Finding Link Partners with Related Content - Part 6

CREATING A SUCCESSFUL LINK PROGRAM, Part 6

FINDING LINK PARTNERS WITH RELATED CONTENT

by Rick Hendershot
Linknet Publishing Network, http://www.sbo-linknet.com

In this segment we want to discuss how to find related-content sites and how to exchange links with them. The purpose of these links is to establish your site as an authoritative source of products and information in your special niche. And of course you want to "feed off" the traffic of your link partners -- to get "target*ed traffic" -- visitors who are interested in what you specifically have to offer.

USE A SEARCH ENGINE TO FIND HIGH RANKING SITES FOR YOUR KEYWORDS

A pretty obvious tactic is to do a Google or Yahoo search on your
most important keyword(s). This will give you a list of the most
highly ranked sites in your area of interest. Some of these will
probably be direct competitors, and many will be sites with related informational content. Either way, write down the addresses of five or six of them, and start searching these sites for link partners.

Follow up:

Some of these sites will be possible link partners themselves. But even more important, many of them will have pages of links that you can "mine" for link prospects. Often the sites listed in these link pages will have webmasters who are actively exchanging links, so much of the searching and screening for link prospects will be done for you.

You can also use the feature called "backward links" built into the Google toolbar to find high value link partners. When you find what seems like it might be a good link partner, check the site's backlinks (click on the blue "I" on the toolbar). Occasionally you will find a site with numerous related sites linking back to it.

TRADE LINKS WITH SUPPLIERS, CUSTOMERS, AND ASSOCIATES

A rich source of links (and leads) that is often overlooked is the list of people and businesses you already deal with. Go through your accounting records looking for suppliers, customers, and prospects who have websites you can exchange links with.

Chances are these will be people in related businesses, and in many cases they will even be happy to share a "testimonial". If you have a Rolodex or business card collection, go through it carefully and look for possible link partners. You will be surprised how many you will find.

LOOK FOR TRADE ASSOCIATIONS AND TRADE-SPECIFIC DIRECTORIES

Trade directories are often another very promising source of
content-related link partners. For instance, if you are a
photographer you will find lots of suggestions if you do a search
for "directories for photographers". And, as usual, one link will
probably lead to several other very interesting prospects.

Look for trade associations as well. A search for "associations of photographers" gives you lots of interesting possibilities. Or just search for "trade associations" and you will likely find
directories of trade associations which lead back to your specific area of interest -- http://www.seekingsuccess.com/assoc.php3, for example.

TRADE PUBLICATIONS AND EZINES

Last, but not least, look for trade publications and ezines dealing with your subject matter. For instance, if you are involved in "candle making", a search for "candle making ezines" will turn up all kinds of craft-oriented publications, websites, and directories.

As we will see in a later lesson, these are important
for other reasons. They give you an outlet for publishing original material about your area of interest. Many online publications are happy to publish submissions from people actively involved in the trade. My own experience is that this is one of the best sources of traffic to your site, and one of the most fruitful sources of subscriptions to your own ezine, if you happen to have one.

Publishing original material on other sites also gives you inbound links, because articles should always include at least one link back to your site. This will be discussed at greater length in one of the later lessons.

In Lesson 7 we discuss automated link exchange systems and software.

The Linknet Publishing Network has a number of ways to jump start
your link acquisition program...
http://www.sbo-linknet.com/products

We write and publish original articles about your product
http://www.sbo-linknet.com/products/article-program.shtml