Linking Page

Are you looking for a "free" way to promote your company's website and generate more traffic? Here's some info on just how to do that. If you are reading this page, you were most likely personally selected by Flanagan & Associates to become a link partner. We believe that both of our businesses can benefit from a link exchange. Please see the information below, and contact us with any questions.

Reciprocal linking is considered by many people the most effective way to increase traffic to your website. You often get hits from the web sites that you have exchanged your links with, and reciprocal linking also helps boost your search engine rankings.

What is a reciprocal link?

Before plunging into the body of the discussion, it is important to define what a reciprocal link is, and perhaps more importantly, what it is not.

A reciprocal link is a text and/or banner link to a site that, somewhere in its pages, carries a similar text/banner link to your own site.

A reciprocal link is a commitment. This link basically says "The site at the other end of this link feels that my site is important enough to link to, and I feel that their site is important enough that I am willing to let visitors leave my site via this link."

A reciprocal link involves an element of trust. Few Webmasters have the time or patience to constantly monitor the sites that link back to them, so you are trusting the other site to maintain the link on their site, and not bury it under other information or delete it during a site upgrade. Trust me, I have experienced both situations, and it can be frustrating when your own links page is in order.

A reciprocal link is not a quick fix to bring more traffic. I have seen sites with over 100 banner and text links on a single page -- now how much traffic do you think the sites featured on that page were getting from those links? I visited some of the linked sites, and most offered the same scenario: a cobbled together mishmash of links and graphics, many of them broken or out of date, none benefiting the relevant sites

A reciprocal link is a link to a website that carries a similar link back to your own website.

A reciprocal link is a common thread between you and another website owner. You both likely share similar websites and content, and you are o'kay with the possibility of a viewer leaving your site to take a look at your linking partner's site.

By utilizing reciprocal linking strategies, you can enhance your web presence. Take advantage of these tools and start climbing to the top!

Reciprocal links form a vital part of any website promotion effort. You have created great content, or offer a superb product or service -- and now, you want people to know about it.

The Web is only as useful as the sum of its links, as without links it is just a disparate collection of pages. Links are the glue behind the Web. To ensure that your page has the visibility it deserves, you will need other sites to point to yours

The process of exchanging reciprocal links is essentially a simple one, but there are various approaches that can be taken in searching out and requesting links, as well as pitfalls that must be avoided. In this guide, I have attempted to provide the information required to smooth the process of exchanging links. Where relevant, I have taken the liberty of drawing on my own sites for examples.

Which sites to link to?

I would strongly advise against indiscriminate linking. By choosing sites relevant to the subject of your site, you maintain the interest level of your visitors in the topic they have just been exploring with you.

With hundreds of thousands of sites out there, there is just no need to desperately exchange links with everyone in sight. Focus is the key to attracting traffic; after all, how many people will click on a link to a genealogy site when reading about sheep shearing?

Placing the Link on your site:

Be prompt, and be accurate. Set up the text or graphical link and test it. Make sure that the graphic loads, and that there is an ALT text tag for any graphics. Ask the target site what text they would like if they have not specified it already. Most importantly, check that the link works, and that it points to the right page.

Once the link is set up, mail the target site a short note, to the effect that the link is now "live" and can be found at http://LINKURL/ Then WAIT. If after a week, your link has still not been added to the target site, send a gentle reminder but don't push it.

The rewards?

Is all of this effort worth it? A thousand times yes, and yes again! Think of website promotion like growing a bonsai tree: the initial quick fix [listing in search engines and directories] is equivalent to purchasing the tree. After that, careful pruning and maintenance [searching out reciprocal links and other avenues of promotion] will lead to great rewards. Do not expect miracles from a few reciprocal links. However, a small, steady program of exchanging links with relevant sites will definitely help to boost your visitor count and at the same time add an extra je ne sais quoi to your own site.