Link Exchange, Link Trading, Link Programs, Linking,
Link Strategies, Link Directories
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Link Exchange Programs that run on your Web
by Rick Hendershot,
Website Traffic Building
Resources
Link Exchange Scripts that run on your web
server
Once you get serious about generating links you will realize
that categorizing and constantly updating your links is an ongoing job.
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Recommended Linking Resources,
Directories and Services
For
more information about the linknet website promotion opportunity,
see
our LinkNet Network website. You can place your link, or your text ad on at least 30
pages just like this — on at least 15
different websites for one low annual fee. Getting links like this is
a great way to increase the Search Engine ranking of your website.
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You may want to create large directories of hundreds of link exchange partners. And for
that you really need a "script" placed directly on your web server. Here is what
these programs can do for you:
- They will organize your links into categories and subcategories.
- They will dynamically generate attractive link pages by category and
subcategory.
- They provide a web-based interface for entering new links (no need to
constantly edit html).
- Link partners can enter their own link information -- which you can either
accept automatically or hold for approval.
- The system will automatically send out an email message requesting
reciprocal links from selected sites.
- The system will (usually) automatically "spider" your linked sites to verify
that your link is in place on their site.
- The system will automatically send out reminders if it can't find a
reciprocal link.
Auto Links Pro, and Automate Link Exchange
are two (php) scripts that give you these capabilities. They focus exclusively
on helping you create your link directory without having to edit html every time
you want to add a new link. They generally do this by creating "dynamic" link
pages that draw on information stored in a database. This means you can enter
any number of categories and subcategories, and you can add an unlimited number
of partners by using a web form that posts the information directly to the
database.
In other words, no html is required. All the relevant
information is stored in the database and then "dynamically" arranged into pages
when requested by a site visitor. Usually you have quite a bit of control over
the look of your pages as well.
Another program of this sort is
LinkMachine, found at linkmachine.net. I have
personally used this program for a number of months on a number of websites and
find it quite useful. The interface is easy to use and understand. Configuration
and installation are the easiest I have found. And you do not have to create a
special MySQL database as with most programs of this sort. If you are using
Front Page you can (usually) just upload the program and have it running in a
few minutes. Or if you normally upload your pages using ftp, you can just upload
the LinkMachine files as you normally would.
LinkMachine also has an active upgrade program. New features are being added,
and updates are automatic. To see how the LinkMachine interface looks on an
actual functioning website, go HERE.
NOTE: I am currently evaluating the results of my LinkMachine
experience, after approximately four months of using it. So far the Page Rank
results have NOT been good. See the section below -- "Do Automated Link
Exchanges Have Any Value?"
If you know anything at all about
web programming, you will know that database-oriented systems are wonderful when
they work, but are often a challenge to get running properly. First, you will
need access to the inner workings of your website, and will have to know
something about programming your site. You will have to create a special
database, and then you will have to upload the pages that serve as the interface
with the database. Once this is done and you get the system running, you should
be in business.
In some cases you can buy "professional installation"
along with the script. Where a special MySQL database is required I highly
recommend you spend the extra or dollars. That way the person who actually wrote
the script (and has seen all the installation problems) will get it running for
you.
As link exchanging becomes more important we are likely to see more
and more programs of this sort. The programs mentioned here are only
representative of what is available. I try to provide a broader overview of this
approach to managing link pages in the Link Exchange
Toolkit.
Do automated link exchanges have any
value?
However, perhaps the most important question about automated
link exchanges remains. This is the question I raised in the last lesson, and it
is this: "If your link pages are nothing but SPAM are they worth
having?"
Look at it this way: if your link pages have no content and
Google views them as SPAM, then you have failed to achieve the two primary
objectives you set for yourself when designing your link exchange program : no
new traffic, and no Google Page Rank. A link exchange program that does not
achieve at least one of these objectives is, in my estimation, a waste of
time.
As far as I am concerned the verdict is still out on this question.
My research suggests that many automated link pages have no PR, and therefore
are worthless. But I think it isstill possible to use an automated program to create pages
that are not viewed as SPAM? I briefly comment on this in
the article called "Getting Beyond
Worthless Link Pages".
In the next segment (Lesson 9) I will
introduce the concept of "Power
Linking".
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Rick
Hendershot publishes several small business websites and ezines, and provides
online clients with low cost ways of generating traffic. This course is
available as an ebook called Power
Linking Traffic Explosion, which also includes the free Link
Exchange Toolkit to help you get your own link exchange program up and
running as quickly as possible.
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