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How to optimize your linking campaign
How can your site obtain high search engine rankings and
get targeted traffic? You probably already know the answer:
reciprocal links.
Getting many incoming links from reputable sites to your
web site will bring you high search engine rankings. On top
of that, those links will bring you targeted traffic.
To get incoming links to your site, you must write to webmasters
and ask for reciprocal links. However, after writing hundreds
of those link request messages, you start to notice that you've
never received a positive response.
Why is this so and what can you do to optimize your linking
campaign? Just take a look at successful linking campaigns.
They all have several strategies in common:
- Before asking someone to place a link to your web site,
link to that person first. If you give potential link partners
something in advance, they're much more likely to link back.
- Tell potential link partners in your link request messages
where they can find the reciprocal link to their site.
- Your link directory pages should be easy to find on your
site. Don't bury reciprocal links deep in your site but
give them a prominent listing.
If people cannot find your link directory when they surf
your web site, a link in your link directory won't mean
much to potential link partners so they won't link back
to you.
Contrary to popular belief, you won't lose visitors by
a good link directory. If your link directory is worthwhile
to your visitors, they'll come back to your site.
If you're still not convinced, you can also open the
links to your link partners in an extra window so that
your site remains opened.
- Make sure that your link pages look good. It's very important
that your link directory pages have a nice design and appeal
to the eye of your visitor.
If your link partners see a link to their web site on
an attractive web page, they'll give that link a higher
value than a link from a generic page.
- Offer your link partners an incentive to link back to
you. For example, you could move web sites that link back
to you to the top of your link pages and mark them with
a special "Recommended!" picture.
- Be polite and personal in your link request email messages.
If there's a single important factor to the success of your
link request messages, then this is it: don't make your
email messages look like spam.
It's crucial that your link request message contains
personal words about the site of your link partner. Add
2-3 sentences about unique things of the potential link
partner's web site. Then they'll be sure that you've actually
visited their site.
This is the reason why mass email messages don't work
when requesting link request messages.
- Include full contact information and a phone number in
your link request messages. It adds a personal touch to
your emails and it lets webmasters easily contact you to
discuss the link partnership.
If you take these tips to heart, you'll certainly get a good
response rate to your email messages.
Further information about writing good link exchange messages
and improving the effectiveness of your linking campaign can
be found in the "Tips and Tricks" chapter of our
free eBook.
If following the tips above look like a lot of work, then
you don't know our specialized linking campaign tool ARELIS.
ARELIS helps you with all of the aspects mentioned above,
for example it helps you to create attractive link pages in
the design of your web site quickly and easily.
In addition, it can automatically insert the URL of the reciprocal
link in your link exchange messages, it helps you to keep
track of your link partners, it can mark web sites that link
back to you with a special image, it can automatically move
them to the top of the list and much more. You can download
a free demonstration copy of ARELIS here.
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