'Power Linking Strategies': One Good Link Deserves Another
by Jack Humphrey
There is nothing on the web that compares to a good link when you are
talking about building steady streams of traffic to your site. "Link
Swapping", "Link Exchanges", "Reciprocal Linking",
"Power Linking", whatever you call it, a good quality linking
system for your website will bring you traffic like you've never dreamed
possible!
Did you know that one good link can bring you as much and more daily
traffic than a #1 position on a search engine? It's true!
Did you also know that there are sites out there, thousands of them,
who rely solely on the traffic they get from reciprocal links with other
webmasters? There are! I call the webmasters of these sites "Link
Minded" people!
Here are two "live" examples of sites that have taken full
advantage of "Link Popularity" to get 1-2 million hits PER MONTH.
Keep in mind that neither webmaster did anything more than Power Link
and submit their sites to the major search engines ONCE. You can check
out their live server logs to see how they are doing right now.
Example 1: CTEX CD Replication holds the number one keyword placement
on Yahoo for "CD replication." How did they get there? Link
popularity! Check out their live server log files at: http://www.ctexinc.com/stats/index.html
Example 2: Toolady.com is a website that has been using reciprocal links
for a long time and her web site traffic is generated almost completely
by reciprocal links! In four months it became one of the most heavily
trafficked bird web sites on the internet. Now it is simply the "Amazon.com"
of bird sites! No other form of marketing was done. Check out her server
log files here: http://toolady.com/reports/log_bird.html
No webmaster in their right mind would argue that links aren't the lifeblood
of the internet. A search engine is only a directory of links. A link
directory on your domain is also a search engine when you use the proper
technique of creating a "themed" category listing.
I think the biggest problem on the net today is that so many webmasters
are looking for a "Magic Pill" that will solve their traffic
problems with "The Click of a Button." How many times have you
seen an ad with those exact words in it? 50? 100 times or more?
Well, I am sorry to tell you, there is no magic pill. There is just no
substitute for plain, old fashioned hard work and dedication to your website
and the business you would like to succeed in. The internet offers tons
of automation solutions, and even reciprocal linking has had a couple
of valiant attempts at a certain degree of automation.
But in the end, exchanging meaningful, traffic-driving links with other
webmasters is and always will be a personal, one-on-one thing. It is like
a mini joint venture with other webmasters. You have to search for and
address them without bulk mail or spamming in order to even have a chance
at getting the mother of all links someday!
When you look at reciprocal linking (the oldest original form of advertising
since the web began) it is really surprising how few marketing experts
deal with the topic. I wrote a book about the whole phenomenon simply
because there were so few people looking into the science of link swapping!
And there is a science to it! There are pitfalls. There are plain NO-NOs.
There are myriad ways to waste your time chasing after useless links,
or worse, links that will get you banned from some search engines! Reciprocal
linking is not link farming or posting to 400,000 Free-for-All links pages.
(A most detestable practice used for awhile by all newbies, then abandoned
after the damage is done.)
In short, you really have few choices on the net better than starting
a link directory and asking webmasters with relevant content to your site
for a link swap. Unless you have a huge budget and can afford to pay someone
to get your site optimized and ranked in the top ten on all the big engines,
there aren't other alternatives.
Banner exchanges suck visitors from your site. Traffic exchanges bring
you hits, but totally uninterested visitors. Safe-list bulk mailing is
the same as sending your ad directly into 2 million trash cans per day.
It works for some people, but with phenomenally dismal returns. Don't
waste your time.
My recommendation for people who really want their site to be noticed
to the tune of 1000 hits a day or more, who are on a budget and are just
starting: start a link directory on your site and have clear instructions
on how to swap links with you.
Then, search the net for your link partners (relevancy is SO key here,
don't swap links with Victoria's Secret if you sell fishing line!) send
them personalized emails asking for swaps, set up top listings for those
willing to be "link partners" and keep going until you have
at least 100 links to your site! (Verifiable at altavista.com by typing
in "Link:yourdomain.com")
Then, stop and take a break and start again. It's work. Even with automation
software. There is no high quality traffic to be had on the net without
work. Did you ever in your life hear a successful business owner say "It
really was easy, it took no real work at all to get where I am today!?"
But the payoff here is guaranteed: Reciprocal links will bring you traffic
and increase your site's link popularity and ranking on the search engines
in ways you've only dreamed about before. Any webmaster willing to do
what it takes to succeed should be willing to work to get a huge amount
of traffic through link swapping!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jack Humphrey is the author of "Power
Linking Your Way to 1 Million Hits!" and the CEO of http://WebmasterTrafficTools.com
Go Back to the
Link Popularity Articles Directory |
