Now, a small way to build your popularity is by going to altavista.com engine and type in "link:yourcompetitor.com", and results that show up will tell you what sites have posted links to your competitor's websites.

Then simply visit a site and look for a contact method, be it an email address, phone number, etc. and express an interest to them in trading links. It is a win-win method for both sites so, you have nothing to lose. Some might happily oblige, and some might not. It’s certainly worth a try.

In summary, link popularity can be a never ending chore if you have a website. This is because having links on related websites to your website is a very good form of Targeted Traffic which never really quits, because most related links stay up for a long period of time, thus providing a continuous stream of targeted traffic, which, by way is totally cost free.

And Search Engine traffic and reciprocal link traffic are best forms of Targeted Traffic there is online. And both are free.

YOU CAN AVOID THE DELETE KEY WITH GLOWING PRAISE

When you send those tired form-letter-type reciprocal link requests to webmasters, they'll often delete them without even a second glance. Here, they open their email to something they actually WANT to see - praise for their hard work and a little love from their web site customers. When you send a testimonial along with your link request, you are now offering something of real value in exchange for that link. That webmaster suddenly feels grateful for your kind words and may even feel that they have an obligation to link to you if they use your testimonial.

If you are a customer of an online product or service and you're truly pleased with them, why not send webmaster a testimonial and tell them you'd be happy to have them publish your comments on their site? They will be pleased at your offer if your praise is short (one or two sentences) and highly complimentary of them. Include a hypertext link to your site or your e-mail in note and tell them you'd be happy to have your comments published and request a link to your site.

NEW PRODUCTS TESTIMONIALS PROVIDE HIGHER LINKING POTENTIAL

Some webmasters actively solicit customer testimonials to push new products or services. If you are among first to purchase those new products or services, your testimonial praising them will be particularly desirable as they seek new comments to use in their promotional sales letter page or as teasers from home page. Give them what THEY want and they may be happy to offer you that link. If they respect YOU as a customer, they might even promote your site in email promotions.

Most sites have a page of happy customer testimonials and most offer a link back to your site or your e-mail so their potential clients can follow-up with you. Take a look at those businesses you patronize online and see if they offer those linkbacks. Then tell them how happy you are to do business with them and watch your PageRank increase and traffic grow!

Check your own Link Popularity with a free Software download: http://website101.com/download/link-popularity-software.html

Mike Valentine is SEO at http://RealEstateDirectory411.com