In normal or everyday life the people who are reputable in society or trusted have many people wanting to be associated with them. This also applies in online marketing where, clients will want to get services or buy products from websites that are associated with other credible sites. Building links with reputable sites sets you apart from many other websites.
Search engines use links to rank websites; the number of links from and to your site determines your rank. However its worthwhile to remember its not just any links, the sites where you links come from and go is also a factor that comes into play here. Another factor is also how you get your links, is it in an appropriate manner?
While some may decide to do it the bad way and use technology to place links on people’s websites without their consent, the most advisable thing to do is to contact the webmaster of an established site where you would like to post a link and ask for permission. Being an established website it may be had but it does no harm in trying more websites.
Getting to post links on big established and respected websites has its own benefits. First the other bigger sites will get interested in your websites because of the fact that to have a link on the big site also means you are credible and hence should be taken seriously. This gets you attention even from sites like Google, MSN and Yahoo. However getting links in the big website is not the only thing, you need to ensure that they are relevant to your target market.
You can also create links in forums and blogs. You can do this by beginning to post comments on other people’s comments or even writing your own articles. As your network grows you can begin telling people about your websites and also placing your URL out there. You should also be sure to give the people who ask valuable information that would prompt them to have a look at your website. You can use the forums to explain the importance or relevance of your site.
There are also services that exist where people send their URL’s. Some are free while others charge a fee. Here you submit your URL and other website owners can sample your site if they like it you can exchange links and post them on each others websites. Most owners however look for a website that has the potential of attracting big numbers and of course relevance to the market. Other visitors merely sample the sites and rate them, if your website is highly rated there are possibilities of having more website owners wanting to exchange links with you.
While exchanging links with relevant or similar websites may not sound like a good idea it pays off. There is more to gain than to lose, website owners assume that its not advisable to exchange links with competitors but at the end of the day if your services and products are top notch this will work to your advantage, it will only be the other way round if you provide shoddy services or products.
