How to do the Link Exchange keeping Search Engine Optimization in mind - By: Sanjeev Sachdev

Exchanging Links (getting your links on other sites in lieu of their links on your own website) to boost the PR of your own website on the search engines is one of the time tested methods, which has not changed with time. Although its weightage has diminished a little as compared to what it was in the early years of SEO, it is still one of the best methods to improve the search engine rankings, and jack up the PR (page rank).

Link Exchange or Link Building methods are mainly centered around quality and relevancy. The sites with which the links are being swapped, should be the reputed ones, with a high page rank and good incoming links. They should be in the same niche as your own website. For example, if your site is insurance related, then you should aim to swap links with motor insurance, personal insurance or financial websites.

The following steps need to be taken for an effective Link Exchange Campaign:

Do a Diligent Research for Right Keywords: The selection of the appropriate keywords, which can help the web surfers find your site is very important. To accomplish this, you may start with a general list of keywords which are related to your site, and expand the same with the keywords
related to the neighboring niches. If you have an insurance site, the most relevant keywords for you could be motor insurance, auto insurance, personal insurance, general insurance, finance, personal finance, financial websites etc. You may take the help of keyword research tools, to help you build up an exhaustive list of keywords.

How to search for Link Partners: The best way to look for good related link partners, is to conduct a "search" on major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN etc using
different keywords. Don't focus on just the first page, coz the sites already appearing on the top pages, may not be interested in exchanging links with you. You will get the best results from the sites appearing down below

Selection of the best Link Partners: After you have compiled a list of websites which are related to your topic, you should weed out the useless ones, and focus on the good ones. Incoming links from .gov or .edu websites are more beneficial than getting links from the sites which host free of cost.
Don't concentrate on just the Page Rank of the prospective link partners, although it is also one of the chief factors which affect the rankings of your site. Also never link to the dubious sites and link farms.

Sending out the Link Exchange Requests: Before sending out the link requests to the prospective link partners, it is advisable, if you set up an Resources Page or a Links Directory. And don't forget to mention the exact location where you would be adding their links, while mailing them. Likewise don't forget to mention your own anchor text, the url to which the anchor text should point to, and the short description of your website, preferably not more than 250 characters.

Effective management of the Link Exchange Campaign: After your link is live on the other site, it is very necessary to ensure that the link does not get deleted, and remains permanent with the correct anchor text and the accompanying description. There are several tools on the internet, some of them absolutely free, with which you can effectively manage the incoming links to your site. One such tool which I have been using for over three years is the "Web CEO". It is a very compact tool for doing the Keyword Research, Finding Prospective Link Partners, Managing Correspondence, Monitoring the Incoming Links and lots of other features.

About the Author

Sanjeev Sachdev, with a rich marketing experience of more than 25 years, has now ventured into the field of Internet Marketing. He leads a bunch of brightest guys at LinkMasters4All, who specialize in Directory Submissions, Article Writing/Submissions, Link Building (One-way & Reciprocal), and the other latest white hat techniques to promote your site, and build quality traffic to it.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Sanjeev-Sachdev/52042

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