Developing a Reciprocal Link Strategy
Ask 10 search engine marketing experts about reciprocal linking
and you'll get 10 different answers. Is reciprocal linking dead?
Does it help with rankings? Does it add value to a website beyond
rankings? Well in our humble opinion the answers are: No, reciprocal
linking is not dead. Yes, it helps with rankings if it is done correctly
and yes, there can be great value to reciprocal linking. Why?
- Links add valuable content to your site. And we know that search
engines (as well as people) love great content.
- Exchanging relevant, high-quality links with other sites in your
field is one of the best methods of driving targeted traffic to
your site — and it's free. No search engine fees here.
- Search engines like Google (arguably the most important search
engine today) use link popularity as a method of ranking your site
in their results. The more sites that link to you (especially high
traffic sites relevant to your field), the higher on the page your
site will appear when someone searches on “your” keywords.
Your target audience will visit your Links page time after time
(and often stay to visit other pages in your site) if you provide
them with a list of categorized sites, along with a few lines about
why you like the site and what it has to offer. They'll pass the
URL of your Links page along to others, too, because the information
is so valuable.
For example, a rock band could have categories like this: Music
Pros (links to music business industry sites); Indies (links for
independent musicians); Fans (links to personal sites or favorite
sites of band members); Music Lovers (links to other musicians who
appeal to the same audience).
A writer might include links in these categories: Writers Groups & Associations;
Writers Retreats & Conferences; Research (links to online libraries
etc); Publishers of the writer's own work; Favorite Writers; Marketing & PR
for Writers. You can see how useful these links would be to writers
who are looking for a publisher, or information on how to break into
the field, or on how to become a more successful writer.
If you take the time to write a few sentences about why you recommend
each site, you make your list of links even more valuable. You move
it into the category of a mini-review. Don't be bland — write
an informed, opinionated review and you'll develop a reputation and
a following.
Of course, adding new links on a regular basis is always a good
idea!
Beyond providing links as valuable content, you want other sites
in your field of interest to link to *you*. Preferably, you want
sites with high traffic who are in your field but are not direct
competitors. First you find them; then you link to them; then you
write to them and ask for a reciprocal link.
If you already have a site that's up and running, check your statistics
log. Look for the most popular keywords or phrases that people are
using to find your site in search engines. Also make a list of search
terms that you want to be found for. Search on those terms to check
out your competition. Review the sites that show up on the first
1-3 pages of search results — those are the ones that are most
likely receiving the highest traffic for those search terms.
Then go to Google, and type in "link:www.competitors-sitename.com".
You'll turn up a list of all the pages that are linking to that site.
Now you have a list of your competitors, and a list of sites who
have linked to them. Those are the sites you want linked to yours!
(This method is also the perfect way to find out what sites are
already linking to you. Just insert your own domain name — "link:www.mysizzlingsite.com".
You can also visit MarketLeap.com to
find out how many sites link to yours, and how your site compares
to other sites on the web.)
Visit as many of the sites that link to your competitors as you
can. Review each site and decide which ones you want to add to your
own Links page. Write an insightful mini-review. Then . . .
Find the right email link for the site — you may have to go
to an "About" page or a “Contact” page. Make
sure you find the most appropriate person possible to write to.
Make your link request as easy as possible for someone to deal with.
Make sure you include the title of your web site, your URL and a
suggested description that includes your target search terms (and
don't include marketing hype in your description). Everyone's busy,
and not everyone will take the time to review your site and write
their own blurb (even though you, of course, will always do that!).
You might briefly want to mention why you think the link will benefit
their site's visitors — they are not necessarily going to link
to you just because you want them to. Also tell them that you've
already added them to your Links page, and provide them with the
URL so they can read what you wrote about them.
If you don't hear back from them within a month or so, send a polite
follow-up request, including all the information in your original
request. If you still don't hear in another month, ask again. Then
let it go.
Sharing information through links is one of the core concepts of
the World Wide Web. Have I convinced you to create that dynamite
Links page? If you take the time to do it well, you'll be rewarded
with increased traffic, an expanding community for your site, and
good karma! 
Sources include:
(Links will open in new windows.)
Danny Sullivan, SearchEngineWatch.com
Jill Whalen, HighRankings.com
Marcia Yudkin, Web Site Marketing Makeover, Top Floor Publishing
2001.
©2002 Joanna P. Colbert,
May 2002 Web Site Promotion Tips Newsletter
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