While traditional link exchanges still hold some value, it
may be time to add a different tactic to your link-building
arsenal. Why? Because it appears that swapping links doesn’t
provide quite as much ‘oomph!’ for moving up
in the search engine rankings that it used to, at least not
for sites in highly competitive niches. Many sites that were
on the first page of results and relied heavily on exchanging
links have lost those coveted positions after recent search
engine updates (especially the ‘Jagger’ update
at Google).
Disclaimer: Only employees who are in the know at the
search engines can say with certainty which factors determine
rankings. The decrease in link exchange benefit is speculation
based on testing and some consensus among ‘experts’ outside
of the engines.
Build More One-Way Links
Assuming that it’s true about link exchanges becoming
an obsolete way to get higher search engine rankings, it’s
wise to find ways to build one-way inbound links. At the
very least, no web site owner should rely completely on one
form of link gathering. It’s never smart to put all
of one’s eggs in the same basket, after all.
The rub here is that most site owners still pursue link
swaps as their ‘bread-and-butter’ means of building
links. That can play against you in your own link strategy
if you don’t continue to offer exchanges. What to do?
What you need is a sort of hybrid approach. That is, find
a way to appeal to the barter mindset of exchanging something
of value for something else of value that most web site owners
have ingrained in their modes of thinking. Along those lines,
here’s a great way to continue building links without
swapping them: offer original, unique content in exchange
for a one-way link.
Trade Content for Links Instead
Here’s how it works...
Instead of offering to exchange links on your links page,
write a short notice that you will write a few hundred words
of original, exclusive content (300-500 is plenty) that the
other site owner may use on his or her site. In exchange,
they must post a link to your site on either their home page
or another important page that is linked directly from the
home page. Make it clear that your link must not appear on
their links page, where it would just share space with many
others. For the value to be equal, your link should get special
handling in exchange for that great page of new content.
Now, expect not to get too many takers at this stage. The
link exchange notion is pretty ingrained in most site owners.
That being the case, there’s another part of this strategy
you should definitely pursue.
Be proactive! Seek out related sites from which you’d
love to have a link, and approach the site owner or webmaster
with an offer to write a page of high quality content in
exchange for a return link. We’ve been following this
strategy for months with our network of sites and the results
are impressive! You can expect a much higher rate of agreement
from this approach than the tired old “I love your
site! let’s exchange links!” routine, which is
increasingly too time consuming to be worth the effort.
Some Important Points
First, follow through and write truly excellent content.
Don’t just dash off a quick article that doesn’t
convey useful and interesting information. Savvy web site
owners will quickly refuse to post your link if you abuse
the situation in this way.
Second, make the content you give away original and exclusive.
This is your ‘hook’ – your best selling
point. If you try to give a site owner the same content that
appears somewhere else, you’ll lose a wonderful opportunity
to get a great one-way link.
Perhaps the most important point of all is to use this strategy
only with closely related sites that have high quality content.
Be picky! Start by checking out the top ranked sites in your
niche. Search Google or another major search engine to get
a list of the top sites, then visit each one and, if you
deem it worthy, find their contact information and send a
short, polite inquiry to see if they are interested in an
exchange of content for a link back to your site.
When other site owners approach you from the notice on your
links page - again, be picky. You’ll be spending some
of your valuable time to write them a page of high quality
content. You will want a high quality link in return. If
a site does not meet your high standards, take a pass. In
all cases, if you agree to the content-for-link exchange,
always request a link from their home page. It’s the
best possible place for your link and, at worst, the other
site owner will refuse and suggest a different page. It can’t
hurt to ask!
Ultimately, the real long-term value in following this link-building
strategy is the return on your investment of time. The relatively
short amount of time you invest in writing the content you
give away may produce dividends in traffic and higher search
engine rankings that last for years. Viewed from that perspective,
doesn’t this make good sense?
© John Schwartz http://www.web-article-writer.com
(all rights reserved)
John Schwartz is a professional writer and web site publisher.
If you need higher search engine rankings to
increase
web site traffic, you must have lots of original content
and links. Find out how to get more of both - visit
http://www.web-article-writer.com today.
