I will receive an e-mail back thanking me for my patients and directing me to my link. However, if there is still no response then it is perfectly reasonable to remove any links you may have added.
5. Add the reciprocal link to your own site.
There are so many different ways to display reciprocal links on your website. Some people Label them as reciprocal links and place them on specific pages of their website. Others incorporate them into their pages as imbedded links. You can also choose to separate them according to category, or lump them all together.
There's no "right" answer: The important thing to remember is that, no matter what method you decide to use, just be fair and respectful to the sites you are linking to.
Under no circumstances, do you bury the links somewhere under reams of graphics and text, or attempt to discourage any visitors from using the links in any way. Never ever put a link inside a single "frame" to effectively keep visitors on your site.
If your content is compelling enough, your visitors will certainly be back -- and they will thank you for drawing their attention to other interesting sites.
6. Verify your link is in place and stays in place.
Link verification in today's market is a necessity. It's also a time consuming process which I personally prefer to entrust to software. The software helps you maintain your reciprocal link partners information and lets you keep track of whether your web site has been continuously linked by your link partners. I believe it's a must-have feature, to make sure you are not deceived by your link partners if you have provided a link from your web site to theirs. I'm not going to suggest any one particular software over another, instead I would just suggest you do your own research and find one. There is also link verification service providers which will monitor your reciprocal link partners and notify you of any changes by e-mail. No matter what method you decide to go with is fine just select one and go with it. I guarantee you'll sleep better tonight.
The rewards?
Is all of this effort worth it? A thousand times yes, and yes again! Think of website promotion like obedience training your elephant: the initial quick fix (listing in search engines and directories) is equivalent to finding and purchasing your baby elephant. After that, careful training and grooming (searching out reciprocal links and other avenues of promotion) will lead to great rewards. Do not expect miracles from a few reciprocal links. Just like attending only a few elephant obedience training classes will not yield much In the way of a manageable elephant. However, a small, steady program of exchanging links with relevant sites will definitely help to boost your visitor count.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and happy linking.
