P
is For Process Trading Links - Any Real Value?
Author:
Gail Hornback
If you
manage a website, then you know that trading links with
other sites is said to be a valuable method of promoting your
website, and getting more traffic. But the true value of it
really depends on how you go about it. We receive at least one
or more "form letter" emails every day, telling us that one of
our sites has been visited, and our link has been added to their
site, with a request to return the link. These are from
automated link trade programs that list hundreds, even thousands
of sites, categorized in various ways. My guess is that these
pages of links are not perused very often. I don't spend any
time looking through them. Do you? In fact, when I received the
most recent "form letter", I went to the page to check out my
link. I found it after scrolling to the bottom of the page. It
was there, alright. But the description was the first 3 or 4
lines of text off of the main page of my site, which, in that
context, used as a description, did not really describe my site
at all. Some of the descriptions I saw there for other links
made NO sense whatsoever, as they had just been harvested off of
the site by the automated harvester. So, do I trade with them?
To tell you the truth, I won't even consider a link exchange,
unless the person requesting the trade has called me by name.
Then I know he, HIMSELF, has REALLY visited my site. My name and
contact information are easily found there. Secondly, I wouldn't
consider it a "fair" trade, since the link trades placed on my
site are of a different nature. They are more valuable!! If you
are serious about promoting your site by trading links with
other sites, then take the time to do it right.
1. Find sites
that complement your site, and that you would feel confident in
recommending to others. (Quite frankly, if a site doesn't meet
the criteria that I want my visitors to look at, it won't stand
a snowball's chance in the hot place of getting on my site! )
2.
Contact the webmaster with a personal email, telling them about
your site, and asking if they would be interested in trading
links.
3. Ask them to write their own description of their site,
as they would like it explained to your visitors. 3. Set up a
page on your site for these links, and call it something BESIDES
"link trades". Call it "Recommended sites", or anything
creative
that will tell your visitors that it is worth looking through.
Because it IS worth looking through. You have chosen these sites
specifically for a trade with your site! You are recommending
them to your visitors!!!
4. List each site name and their short
description. ( Yup, you'll have to do this yourself, by hand,
individually, one at a time!)
5. Strive to trade YOUR link
exclusively with sites that use these same guidelines. Your goal
in every aspect of your Ebusiness and website should be to give
VALUE to your visitors. REAL VALUE! This method of trading links
creates a much greater value for your visitors, not to mention
the increased value of the link you have traded on the other
end. It always comes down to the same basic idea. The best
results rarely come from the easiest method. Building a
successful Ebusiness will take work, which takes time. Looking
for an automated business? Time to get over it. And get on with
reality!
About the
author:
Gail Hornback is owner of http://webworksathome.com
and partners with Michael Smith in Coyote Marketing, (CM/YMTC), where you can
get Your Own 4-page customizable E-Business Website For Pocket Change.