Link Blog

Traffic Acquisition Through Link Development

Most people are aware of the role that links play in relation to the placement of their site in the organic search engine results. There is no question of the significance of links; they are what the web is made of.

However, I think a lot of people get misguided when they are searching out new link opportunities. Too many people are too concerned about PageRank and how the search engines will view the link pointing to them. In my opinion there is no such thing as a bad link. I personally have never seen a link pointing to a site damage the target site. That is not say that if the questionable site is penalized and quits passing "popularity" that the target site won't have a shift in placement. Hopefully the site has a well-rounded link campaign developed and this will not happen. If it does, it does not mean a penalty has been applied to the target site, it simply means the link is not providing the trust it once did. You can overcome the placement drop by acquiring more links from more trusted sites.

I am digressing, that is not the point I wanted to make with this blog. So on to what I really want to talk about.

Now, when you are setting up a link campaign quit thinking, "Will this link improvement my search engine placements?" You should be thinking, "Will this link send me more CUSTOMERS?"

The real point of any commercial website is to provide a service, information or resource, not to be placed in the top of the results. Yes, that is important so that people are aware of what you are offering, but that should not be your primary concern when you acquire links. When you are acquiring links place your focus into getting links from sites that appeal to your target market.

If you own a shoe site consider gathering links from a site that sells belts, purses or clothing. It is very likely that the person purchasing a new alligator belt would be interested in your alligator shoes. It doesn't matter if the belt site has no PageRank, the site still offers you value in the way of potential customers.

A lot of people try to acquire links from sites that offer the same product or service for "themed links". This is something that has never really made since to me. Why would a site want to link to a competitor and why would a consumer leave the site they are currently purchasing from to go to another site that offers the exact same thing? It just doesn't make sense, at least in my mind, from a business standpoint.

In fact, when I am acquisitioning links for a client I VERY RARELY place their link on a site that offers the same service. Whenever I am selecting links I do my best to match up sites that are of similar interest, so that the client can benefit, not only from improved placements, but by having the site refer customers as well.

Why does anyone want their site placed in the top of the search engine results? There is only one real answer, TO MAKE MONEY! Whether the revenue is generated through AdSense or product sales the goal of the site is to earn a dollar.

I know, I know, you are saying what about personal blogs or family homepages? Well I have never ever heard of anyone running a site for their own personal use be concerned about ranking. The people that want to place are businesspersons, not Ms. Smith keeping a blog to correspond with her son stationed overseas.

So when you are looking for links ask yourself, "Does this site have the potential to send me customers?" If the answer is yes then you should request a link regardless of the PR.

Happy Linking
LinkQueen