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Article by LinksManager.com Staff -
© 2009, Reproduction without permission prohibited.
How To Cast A Wider Net When Fishing For Links
Know this: Quality is always more important than quantity when adding links and link pages to your website.
Link quality, not quantity, is what determines whether the traffic attracted to your site by a link on another site is made up of qualified prospects or just looky-loos.
Link quality, not quantity, is what determines whether the information provided on sites and pages you link to will benefit you by increasing your site's credibility and giving your site visitors value-added information.
Link quality, not quantity, is what Googlebot and the other search engine crawlers consider when they're deciding how much positive (or, in the case of non-relevant, spammy or otherwise dishonorable links, negative) weight your link campaign will add to your page rank and return position.
Yeah. Quality. Useful links. Relevant links. Organically harvested and posted links. Those are the sweetest fruits in the hyperlink garden. Most of the other links are fruit of the forbidden kind.
Which is why you need to cast as wide a net as possible when fishing for new links.
That's not a typo. It's the first half of a two-part stone-cold truth about owning and operating most websites. To maximize traffic and potential search engine benefits, you need to consistently add new quality links and delete links which may have become extinct or irrelevant (due, for example, to changes in the nature or the business of products offered on your site or the linked site.)
The second part of that truth is that no matter how you go about acquiring potential link partners, whether you passively wait for other webmasters to approach you or actively seek out and solicit new links yourself, you need to cast as large a net as possible because most of the fish you catch are going to get away. You'll either toss them back because they're not quite what you're looking for, or the other webmaster will decide his site isn't exactly a perfect fit with yours and opt out of establishing a link.
It's a basic bit of logic every angler knows, the more fish in the pond, the more likely you are to land one you'd like to invite to dinner.
If you've spent any time going through the curriculum here at the Linking School, you've probably already dipped into our deep well of information on good links and how to get them.
Among other things, we've covered Enhanced Linking, Link Matchmaking, Real Estate Linking, Nonsense Linking Contracts and many similar topics.
The good news is, we're not going to revisit any of those subjects here. Instead we're going to give you a thinking-out- of-the-box Top Ten list of hints and tips for finding links.
1. Business cards: You'd be amazed, really you would, by how many small business operators don't even remember to put their website address on their business cards (or in their Yellow Pages ads, for that matter.)
You, on the other hand, are smarter than that. You never overlook an opportunity to promote your site. How about using your cards to promote your linking campaign as well? Among other things, business cards tend to be distributed locally and quality localized links are golden for sites operated by trades people or professionals who deliver person-to-person services.
ISince space on business cards is limited, a couple of words like "Looking for great links" printed under your URL plus, if space permits, the URL of your "Suggest Link Form" (SLF) should be enough to get the idea across.
2: Invoices: Do you send out invoices? If you do, chances are the companies receiving those bills are in businesses related to yours, making their sites potentially good, and relevant link partners. Putting a line like "Always Seeking Relevant Website Links" and the URL of your SLF on your invoice form can't hurt and will almost always help.
3: Telephone Answering Message (Auto Attendant): Though it relies on people remembering to act on something they've heard, adding a verbal note that you value relevant links on your site could get you some productive link solicitations if you frequently receive calls from other e-businesspeople. Consider adding your SLF somewhere in your auto attendant or on hold audio.
4. You The Customer: As we all know, assuming makes an ass of u and mi (pronounced as in do-re-mi) but we'll risk an assumption here. If you sell things online, you probably buy things online as well. As you've almost certainly noticed, many e-retailers provide a place for you to send a message or "special instruction" with an order. PayPal, for example, gives you an option to add a message every time you use your account to make a payment.
If the merchant you're buying from seems like he would make a good link partner, using these "instruction" or "message" text boxes to solicit a link is a smart move. Don't forget to include your SLF URL as part of your message.
5. Your Home Page: it's a no brainer. Sites related to yours are most likely checking out your site. Maybe you sell women's custom jewelry. In that case, put some verbiage in the lower corner of your home page that reads something like: "We are always looking to link with relevant sites in the women's accessories market including informational sites that discuss fashion trends, jewelry styles, gifts for women, etc. If you have a website in any of these related markets, click here to link with us". Make sure to hyperlink all of the text to your SLF.
When related businesses they see this verbiage on your home page, they will click it and immediately request a link with you. In many cases, they will go ahead and link back first in anticipation that you will approve their link.
This above example can be applied to any kind of site, just insert the appropriate keywords. Update them quarterly to reflect the latest content or offerings on your site.
6. Word of Mouth: Talking about your site to other merchants is another excellent way to pick up some solid local links. Maybe you sell sporting goods. Why not suggest a link exchange to the owner of the gym you go to? Or the sales director of your golf club? Or the general manager of the D League ball team that buys its uniforms from you?
These kind of link exchanges work exactly the same way as the time-honored practice of putting business cards or fliers on a bulletin board, they attract local customers. And, something impossible for a flier, than can positively influence a search bot.
7. Chamber of Commerce & similar trade groups: Did you know that the Rotary International "About Us" web page lists "networking" as the first "benefit" of joining the Rotary Club? One of the original goals of Rotary, they say "was to allow club members to meet periodically and enlarge their circle of business and professional acquaintances." The same could be, and often is, said about many other civic and community organizations. So if you're a Rotarian or an Elk or a member of the Chamber of Commerce -- or even a confirmed Odd Fellow -- don't shy away from discussing the mutual benefits of linking with other members who maintain websites. Hand out business cards with your SLF on them.
8. Competitive Non-Competitors: Wouldn't a "dining-out" links page covering all your town's best beaneries be a nice, end-user-friendly thing?
On one hand, every restaurant competes with every other restaurant for diners' dollars. On the other hand, most people simply aren't going to go out for sushi 100 percent of the time and chop suey never. A common links page (think of it as a menu) on 10 or 12 local restaurant sites would be greater than the sum of its parts and while delivering customers to everyone. And it will generate link requests back to your site from local area businesses in your local market.
9. Multi-Task Your Browsing: Don't focus on only one method for acquiring links. Don't limit your link opportunities by becoming complacent. Try to keep linking possibilities somewhere on the back burner of your consciousness every time you use the web. If you see a website you want to link with, send the website a short two sentence email "Your site is related to mine, would be a great link partner. Click here if you want to link with us" and then provide the hyperlink to your SLF.
10. Maximize Your Conversion Ratio: LinksManager and LinkPartners give you a ton of tools for obtaining links -- everything from customizable SLFs to a linking-specific toolbar to a free directory of human-validated potential link partners.
As with links themselves, the key to the tools is not how many you use, but how well you use them. You can elect to use all our handy, time- proven link-building tools, some of them, or none at all. The decision will depend on the nature of your site, your work preferences and your linking goals. Whether you use one tool or all the tools, however, your success rate -- the percentage of successful hard-working, productive links developed from "X" amount of time and effort -- will depend largely on how well you use them.
Virtually all LinksManager tools are designed for both the novice and experts. Many of the suggestions in the Linking School, FAQs and Help files can be implemented with varying degrees of sophistication and intensity. Regardless of method, all the tools, all the suggestions, all the tips work. Understand a bit about them, use them a little and you'll get a decent number of good links. Take the trouble to really learn them, make the time to call the Helpdesk if something stumps you, and use what you've learned at full throttle and you'll get lots of good links.
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