Lesson #27 Link Exchange Strategies Explored
Written By Cyndalie

Strategic linking is advantageous in a number of way. Obviously, the more incoming links to your site, can increase your traffic. Exchanging links with sites that are relevant in content to your own can help to boost your relevancy score, and it is widely believed that exchanging links with a site that has a higher Page Rank than your own will boost your own Page Rank in Google, therefore helping to increase your overall rankings.

Yet how is a webmaster to know what sites are best to target for link exchanges? When should you start exchanging links with other sites, how much traffic should you have? What is the best way to initiate an exchange between another webmaster? And finally, how do you decide the best place to put reciprocal links?

Targeting Your Exchanges

If your goal is to both increase your traffic with link exchanges and to increase your search engine ranking, start by targeting sites that hold top rankings for keywords that you are also hoping to target. "If you can't rank for it, get linked up with a site that is." Search Google for keywords you want to rank for and identify if the sites ranking have a links area or are open to the possibilities of an exchange. Getting linked with high ranking sites can help boost your own relevance.

Many webmasters are now using Alexa (Alexa.com) to find sites with high traffic rankings to target for exchanges. I have also heard of webmasters using Alexa to compare different sites to advertise on. Understand that Alexa's stats are based on a sample of users who use the Alexa Toolbar and are not 100% accurate in any way, however if you have no access to stats information about a site, Alexa is an option as a tool to consider.

One thing that is important to remember is that with traffic, it is not so much quantity as it is quality. By targeting irrelevant sites just based on the traffic it can send is not always the best option. Yes, the Internet is a numbers game, but for webmasters, if you have 5000 hits you can't convert eating up your bandwidth, you may have no hits at all and save yourself money in hosting fees. By targeting your link exchanges and limiting them to sites and directories that are relevant to your site will increase your chances of a possible conversion. And remember that search engine traffic typically converts the best so targeting sites with good search engine rankings, even if they don't have huge amount of traffic, could be the best option to start in a link campaign.

When to Start Linking

The ages old quandary of internet marketing: How can you exchange links/traffic unless you already have traffic to exchange? For sites just getting launched I suggest a progressive link strategy. Once your site is complete, optimized, and submitted to the search engines, it is best to begin submitting to adult search engines and getting listed in niche directories and link list sites. Adult search engines mostly want a home page return link back in exchange for listing your site and if that's what it takes to get listed, do it. After 3 weeks or so you will begin to see which engines have listed your site and which are sending you traffic by watching your referring logs in your stats (web based or log file analysis). Keep your links for the ones that send you the most traffic and move the rest to your links or console page.

This step alone, combined with some TGP, MGP, and/or Pic Post marketing efforts will bring in a few hundred hits a day. You are ready to start initiating exchanges once you have at least 300 hits a day. Once your site is indexed in the search engine and you are assigned a Page Rank you can begin targeting sites to exchange with that have the same or higher Page Rank than your site as well as based on keyword rankings.

Initiating an Exchange

You must be careful when contacting a webmaster for a link exchange, that your email A) Is not rude or anonymous in any way. It is polite, formal, and respective. B) It does not look like spam. There are automated crawlers out there that harvest email address off sites based on keywords and many bulk out email to webmasters to exchange links. There's nothing worse than getting 5 emails from the same webmaster asking for an exchange. C) You are forthright and upfront with the webmaster you are contacting. And D) Make the initial effort - add their link to your site first and they will be more open to adding your link rather than waiting around to see if you ever actually do.

Be sure to tell the webmaster who you are, why and how you have decided to contact them, what you would like to do, and how you would like to do it. For example:

Dear XXX.com Webmaster,
My name is Cyndalie, I run Cyndalie.com, a made up site for example purposes only. I have found your example site as well and think a link trade would be a good match. My site currently gets about 800 hits per day primarily from adult search engines and pay per click advertising I purchase.

I have taken the first step by adding your link to my site. You may review it at http://cyndalie.com/links.html. Please let me know if there is other placement or link type changes you'd like to request.

I would like to have a text link from this page on your site http://example.com/links.html or similar placement you feel will create an equal exchange.

Please let me know if you are interested in this exchange so I know where to keep, upgrade, or remove your link from my site. Thank you for your consideration, I can be reached on ICQ ####### or at Me@myemail.com. Best wishes with your site.

Fellow adult webmaster,
Cyndalie

Keep in mind, most webmasters you contact you may never hear back from. I link to mark sites that have not reciprocated with an * or "(Recip)" link notation. Don't be afraid to follow up. I even like to put below my name "This is a person to person email, not auto generated and I didn't add you to any list". You know most webmasters think the worst, to take the suspicions right out of their heads. You can never be too polite, however put some personality to it, or add anything that may lend you or your site some credibility in the faceless Internet world.

Deciding where to place the links you have exchanged with can be a tough decision. Ideally you want to give higher placement to the sites that bring you the most traffic in an attempt to even out the exchange. Webmasters want to receive as much traffic from a site as they send to it. If a site is sending you 100 hits per day and you are sending 5 and you are aware of it, try to set things right before the webmaster you have exchanged with pulls your link or moves it to a lower traffic area. Vice versa is true.

Many webmasters think of outgoing links as "traffic leaks". They want as many coming in but make it tough for the surfer to find their way out via a link trade because they have moved all their links to a crowded "links page" or buried them within their site. Now the home page is not always the best option for every trade you initiate, however consider the importance of maintaining an even exchange and explore options like using an exit console with your link trade there to increase the chances that a surfer will click on a link you have exchanged with on their way out. If they are leaving your site anyway and you were not able to convert the user, there is no harm in them exploring any of the sites you have traded with. That's what it's all about!

However, always open outgoing links in a new window (target="_Blank).

Above all, Experiment. What works for your site will be a unique blend of all these tips and ideas. You are the webmaster, just keep in mine what obligations you have made and contact the webmaster if you move their link or remove it completely. There's nothing worse than completing an exchange to come back a week later and your link is gone yet theirs is still up on your site. And don't forget to periodically run a link check to remove any sites that are no longer active. Happy promoting!