The Basics of Asking for a Reciprocal Link

Asking for a Reciprocal Link is Standard Practice On the Internet

Asking another webmaster for a reciprocal link is standard
practice on the Internet. Webmasters have been asking other
webmasters for reciprocal links since the beginnings of the
Internet. The very nature of the web is linking websites to
one another. It is of even higher importance, now that AltaVista
and others have changed their ranking algorithms.

If a webmaster considers your email spam, then he can report you.
If your emails are unique, without commercials, and are
personalized with unique personal information about the webmaster's
web site that you are emailing, then it would be hard to call your
email spam.

All webmasters must be responsible in their asking for reciprocal
links. This includes following simple rules and guidelines in
choosing web sites to include in your link directory.

Organizing a Tightly-Themed Vertical Link Directory

Tightly-Themed Link Directories get high ratings from search
engine robots, but only if they are true resources of organized
knowledge. Search engines are getting very smart in their query
result rankings. They include all kinds of advanced calculations
pertaining to how the links point to you and away from you. They
can include keywords in their algorithms, and now they know how
tightly linked your Themes or subjects are. Don't try to fool
them into better positioning by including a lot of web sites that
are outside your web site's real Themes in your Link Directory.

Your Link Directory's Themes must match the Themes of your
web site. You must not let your zeal to email, and perhaps get
a reciprocal link overpower your need to create a true web
resource. You don't want to create a directory that includes
all the knowledge of mankind and also sounds like a soft drink.
You should be happy with organizing a tightly Themed Vertical
Link Directory. Be the best in your area, linking only sites
that relate to you.

A smaller, tightly-themed Link Directory will grow much faster
than a diluted, loosely-themed, large bulky one. Your web site's
traffic will quickly increase, not only with visitors from your
Reciprocal Link partners but will also increase from Search
Engine visitors, once their robots quickly find your Link
Directory pages through your Link Partners!

Email General Guidelines

If you are including web sites in your Link Directory just
because you want to send an email and possibly get a link, then
you are spamming in mind and spirit. The webmaster who receives
this kind of email is not a happy camper. He or she is proud of
his achievements in creating traffic to his site over the last
few years, perhaps millions of hits every month, only to receive
an email asking him to link to a web site that in no way can
remotely match his web site or be useful for his visitors. This
is spam. Remember the phrase reciprocal links? Please change it
to Reciprocal Themed Links. This is important !

DO NOT commercialize your email in any way.

It shouldn't look like spam or people will think it is. Do not
include ANY links in your email signature area except links to
your web site. Keep it short and to the point. Ask for a
reciprocal link and that's it.

This message should only be a few lines, and not a long
narrative with rules and guidelines. Save that for your
information on your link directory. Use a unique email
reciprocal link message.

It is possible for webmasters to receive the same basic message
from another webmaster. Each reciprocal link request MUST look
different by being fresh and original.

Do not use Let's Trade Links as your subject. Let's trade
Links is probably the most used email subject line on the
Internet today, as there are thousands of webmasters using
this phrase. If you keep this subject line, then you are sending
the same one as everyone else. It will not be accepted or worse,
it will look like spam.

Personalize every email message

Include a personal comment in the email message to each of
your selected email addresses. You could include something
like: "I really like the animations you had on your home
page.", ".. and loved your background image" or "I loved
the content on ...... page". This personal comment should
prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that you personally
visited their web site.

Use logic when selecting those to receive an email.

Before you can send a reciprocal link request, you need to
explore their web site to decide if you want to include them
in your link directory. You need to also use some thought in
who you send a message to. A super large web site will probably
not trade links with you in the beginning, perhaps you should
save those for later. If you cannot find a links page, they
are not going to trade links either. Think before sending
email.

SK Kor
Internet Marketing Consultant

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