Developing a Reciprocal Link Strategy
Ask 10 search engine marketing experts about reciprocal linking and you'll get 10 different answers. Is reciprocal linking dead? Does it help with rankings? Does it add value to a website beyond rankings? Well in our humble opinion the answers are: No, reciprocal linking is not dead. Yes, it helps with rankings if it is done correctly and yes, there can be great value to reciprocal linking. Why?
- Links add valuable content to your site. And we know that search engines (as well as people) love great content.
- Exchanging relevant, high-quality links with other sites in your field is one of the best methods of driving targeted traffic to your site — and it's free. No search engine fees here.
- Search engines like Google (arguably the most important search engine today) use link popularity as a method of ranking your site in their results. The more sites that link to you (especially high traffic sites relevant to your field), the higher on the page your site will appear when someone searches on “your” keywords.
Your target audience will visit your Links page time after time (and often stay to visit other pages in your site) if you provide them with a list of categorized sites, along with a few lines about why you like the site and what it has to offer. They'll pass the URL of your Links page along to others, too, because the information is so valuable.
For example, a rock band could have categories like this: Music Pros (links to music business industry sites); Indies (links for independent musicians); Fans (links to personal sites or favorite sites of band members); Music Lovers (links to other musicians who appeal to the same audience).
A writer might include links in these categories: Writers Groups & Associations; Writers Retreats & Conferences; Research (links to online libraries etc); Publishers of the writer's own work; Favorite Writers; Marketing & PR for Writers. You can see how useful these links would be to writers who are looking for a publisher, or information on how to break into the field, or on how to become a more successful writer.
If you take the time to write a few sentences about why you recommend each site, you make your list of links even more valuable. You move it into the category of a mini-review. Don't be bland — write an informed, opinionated review and you'll develop a reputation and a following.
Of course, adding new links on a regular basis is always a good idea!
Beyond providing links as valuable content, you want other sites in your field of interest to link to *you*. Preferably, you want sites with high traffic who are in your field but are not direct competitors. First you find them; then you link to them; then you write to them and ask for a reciprocal link.
If you already have a site that's up and running, check your statistics log. Look for the most popular keywords or phrases that people are using to find your site in search engines. Also make a list of search terms that you want to be found for. Search on those terms to check out your competition. Review the sites that show up on the first 1-3 pages of search results — those are the ones that are most likely receiving the highest traffic for those search terms.
Then go to Google, and type in "link:www.competitors-sitename.com". You'll turn up a list of all the pages that are linking to that site.
Now you have a list of your competitors, and a list of sites who have linked to them. Those are the sites you want linked to yours!
(This method is also the perfect way to find out what sites are already linking to you. Just insert your own domain name — "link:www.mysizzlingsite.com". You can also visit MarketLeap.com to find out how many sites link to yours, and how your site compares to other sites on the web.)
Visit as many of the sites that link to your competitors as you can. Review each site and decide which ones you want to add to your own Links page. Write an insightful mini-review. Then . . .
Find the right email link for the site — you may have to go to an "About" page or a “Contact” page. Make sure you find the most appropriate person possible to write to.
Make your link request as easy as possible for someone to deal with. Make sure you include the title of your web site, your URL and a suggested description that includes your target search terms (and don't include marketing hype in your description). Everyone's busy, and not everyone will take the time to review your site and write their own blurb (even though you, of course, will always do that!).
You might briefly want to mention why you think the link will benefit their site's visitors — they are not necessarily going to link to you just because you want them to. Also tell them that you've already added them to your Links page, and provide them with the URL so they can read what you wrote about them.
If you don't hear back from them within a month or so, send a polite follow-up request, including all the information in your original request. If you still don't hear in another month, ask again. Then let it go.
Sharing information through links is one of the core concepts of the World Wide Web. Have I convinced you to create that dynamite Links page? If you take the time to do it well, you'll be rewarded with increased traffic, an expanding community for your site, and good karma!
Sources include:
(Links will open in new windows.)
Danny Sullivan, SearchEngineWatch.com
Jill Whalen, HighRankings.com
Marcia Yudkin, Web Site Marketing Makeover, Top Floor Publishing 2001.
©2002 Joanna P. Colbert, May 2002 Web Site Promotion Tips Newsletter
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