SurfSMART Online Marketing Guide

Exchanging Links & Banners

Exchanging Links
Exchanging links has become an extremely popular way of promoting your site. Granted, it may not bring a lot of traffic if your reciprocal link is placed on a page that no one visits, but, some of the search engines are using popularity as a way to rank your site, so the more sites that are linked to you, the better your chances are of increasing your ranking on the search engines. In addition, you may develop an exchange with a site that really likes yours and links to it from their home page. And maybe they only get 10,000 hits/month. That's 10,000 people who will see your link. And best of all, you didn't have to pay anything for it! 

How do you get started? First, set up a links page on your web site such as "Partners" or "Resources" and sort it into specific categories, if appropriate. For example, if you sell flowers in Tampa, you may want to add categories like, Other Businesses in the Tampa Bay area, Attractions in Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay Realtors, etc. Then on your homepage, add a link to your links page that says "Tampa Bay area links". That way, the people who are exchanging links with you knows that you are not hiding their links away in some deep dark corner of your web site. And then they will be more receptive to giving you more accessible link on their site. 

Once you have set up your links page, go to the search engines and find sites that you would like to be listed on. Common sense says to avoid direct competitors. Find businesses that complement your own. And be picky, you have to list their site if they list yours, so don't ask for a link exchange if you do not really want to list their site. 

Next, send a personalized email to the email address listed on the site. You should always tell them what you like about their site and why you think the exchange would be beneficial to both of you. And simply ask if they are interested. List the title and link to your website. And list the links page where you will place their link.

If you receive a yes, get the link up on your links page as quickly as possible and send a confirmation to them. Check their site first to see if your site has been added and be sure to Thank them.

Banner Exchange
A banner exchange allows you to get free banner advertising by placing other banners on your site. Banner exchange services offer ratios, for example: 3:1, means for every 3 times you display a banner on your site, your banner gets placed on another site 1 time. Check out these ratios when you join an exchange, some can be as high as 12:1. Also, look for an exchange that offers good targeting where you can choose what target sites you'd like your banner to be displayed on. 

When displaying banners on your site, be sure to only display no more then two banners per page. Too many banners can annoy your visitors and drive them away. Also be sure to put the banner in a good location and make it a part of your page design. 

Here are a few recommended exchanges: 
  

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