2. Business websites are a necessity in today's society and
the internet is only as good as its links. Without links, the
internet simply would not be able to exist. To ensure a
quality World Wide Web continues, you must provide links
that your customers might be interested in. Linking to
other sites helps tell the customers which products you
use and trust. It also forms a bond of trust between you
and other sites. Moreover, it can improve your own site by
associating with other products that customers both know
and trust and by giving you an increased level of visibility.
There are two kinds of links you should include in your
site. You should include a general links section for the
benefit of your customers, and you should include a
reciprocal links section to help you and other businesses
as well as your customers.
3.
4. Another way to decide what general links to include in
your site is to consult with your customers. Internet-savvy
customers will be able to tell you what they look for in a
professional site and what they like and do not like about
your links. This can help you control the quality of your
links section. You could do this through a survey or by
simply informally interviewing your clientele.
5. Be sure to provide general links that have a high page rank
with internet search engines. This will increase your web
traffic. You can do this by typing a key phrase in a search
engine and look at the highest ranked pages that match
your results.
6. General links are great, but reciprocal links are an
essential part to the promotion of your website. You have
a strong site that offers your quality product and you want
people to know about your site. To make sure that you get
the traffic you need, you must have other sites directed
toward yours with links.
7. This process is fairly simply, but there are many ways to
engage in reciprocal linking.
8. First, research the sites you might want to link to. You
might start this process by making two lists. First, list the
sites you think your customers might be interested in. For
now, just write, you can consider narrowing your list down
at a later time. Next, create a list of sites that would
benefit your site. You can then compare the two lists and
see what they have in common. Compile a list of common
subjects, and list out three key words to fit with each
subject.
9. After the research phase, it is time to go online. Find a
Meta search engine and input all three words for each
subject. Any site that comes back with all three keywords
should be high on your priority list.
10. Once you've done that, it is time to start sifting through
your results. Bookmark any sites that look promising.
11. When you've made your final choices, it is time to draft a
letter to the webmaster of each site you're considering.
Get to the point quickly and sell your site to them. Do not
follow up if your original letter was not responded to.
12. The final step in this process is to negotiate the link and
location in terms of both sites. As soon as possible, get
their link on your site and send them a note letting them
now you have a live link to their site. Check their site
frequently to ensure they are upholding their promise to
you as well.
13. The entire process of choosing links and reciprocal links
increases your visibility to customers. Not only will they be
able to find you through the use of a search engine, they
will now be able to find you through the use of other
websites. This can mean nothing but good things for you
and your website.