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I’ve been teaching people the virtues of linking the right way for a long
time in my book, “Gorilla Website Marketing”. However, there are many
people out there that just haven’t got it figured out yet. It seems that
we are in the middle of a “linking crisis” and it’s time that
I did my part in helping to stop it before it gets out of hand!
Right now, I’m getting about 20 link requests a day from webmasters that
haven’t a clue about the right way to link! So I decided to write the “Ten
Commandments of Linking” to cover all the basics for effective linking.
If somebody told you to read this article, you just might be violating one of
them! If you are, don’t worry about it, you’re not going to go to
hell or anything. But you might just get banned on Google and that’s almost
worse than going to hell! Your website’s search engine rankings and traffic
ALWAYS go up when you do linking right so study them carefully and figure out
if you’re doing anything wrong!
The Commandments
#1) Thou Shall Always Put Up A Link BEFORE Asking For A Link
Putting up a link to someone before you ask them for a link is proper linking
etiquette and is much more effective than the alternative. If you’re going
to ask somebody for a link then don’t waste their time unless you’ve
already linked to them. This shows that you are serious about linking with their
site and haven’t just spammed the universe asking for links! And if you
tell somebody that you’ve linked to them, be sure that you really have.
Otherwise, you’ve just lost your credibility. By the way, always tell your
prospective link partner exactly how to link to your site. I do this on all
my sites. For an example of how I do this, just go to one of my link info page
here:
http://www.5starshine.com/linkinfo.html
#2) Thou Shall Not Build Link Farms
I’m seeing this commandment being violated more all the time. Some people
are in such a rush to get links that they try to link to EVERYBODY. They don’t
have any type of cohesive theme to their link directories. They are just a mish
mash of totally unrelated websites thrown together – in other words a “link
farm”!
Think about the types of sites you want to link with and build a useful directory
that is complementary to what you are offering. For example, my website, 5 Star
Shine, sells a unique type of car wax that lasts for 5 years. If you look at
my Automotive Link Directory on this website, you’ll notice that I have
built a nice directory about anything related to cars. Since I sell a car related
product, the people that will find useful information in my directory are also
a great source of potential customers. I’m building a useful resource and
that’s why I’ve been so successful with this directory. Pick some
kind of a niche that is complementary to what you are offering and build a great
themed directory. For example, if you sell merchandise, you might build a gift
directory. That’s what I did with my website, 5 Star Closeouts. Since the
people that are in my “gift directory” on this site are also potential
buyers of my closeout merchandise, it’s a great way to build a useful resource
AND let potential customers know about my website. This seems to be working
really well.
#3) Thou Shall Not Hide Thy Link Directory!
This one really makes me want to smite somebody! Some guy will ask you for
a link, but when you go to his home page, you look around for 10 minutes and
can’t find a way to get to his link area from there. Most of these jokers
are just trying to be sneaky and not let their customers ever find the link
directory. My general rule is that I require a link to the link directory be
prominently displayed on the home page. If I can’t find it in 15 seconds
or less, chances are nobody else will and it’s of no value to me!
#4) Thou Shall Have No More Than 50 Links On One page.
Actually, 50 links on one page is really pushing it in my opinion. If you have
more than 50 links on one page then you are doing something wrong. Google now
ignores most web pages that contain more than about 50 links because many are
just link farms. When I see the 4th Commandment being broken, it’s usually
because somebody is trying to have just one page of links. Of course, there
usually violating the 2nd commandment also because the site is usually a link
farm too! It’s very important that your links are broken up into relevant
categories and that each one isn’t over 50 links. To do this properly,
you can use a program like Zeus to organize your links properly. This is the
program that I use on all my sites and it’s been the key for my own number
one rankings. If you’d like a discount on Zeus, be sure to get a Gorilla
Marketing membership at
http://www.gorillawebsitemarketing.com/membership.html
#5) Thou Shall Only Ask For a Link When It Makes Sense For Both Websites!
