The Ten Commandments of Linking (Part 1)
By Glenn Canady
©2003 All rights reserved
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 web site'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 spammed 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 web sites 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 web site, 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 web site,
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 web site, 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 web site. 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 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 web sites!
This is a pet peeve of mine actually. I can't stand when some idiot wants me to add their
Thailand hotel web site 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.
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