Link trading is the task of getting
links to your site on other sites by trading.. umm..
links. This is done to get more traffic to you website.
Link trading creates more traffic in two main ways,
increased search engine rankings and also from the traffic
the links themselves generate from people clicking on
them.
Link Trading and Search Engines
Trading links helps search engine rankings because the
algorithms that determine rankings factor in the number
of sites that link back to the site to be ranked. The
logic is that sites that have many links pointing back
to it must be relevant and good in some sense, and are
therefore ranked higher in the engines.
How to Trade Links
Now that we know what link trading is, how is it done?
There are many methodologies. Since link trading can
involve many contacts, requests and link categorizations,
it is best to use software to handle your link trading
campaign.
Link Trading Software
The software you choose should allow you to create a
link directory, ad links to that directory, send requests
to have your link posted on other sites and a method
for keeping track of responses.
Link Trading Process
The general process begins when the site owner identifies
a site which he or she would like to trade links with.
Generally, these sites should be relevant to the topic
of your site, or at least have a section dedicated to
the topic of your site. Trading links with huge numbers
of unrelated sites will actually hurt your search engine
rankings in most cases. Also, usually it is a good idea
to look for well-ranked sites to trade links with. The
importance of a well-ranked site's link to your site
in search engine algorithms will be greater than those
of not so well ranked sites.
After the site to trade links with is located, a link
to that site is posted on your site. Sometimes the link
would be posted on a different site than the site wishing
to get a link back. This produces non-reciprocal links,
which weigh heavier in search engines.
After the link is posted, a request is sent that a link
back be posted, explaining that if a link back is not
created, the original link to the prospects site is
likely to be removed.
If a link is returned, then the trade is marked as successful
and each of the link traders has one more site linking
to it. Other wise a follow up is sent. If the follow
up still does not result in a link back, often the link
would be removed.
Link Trading Etiquette
Asking to trade links without posting a link to the
site you are wishing to trade with is bad form. The
prospect is likely to think 'If this person has not
already posted a link to my site, what will motivate
them to do so when I post a link to their site?' Many
people will not even respond to a link request whereas
the link has not yet been posted.
This is of course only a brief introduction to link
trading. In short, effective link trading requires organization,
persistence and time, yet is often well worth the effort.
About The Author: Halstatt Pires - is an Internet marketing consultant
with www.marketingtitan.com - an Internet marketing
firm in San Diego offering automated website systems
through www.businesscreatorpro.com.
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