You are Being Lied About Reciprocal Links!

Exchanging links has been an important part of generating traffic since the concept of Internet marketing was first established, but at least 90% of people looking to trade links don't understand the real benefits and, therefore, fail to make the most of them.

The vast majority of web site owners think that exchanging links is only helpful because it can boost their rankings in search engines such as Google.com. They are however, useful for this purpose since the number of links back to a site is figured into ranking calculations. But according to WebSideStory's StatMarket Web site optimization service, search engines account for only little more than 13% of an average web site's traffic.

The most important benefit of a link exchange is the traffic resulting directly from these links. That same StatMarket research found that 21% of site visitors get there via links which means the links themselves are more useful than the search engine listings!

Search engines can be unpredictable. Their algorithms change on an ongoing basis. Your site can be in the top 10 results today, but may not be tomorrow.

I'm not saying you should neglect the search engines. However, your main concern should be getting traffic from direct links. Search engine ranking should be your secondary concern.

Furthermore, your links page can serve as an excellent resource for your visitors. As any Internet marketer will tell you, it's the content that makes a successful site. When you provide useful links for your visitors, your site becomes more credible, more helpful, and more likely to be bookmarked for future visits - all of which adds up to a steady stream of traffic.

So how do you identify sites that can send you more of direct traffic? Here are some pointers to consider while exchanging links:

1) Look out for sites that have good content

Content is the #1 reason people go online. If a site has good content, more number of repeat visitors it'll have.

2) Look out for sites that display a prominent link to their links page on their home page as well as on rest of the pages

When I say prominent, I don't mean a link with h1 font size! What I mean is that the link should not be less prominent than the rest of links on the site.

Many web masters, particularly those who want links to help only their search engine ranking, will hide their links page or place it only on their home page, some where at the bottom with a -1 font size. The most common reason for doing this is a fear of losing visitors, but that fear is absolutely unfounded when you really understand how the Internet works.

Say your web site has a 1% conversion ratio. That means for every 100 visitors that visit your site, you make one sale. Now what about the rest 99. They are looking for something else, isn't it? So what do they do? They have 3 options:

a) Go back to the previous site.

b) Visit your links page (if you have one), hoping that they would find the information on sites listed there.

c) End their browsing session.

So which do you think is the best option? I would definitely want my visitors to go to my links page and visit my link partners rather than go back. Why? Because I know that my link partners will send a percentage of their visitors back to my site, thus offsetting any visitor loss.

A visitor exchange of this kind works best when all link partners have a prominent link to their links page on all the pages of their web sites. Visitors are then much more likely to move between the linked sites.

-----Side Bar-----

There are some sites that have their links page designed for link partners rather than for their visitors!

They'll use the following texts to link to their links page: "Let's Trade Links", "Trade Links" and so on... Such sites are more interested in finding link partners than providing information to their visitors. The end result is link partners visiting each other's site.

-----Side Bar-----

3) Look out for sites that have tightly themed and categorized links page

Sites that trade links solely for search engine rankings have random collections of links to hundreds of sites with almost every imaginable theme. These links pages are never going to be visited by people looking for additional information. On the other hand, sites that have their links categorized are more user friendly and are more likely to attract visitors.

Conclusion

It is essential to keep your visitors' interests in mind when designing your links page. Looking for, and adding, quality links, without this goal in mind is pointless. You need to start thinking of your links page as a service to your visitors rather than just a means to achieving a higher search engine ranking. Only with this perspective will you be able to make the most of your reciprocal links.

Vishal P. Rao is the owner of: http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/ An online community of people who work at home.

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Google News Updated : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:54:27 GMT Jalapeños Probed in Outbreak - Wall Street Journal Canada.com Jalapeños Probed in Outbreak Wall Street Journal - 50 minutes ago By JANE ZHANG and JANET ADAMY WASHINGTON -- Officials investigating the salmonella outbreak now are looking at jalapeño peppers as a leading suspect for spreading the bacteria that has sickened hundreds across the US over the past three months, ... Inspectors to halt import of some food from Mexico CNN Farmers say salmonella scare has hurt tomato sales The Associated Press Baltimore Sun - WUSF - News 10 Now - Nashua Telegraph all 390 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:04:01 GMT How Jesse Helms Made a Difference - Wall Street Journal ABC News How Jesse Helms Made a Difference Wall Street Journal - 50 minutes ago By JOHN FUND If Ronald Reagan was the sunny and optimistic face of modern conservatism, the uncompromisingly defiant exemplar of it was Jesse Helms, who died yesterday at age 86. Video: A Look Back At Jesse Helms CBS NC Senator's Hard-Line Conservatism Helped Craft Republican Social ... Washington Post Houston Chronicle - Kansas City Star - DetNews.com - Austin American-Statesman all 1,886 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:04:04 GMT Free speech alive, well as protesters interrupt Bush - Houston Chronicle Washington Post Free speech alive, well as protesters interrupt Bush Houston Chronicle - 1 hour ago By PETE YOST AP CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. - People lined up to be sworn in as new US citizens were unwitting witnesses Friday to a constitutional object lesson at President Bush's expense on the grounds of Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello. Video: Bush Invokes Jefferson on July 4 AssociatedPress Bush Welcomes 72 New US Citizens New York Times Austin American-Statesman - Los Angeles Times - CNN - Charlottesville Daily Progress all 832 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:37:30 GMT Estrich on Obama, Iraq, Experience and Race - FOXNews GulfNews Estrich on Obama, Iraq, Experience and Race FOXNews - 6 hours ago by Major Garrett The Bourbon Room had a long talk today with Susan Estrich, the campaign manager for Michael Dukakis’ 1988 presidential campaign. Video: AP Campaign Stories AssociatedPress Poll: Some Clinton supporters still not embracing Obama CNN Huffington Post - Newsweek - Chicago Tribune - CBS News all 2,146 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:14:13 GMT Red Sox 6, Yankees 4 Yankees’ Surge Lasts an Inning as Red Sox ... - New York Times National Post Red Sox 6, Yankees 4 Yankees’ Surge Lasts an Inning as Red Sox ... New York Times - 7 hours ago By TYLER KEPNER The first inning could not have gone better for the Yankees on Friday. The Boston Red Sox loaded the bases with one out, but Darrell Rasner survived with a pop out and a line out. Shoulder injury against Sox KO's Johnny Damon indefinitely New York Daily News A real off-the-wall play Boston Herald The Canadian Press - Times Herald-Record - The Associated Press - Sports Network all 438 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:34:48 GMT The Senate Stalls on Medicare - New York Times ChattahBox The Senate Stalls on Medicare New York Times - 1 hour ago Before leaving town for the Fourth of July recess, Senate Republicans thwarted a vote on a sensible Medicare bill that would benefit doctors and patients at the expense of overpaid private health plans. Some Medicare benefits might fall, co-pays rise Pittsburgh Post Gazette Tennessee: Senators' votes anger doctors Chattanooga Times Free Press Washington Post - Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Rapid City Journal - CNNMoney.com all 551 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:04:31 GMT Flights of affinity - Xinhua WELT ONLINE Flights of affinity Xinhua - 3 hours ago BEIJING, July 5 -- Friday is a historic day for cross-Straits relations. It saw weekend chartered planes and the first batch of tourist groups from the Chinese mainland to its Taiwan island inaugurate. RPT-China, Taiwan airlines to see lift from new flights Reuters China-Taiwan direct: Readers react BBC News International Herald Tribune - AFP - guardian.co.uk - United Press International all 865 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:33:23 GMT RSS Parser Web Site Traffic

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