Link Popularity: Testimonials as a Linking Strategy

Testimonials as a Linking Strategy - Twist on Link Campaigns

Written by Mike Banks Valentine

Standard, well-worn marketing techniques sometimes gain some polish when you rework them a bit. Everyone knows that happy customer testimonials are a valuable addition to your business marketing materials and your web site. Glowing comments from those who have had a good experience with your product or service are successful relationships with your customers and clients - publishing them on your web site shows visitors how successfully you have dealt with previous customers.

TURN THAT TIRED MARKETING TECHNIQUE ON IT'S HEAD!

Have you ever gone out of your way to OFFER testimonials to businesses online? There is a very fundamental difference to one aspect of repparttar web as a marketing medium. That difference is repparttar 119354 HYPERTEXT LINK. If you recieve marketing materials in repparttar 119355 mail and see testimonials printed on them, you are likely to wonder who repparttar 119356 people are offering that glowing praise and if they really had such a wonderful experience with repparttar 119357 business they are praising. How do you find out when those testimonials are printed on paper?

Here is repparttar 119358 reason that offering testimonials ONLINE can be of benefit to you. If you are quoted on a high-traffic web site as being very pleased with a product or service offered there, you will most likely be given a HYPERTEXT LINK to your web site. This is done as a courtesy from most businesses as a way to say "Thank You for your Compliment". It lends a sense of credibility to your comments because people have repparttar 119359 option of visiting your site to see who you are or follow up with you on repparttar 119360 comments in your testimonial.

RECIPROCAL LINKING STRUGGLE IS A TEDIOUS EXERCISE

Many business owners struggle valiantly to establish links by visiting sites one by one and asking them if they will provide a link back to their site. The trick here is that you must find those sites that are 'complimentary' and not 'competitors' to your own business and convince them that their visitors would find your site valuable. Even repparttar 119361 search for relevant reciprocal links can be tedious and tiring.

When you offer testimonials, they can be from virtually any site you've done business with or for any product you've used. A link is a link is a link. Everyone knows by now that links increase search engine rankings - right? The testimonial linking technique doesn't require such care as reciprocal links because you aren't likely to have done business with a competitor. The additional benefit is that you needn't give them a return link - it's one way linking!

Linking for Fun and Profit

Written by Steve Pronger

Well actually, linking isn't fun at all. In fact, it's quite tedious. Seeking, responding to requests and adding links takes time and effort. But, if you're not actively building links repparttar

RIGHT way you are going to be left behind. In other words, your site will be "Lost in Cyberspace". The plain fact is Google, and to a lesser extent, other important search engines, reward sites with links from relevant and important pages.

If you want your site to deliver lots of targeted search engine traffic (and who doesn't?) there are two equally important factors:

1) lots of keyword-rich, search engine friendly content 2) lots of relevant, incoming links from repparttar 119353 RIGHT sources

For real success you need to cover BOTH of these strategies. Don't concentrate on one and not repparttar 119354 other.

So, how do you go about building your links? It's not rocket science, but as I said, it does take time and effort. From my own experiences, here's what you should do:

1) Download and install repparttar 119355 Google Toolbar:

http://toolbar.google.com/

This will show you repparttar 119356 PageRank of repparttar 119357 page you are viewing. PageRank is a measure, rated from 1 to 10, of repparttar 119358 "importance" that Google gives to that page. There has been a lot written about PageRank. You don't need to become obsessed with it but it IS an important consideration when determining WHO to link to. A link from a PR-5 page is worth FAR more than a PR-0 page.

2) Establish a resource or links directory for your site. This lets potential link partners see that you are willing to exchange links. You should make it clear on your links pages what your linking policy is i.e. under what conditions you will agree to exchange links.

3) Your aim should be to build a resource directory that is relevent to your business. Don't try to build a mini Yahoo with umpteen different categories. Keep your directory focussed on your site theme. When you first start out you will be inclined to link to anybody in exchange for a link FROM anybody. This is a mistake. Be patient and choose your link partners carefully.

4) Before requesting a link from another site, add that site to your directory. Contact repparttar 119359 webmaster and tell them you added their link because you believe their site would be of interest to your visitors (and so it should). Give repparttar 119360 url where your link is located and ask for a return link, along with instructions on how you would like your link worded. NEVER demand by saying things like "if you do not link to us we will remove your link".

5) If you have not received a reply after 2 - 3 weeks send a polite follow up. Again, don't demand. No one is under any obligation to link to you. If you do not receive a reply to your second request it means that repparttar 119361 webmaster does not want to link to you, or they are simply too busy to respond. In that case, leave it and move on. I receive dozens of link requests a day. Sometimes it takes me many weeks to get around to responding. You'll go mad worrying about links that have not been reciprocated. Your time is better spent.

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