THE RECIPROCAL LINKING GUIDE.

By Paul Easton

If you have a site that has a low budget for marketing,
reciprocal links can provide a long-term source of traffic. Some
web site owners fear giving away hard earned traffic to other
sites by links out. With the right precautions, links to other
sites can actually help you build more visitors without losing
any traffic. First we will look at how to find sites with which
to exchange links, then at how to ask for links, finally at how
to protect your existing traffic.

Finding Sites With Which To Swap Links

A) First stop - search engines. Use this email address
search@kimsal.com  with any keyword or keyword phrase in the
subject and a blank body, then hit send. In a couple of minutes,
check your email and you will have the URLs of the top 5 ranked
sites across 5 major engines. (There is a fee of $5/month for
full service, but you can get a few as a demo for free.
Alternatively, go to the search engines directly - Ed)

B) Do this for 10 different phrases that your customer would
use to find something in a slightly different market. If you
specialize in home business online, then you might search for
"home business accounting software" or "small business help"
Combine these lists and you have very targeted URLs,

C) Visit each URL to be sure it is a quality site with which
you want to exchange links. You are also looking for the name of
each site owner so you can address a message personally.

As an aside, you can list your site at the following. The first is
The Reciprocal Link Directory on my site. It's a searchable directory
of categorized sites that want to swap links.
http://141Link.com
http://exposepromotions.com/resources/reciprocaldirectory/
http://reciprocallink.com/directory/
http://iwr.com/free/reciprocal.htm

Making The Contact

Compose your letter. Make it personal and include the following
points. Remember no site wants to lose a lot of traffic by giving
away links out.

1) Compliment the site, perhaps its lay out, helpfulness, or resources.
Include details of something worthwhile deep in the site. Be genuine!
2) Explain why you are writing.
3) Describe your site and show you cater to a similar market, that
you provide good information helpful to his visitors.
4) Define the type of link you would like. For example, you
can swap articles, text links, banners, or buttons.
5) Point out you already have a link on your site to his and give the
address of the page. Make sure he can find this link easily.
6) If possible, include something free you can provide him or
his site, such as software or a service at a discount.

You can automate the process and make it simple to place
links by downloading the free cgi script at:
http://141link.com/free_cgi_script.htm

Okay, you have a couple of new links to your site and some
out; it's a start! Now you need to make sure you do not lose too
much traffic to the links out. http://icthus.net/CGI-City   has
a script called CC Goodbye. When the visitor leaves your site it
will open a small new window in which you can offer a special
deal. Offer free software or another benefit to your visitor for
subscribing to your newsletter so you can contact them regularly.
As an example, see my free 5 day marketing course with software
included at http://141link.com/free_email.htm  

When you receive a link: Ask what page it will be on, then
load that information into URLbase:
http://www.envprogramming.com/urlbase/tradelinks.html
This nifty little piece of free software will tell you what links
are on any page you specify without having to go to that site.

If you ask those linking to your site to use something like
http://yoursite.com/?www.theresite.com, your tracking software
can tell you how many are coming from a particular site. If you
don't have a tracking program or service check out Web Site
Reporter at http://www.websitereporter.com It tells you just
about everything about your visitors. (Web Logs also works well,
and it's free. http://awsd.com/scripts/weblog/index.shtml   -- Ed)

It takes some persistence to get links. Some will bring you a little
traffic, some a lot, but it is passive traffic you do not have to maintain,
as with search engine rankings or banner programs.
________________________________________________

Visit The Free Reciprocal Link Directory created by Paul
Easton http://www.141Link.com  Get more visitors to your
web site and sell to them with these three reports.
"How to Create a Successful Online Newsletter"
"The Sales Process - Creating Killer Copy"
Free E-book "Keywords - Your Key to Success"
Free when you subscribe by clicking on the following.
mailto:home-profit-online@oaknetpub.com?subject=SUBSCRIBE

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