7 Steps To Build A Powerful,
Reciprocal Links Directory
©Copyright by Charles Kangethe
The Problem
No matter how good your product or service is, if you are not receiving
targeted visitors to your site or if your web site is not well ranked by
the Search engines you will not sell much.
A solid, reciprocal linking strategy, properly executed will deliver both
targeted visitors and improve your web site rank for your chosen keywords
and all for "no money down."
STEP #1 - SPECIFIC KEYWORD SEARCH
It is important that your chosen keyword phrases are as specific as
possible.
Scott Buresh of www.mediumblue.com says this about keywords and using
"geographic", "adjective" and "noun" modifiers to make them specific.
"Modifiers are used for two main reasons: to increase the percentage of
ideal prospects in the traffic the phrase attracts, and to find terms that
are easier to target on search engines. Adding the right type of modifiers
to your search engine key phrases will increase your chances of success."
This step involves effort and a capacity to brainstorm because you need a
minimum of 100 keyword phrases for good results. Good search engine
optimizers build lists of 300 specific or more keyword phrases.
The following resources will be of use as you build your keyword phrase
list
* Overture Suggestion Tool -
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
* Good Keywords by Softnik Technologies -
http://www.goodkeywords.com
* Wordtracker lists keywords phrases, how many hits in the last 2 months, and
how much competition there is -
http://www.wordtrackers.com. A great service is
provided by the folks at
www.wordtrackers.com . They catalog search activity at the major engines,
and then make available those numbers to the general public. You simply
type in a word or phrase related to your site's theme, and Wordtrackers
shows you the number of times that entry is being searched at the major
search engines. Neat, huh? The service will also give you a list of
related terms, so you can look for other important search words to target.
* Use a search engine to research "Keyword Phrases" and learn more
practical details on this critical task.
STEP #2 - SUITABLE LINK PARTNERS
Your ideal link partners are web sites based on
* High quality content - Ideally the material (articles, reviews, reports,
e-books etc) should be original, fresh and informative to visitors.
* Tight web site themes - The content addresses a specific business,
product or service type.
* Tight directory themes - A link to the link directory should be
prominently shown on main pages and the directory must be tightly themed
and not just a "link farm" of general, non-related web sites.
* Complimentary themes - While you may not want direct competitors to
feature in your directory, complimentary sites that fulfil the above
features will provide great value to your visitors.
STEP # 3 - FIND AND REVIEW LINK PARTNERS
Now, find web sites who may be "good" link partners.
Using a search engine or directory, go through each keyword phrase in your
list and visit as many of the web sites that are returned as you can.
Evaluate each site on the basis of the criteria set in step #2.
Decide on the categories you want in your directory.
For an Internet marketing business these would typically be "Affiliate
Programs", "Business Promotion", "Income Opportunities" and so on.
Qualifying web sites, may of course fall into more than one category
depending on their business, product or service offerings.
With this information you can now make another list of :
* Qualified web sites for inclusion.
* Relevant e-mail address to which link requests must be addressed.
* Web site URL and a short description of the web site and what it offers.
* Make a note of "special" features on the web site which you can usefully
put in your e-mail to *prove* you have actually visited the site. This
goes a long way to countering SPAM problems.
STEP # 4 - BUILD YOUR PARTNER LINK DIRECTORY
Build your Partner Links directory using a separate HTML page for each
distinct category.
Add the URL link and comment for each qualified site into the relevant
category page(s).
Make your directory pleasurable to visit, where visitors find information
quickly and easily.
Ensure the directory is easily found and reached from your main web pages.
STEP 5 - E-MAIL THE WEBMASTER
Using the e-mail addresses, write to each Webmaster you have linked to.
Tell them :
* The URL address of the page where their link can be found
* Your own web site link information (URL and descriptive comments)
Finish by asking for a reciprocal link in their directory.
Make the e-mail personal and you might like to use the *special* feature
note you made to help your request achieve success.
STEP #6 - MAINTAIN YOUR DIRECTORY
A partner directory is a work in constant progress.
It must change quickly to reflect obsolete, dead, new, and modified links
and web sites.
This maintains its usefulness to your visitors.
Depending on size, verifying the links may be more than you can achieve
easily by your own efforts. Offer prizes to visitors who find and inform
you of links that are no longer useful.
Maintenance also means giving added prominence to entries for other
webmasters who respond to your mail and tell you that they have added your
link and web site information to their own directories.
You can add a small graphic next to each Partner link making it stand out
from the other web sites that have not provided a reciprocal links.
Remember your directory exists to provide useful content to your visitors.
Do not immediately remove a non reciprocating web site, if it adds value
to your visitors.
STEP #7 - REPEAT
Go through the six steps above regularly and over a period of 3 to 6
months you should notice a significant and sustained rise in targeted
traffic from complimentary sites as well as a rise in search engine
rankings for your specific keyword phrases.
Conclusion
Building a useful, tightly themed, Partner Link directory is a "No cost"
traffic and ranking builder.
Will you devote 15 minutes to this today, and into the future ?
================
Charles Kangethe of
http://www.simplyeasier.com is a leading new wave Netpreneur and
a published author from England. The "Simply Easier" brand name is your
guarantee of high value, quality Marketing Products, Services and
Resources.
Reprinted with permission of the author, Charles Kangethe.
Need help with linking?
The
program that helps you with linking (finds potential partners, email
addresses, sends emails, categorizes listings, and creates the links
pages!):
www.PacificWebsites.com/about/links
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