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Link Myths
By Scott Patterson

As competition among websites increase, close attention is being 
paid to rankings in major search engines. Since a high ranking 
in a keyword can "make or break" a business, webmasters are 
looking to find any method to increase their ranking. By 
examining the algorithms of Google and other search engines, it 
is easy to see that a high value is being placed on the number 
of links (and quality) pointing to a website. As a result, most 
webmasters have realized the importance of finding partners to 
link to their Internet business.
 
Although link exchanges are vital to any marketing plan, there 
are some myths that are perpetuated by many so-called "experts". 
To run a smart link exchange campaign, it is important to 
understand these myths and make sure that you do not fall for 
them.      

Myth 1 - Link to Every Site

When I first started my link exchange campaign, I would link to 
every site possible. As a result, my rankings suffered. As I 
learned more, I discovered that I could improve my listings by 
linking to sites that complemented my own. In order run a smart 
link exchange program, it is important to focus on linking to 
sites that are closely related to your product or service 
without being a direct competitor.  

For instance, my original site sells Ethnic Jewelry. So, I look 
for link partners among other jewelry stores that do not sell 
the same type of jewelry that is listed in my store.

Myth 2 - All People Will Add My Site if I Add Theirs First 

To receive a link from an Internet business, most people will 
usually add the site's link first. Unfortunately, not every 
potential partner will add your link even if you have already 
added theirs. Sometimes a website is just not interested in 
linking with your site. The problem is many webmasters will not 
let you know that they are not going to link to your site. So, 
you might be linking to a website that is not returning the 
favor.    

A great way to ensure that you are only linking to reciprocal 
sites is to put each link into a "temporary position" until you 
receive validation that the site is listing your business.  

Myth 3 - The Name of My Website Should be in the Title of the Link

Another mistake I made when I first started out, was to have 
the name of my website in the links that were pointing to my 
business. Eventually I learned that many search engines, 
especially Google, pay attention to the title of the link 
pointing towards your site.  So, if you are looking for top 
placement for specific keywords, then they should be used in 
the title of the link instead of your website name.

Taking the Ethnic Jewelry example from above, your link title 
would look like this:

Ethnic Jewelry Store:  Here we sell evil eye jewelry and 
Turkish jewelry.

Myth 4 - Only Link to Sites With a High Google PageRank

In my opinion, the biggest "Catch-22" for webmasters is that 
many sites will not link to an Internet business unless it has 
a certain "Google Page Rank". But at some point, every site has 
started out with a low page ranking. So how did they get a high 
ranking if no one would link to them in the first place?  

Instead of focusing on a page rank, many successful websites look 
instead at the quality of the Internet business. If it is evident 
that the webmaster has taken the time to create a quality site, 
then you can assured that a high ranking will eventually happen! 
By linking to a well designed website, you can be assured that 
the value of your link will increase as the website gains a high 
ranking.

Myth 5:  Put All the Links on One Page in No Particular Order

When the Internet first gained popularity, webmasters used links 
as a way to help their visitors. Initially, they placed links as 
a way to complement the content of the website. As the importance 
of links increased, the focus shifted from helping the visitor 
to helping the webmaster.

Instead of dumping your links onto a single page, you can help 

both your partners and visitors by creating a directory. Here, 
you place each link partner into a specific category. This will 
help visitors (and search engines) navigate your site with ease. 

Myth 6:  Avoid All Types of "Automatic" Link Programs  

Many Internet marketers recommend avoiding automatic link 
exchange software. They feel that using these programs will 
actually hurt your rankings rather then help. But, there are 
a lot of great link exchange websites that automate the process 
of finding links.

For instance, http://www.linkmarket.net and http://www.gotop.com 
are two excellent sites that allow you to shop for link partners. 
When you find sites that are complementary, you add them to your 
"basket" and the link exchange websites sends out an automatic 
email requesting the link. These two sites allow you to save 
time, while avoiding the "black hat" techniques that are 
prevalent among many automatic-linking services.

While exchanging links can be a time-consuming process, it 
is well worth the effort. By taking time to properly link to 
complementary websites, you will find that your rankings in 
important keywords will improve.

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Scott Patterson brought his online store: http://www.mizambar.com 
to the top of the Google search engine by exchanging links. To 
find out how he did this and other techniques with No computer 
experience, check out his site:  http://www.buildingastore.com 
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