Okay so I was dead wrong. Not even close. But who knew?

So just what was misconception of epic proportions I was working under?

Well, you see, I mistakenly assumed that most everyone clearly understood importance of link text. You know clickable part of your link? Or part of your linking info that usually appears in blue and leads off most reciprocal links.

So much so, I felt revisiting this topic would be a total waste of time.

Guess not. Because it seems most still don’t get it.

That’s right. Apparently most don’t understand how critical this collection of choice words can be to their search engine marketing success. Even though traffic payback can be huge.

So you can forget doing anything clever to make sure your listing shows up near top of a links page - no matter how many links were on page before yours. (Which can easily be done by way.) Looks like most need a refresher course on basics of what link text to use to begin with.

Link Text – The Study

Now I base this observation on an admittedly small bit of research I did recently while looking for link partners. Out of about 40 potential linking candidates I found that when it comes to link text

• 3 used their URL • 7 used their site name • 13 used some non keyword focused descriptor like “Vision Training for Tennis” when their site was about tennis fitness.

Merciful Minerva! In other words more than HALF of these active link traders got it wrong!

And trust me. I was exceedingly generous when it came to awarding style points for getting it right. Or for that matter, even close to right.

Thinking there was something weird about that first group, I looked at some more. Hmmmm. Same thing. Again more than half used less-than-helpful link text. Leaving me to conclude that when it comes to link text most cheerfully ignore their primary keyword phrase altogether. Evidently oblivious to just how important that is.

The newest media wave to hit online shore is video. Individual emails abound with links to "the funniest video ever," or blurry clips of new babies or birthday parties.

Businesses, on other hand, have largely been left standing on shore, scratching their heads and wondering if there's any real value to be earned from diving into making their own live video broadcasts, video emails or video on demand infommercials. Here are just five of many ways video adds to bottom line of any company.

1. People remember more of your message While people generally remember 10% of what they read and 20% of what they hear. But, they'll remember as much as 50% of what they see and hear together. Before anyone can act on your message, they need to process and remember it.

2. Increase responses by up to 30% A call to action is much easier to follow if it is actively delivered. Sound and motion are powerful action drivers, especially when they are delivered by your sincere enthusiasm and passion for your topic. Companies who have made switch to video email and on- demand broadcasts have reported response rates jump as much as 30% following a broadcast.