This is a pet peeve of mine actually. I can’t stand when some idiot wants
me to add their Thailand hotel website to my 5 Star Shine automotive directory!
I don’t know what planet these people come from, but they need to get a
clue! Remember, you need to be building a valuable resource with your link directory.
If you are marketing a hotel in Thailand, then build some kind of a travel theme
into your link directory, or maybe a link directory of all the things to do
in Thailand perhaps. Be creative but always keep this in mind. Your goal is
to build a resource that will attract the kind of people that would be interested
in what you’re offering. If you do this right, your business will pick
up dramatically because your link directory will always be attracting potential
customers.
#6) Thou Shall Always Tell Others Where Their Link Is
Don’t make someone hunt for 10 minutes on your website to verify that
you posted their link. Just give them the URL where you’ve put the link
or tell them what category you posted them in. Everybody’s time is valuable
and nobody wants to hunt for their link for very long.
#7) Thou Shall NOT SPAM For Link Requests
If you send email to unrelated web sites in your link directory just because
you want to possibly get a link, then you are spamming in mind and spirit. The
webmaster who receives this kind of email is not going to be a happy camper
because your web site does not remotely match their web site and has nothing
to offer their visitors. The webmaster is most likely just going to delete your
email but if you catch them on a bad day, he might report you to the spam police.
Either way you lose! Make sure you only send email to sites that match your
chosen theme and tell them exactly what page you’d like to see your link
on in the letter. That way the person that gets your email will know that you’ve
actually been to their site and that cared enough to tell them where to stick
your link!
#8) Thou Shall Keep Thy Link Requests Short And Sweet!
Don’t tell people your whole life story when you ask for a link because
they really don’t care! When I get a link request, I’m looking at
these factors.
Is this site somewhat related to my site and does it fit in my link directory
theme?
Has this person already linked to me?
Can I easily find their link area from the home page?
Does this site have a coherent theme or is it just a link farm?
Is the page that my link is on have less 50 links or less?
Does at least the home page of the site have some Google PageRank? If not,
then I’ll probably let it slide if the site is fairly new.
So in your link request letter, just tell them where their link is and where
in their directory you’d like to be placed. Also, give me them the description
that you’d like to use for your website’s listing too. That’s
all they need to know.
#9) Thou Shall Always Keep Thy Word
If you tell somebody that you’re going to upgrade them to link partner
status then make sure you do it right away or let them know when they can expect
it to be done. Update your link directory promptly and always keep your word
to your link partners. They did give you a link when you asked for it and therefore
deserve your respect.
#10) Thou Shall Not Take Down Your Link Partner's Link
If you give somebody a link then don’t delete it when you think nobody’s
looking! I’ve seen people try to pull one over on me by getting a link
then deciding to delete their entire link directory a few months later! These
people must think that a link directory is just something that do for a while
and then delete when you have some links or something. Linking is not just something
you do for a bit and then throw away - it’s a total way of life dude! When
you’re doing linking right, you’re building a valuable resource that
will get lots of traffic.
I hope you enjoyed this article. If you did, be sure to get your Gorilla Marketing
membership. You'll get instant access to other articles, proven methods for
getting more higher search engine rankings and more traffic to your website,
special discounts on exciting products, and much more! Just go to this URL:
http://www.gorillawebsitemarketing.com/membership.html
Give Away This Article And Help Stop The Linking Crisis!
If you’re a webmaster, you’re probably sick and tired of people doing
linking wrong and wasting your precious time too. Well, here’s your chance
to do something about it! Just give this article away to anybody that you see
violating any of the 10 Commandments of Linking. You're free to give this article
away anyway you wish. With your help, we can stamp out the current linking crisis
in our lifetime!
Wishing You Success!
Glenn Canady
About the Author:
Glenn Canady teaches fellow entrepreneurs how to get traffic to their website
with his course Gorilla Website Marketing. |
