The
Ten Commandments of Linking
By Glenn Canady
Gorilla Website Marketing
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 sp@mmed 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, they're 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.
#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 you 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 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 you 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
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Wishing
You Success!
About
The Author
Glenn Canady teaches fellow entrepreneurs
how to get traffic to their website
with his course Gorilla
Website Marketing.
