Reciprocal Links are link exchanges between Webmasters. These are by far the most rewarding types of links you can get and do. They may increase your link popularity, and you MAY get a decent amount of traffic back. There is a problem with reciprocal links and that’s the time it takes to hunt down the other interested parties. You also need to keep track of who has your link, their contact info, and that they actually keep your link up. It is also important to note that many reciprocal links are not even worthy to do; many are a huge waste of time. A good one will work wonders, and a bad one will only drag you down.

Toplists are a great source of traffic for similar sites to switch around. But the ratio of making money from them is very low due to the severe amount of cheating that can take place on them. Some webmasters have actually created Toplists and make sure their 25 websites rank in the first 25 spots - which only benefits THEM. Pop-up windows are also often used to gain a high ranking, which only annoy surfers. Consider a toplist to be a “friendly” exchange of traffic - just remember it is the SAME traffic in each niche that’s being passed around. Some are of course better than others, and you should show caution as well investigate them. We Do have our own toplist here (we are not knocking them in general) and they really can be a nice source of traffic exchanging as long as things are truly done fairly.

Search Engines are a great way to get targeted traffic to your site. Search engine ranking is a much sought after task to master. Everyone thinks they have the answer, but the truth is that it gets more difficult all the time. Every time a new little “trick” arises - it is just as quickly phased out. Getting good traffic from the search engines is a complex study of a multi-leveled and ever changing topic. Search engines are not the same as search directories, though sometimes the two can work in similar ways.

Some pointers when it comes to linking and internet promotion are as follows:

Find out if your host has stats where you are able to SEE where exactly your traffic is coming from. This will help you to see what links are beneficial to you and send you traffic. Not everywhere that you link with will be worthy to keep…. and many will be. Be informed and you will not have to wonder! Most stats programs will show you where the traffic came from, how long the traffic stayed on your site, the pages that were viewed, and even the length of time each “hit” stayed. You will be able to see who sent you quality traffic and who didn’t. It’s very important to get familiar with who is coming to your site and how they found it.

Be sure you are promoting in a market or a niche that will actually benefit you. If your site appeals to men for example then don’t waste time listing yourself somewhere that the primary target is women. It should be common sense, but newbies may make this mistake fairly easily in such a huge market.

Try to stay away from sites that promote negativity. Insults toward other webmasters, websites, or industries are pretty much ugly behavior. Why does this affect you? The company you keep and align yourself with speaks volumes to others. This is especially true to your target customer base. Bad behavior can spread like wildfire pretty quickly. Be cautious of any site you link with. If for some reason they do “bad business”, or have “cheated other webmasters”, then you may somehow become associated with it. Essentially you want to keep YOUR business clean. Take some time to carefully review any site you want to link with. Make sure their ethics are, or at least appear to be similar to yours.

Save emails and file them from sites that have added a link to your site. Check to make sure your listing remains there. Many webmasters will cheat you, fortunately they are far and few between. Most ARE honest, but it never hurts to be careful. Make a hardcopy file of all your link exchanges as well. Keep good records so that you can more easily clear up misunderstandings or confusion.

A really good listing CAN bury your link 6 pages deep and still send you traffic. However, try to get a FAIR listing. This means if you have to plaster a huge banner for them on your index/warning page and your reciprocal link is several pages deep that it’s probably not fair. YOU will be the one who is cheated because you will be sending your traffic to them rather than the other way around. For some sites IT IS worth doing it this way, but not too many are. Do some investigation, ask peers in your industry. Listing too many banners and links on your index/warning page SLOWS it’s load time down, and makes it look cheap - no matter how neat you try to make it. Smaller banners and text links are usually better. Your goal should be not to send mass amounts of YOUR traffic away - but to create a fair and profitable exchange.

Just remember if you ever deal one on one with a Webmaster then you should be PROFESSIONAL at all times. Don’t barter or trade anything with them. Don’t do special little “favors”, or ask for them. If that’s what they are seeking then they clearly have a motive. There are tons of con artists out there and service owners need to be very aware as well as educated.

Should you BUY advertising link space make sure you check on the site DAILY and also get a receipt to file. If you are cheated in any way (and it does happen) then you can find a way to address it as long as you have proof. Websites who mislead you with free offers, bargains too good to be true, promises of huge traffic and such are probably bullshitting you… at least a little. When someone “claims” they get such and such amount of traffic ask for verification in their stats… especially when you are PAYING for it. Verify their claims - talk to other webmasters who use them as a resource. Make sure their terms, advertising policies, and costs are posted clearly and publicly on their Website. If they are not, you could get mislead or a “different” deal than someone else. Print out their terms, policies, and costs to avoid bait and switch tactics later.

Stories of advertising costs going to the advertisers “bandwidth” are also little schemes that exist. For instance: if you are to host THEIR banner and you have to pay them to host yours, then something is not quite right. Banners that are 468 x 60 and 25kb and under are pretty cheap to host. And a Webmaster who is offering advertising space should be prepared for their own bandwidth costs - not charge YOU for it. You should be paying only for the TRAFFIC that is sent, not their personal Website bills. Remember that if you pay for banner space somewhere you do not need to return the link too. If you do - that is a link exchange, not paid for advertising. When you pay for advertising you should be getting something extra… a benefit worthy of your money. Make sure you are getting what you pay for.

The soliciting of a link exchange could be a red flag also. It shows a webmaster who wants YOUR traffic. It’s best to find out what they want to offer you and WHY. Look for directories that cover a wide audience of surfers, rather than small niche sites.

When a webmaster wants to do an exchange of links but lets you know your site has too many problems that need corrected, that your site is ugly, or tries to push THEIR way on you… let them know you have lost interest. Link exchanges is not about “taking over” on your Website - it’s an exchange, a fair partnership of traffic… you help them and they help you in a FAIR way. It’s not an excuse to invade your personal property or space.

When link swapping becomes like trading baseball cards - it is no longer worthy to you, or anyone else. It has become old clutter that needs tossed to the trash.

Your goal as a webmaster is to never rely on ONE type of traffic or link exchange… incorporate them ALL. It is an always changing event as well - many sites vanish or shut down. You are never done finding places to list your page, it is a long time search and a great deal of hard work.