e-Marketing - Linking Strategies

Linking strategies are another essential component of driving traffic to a web site. Many search engines count the number of links to your pages, as well as the content of those pages, to measure the quality of your site. The idea is that the popularity of your site with linkers is indicative of quality content. The other, more easily understood advantage of linking is the increase in traffic it can generate (Wilson, Web 2). Repeated links to the site will place it closer to the top of a search results list.

However, a web site shouldn’t necessarily establish links with as many sites as possible. Link valuation becomes very important when judging which sites to use in a linking strategy. Link valuation "describes the value of one link pointing to your site versus another link pointing to your site...a link to your site from Yahoo! has a higher link value than a link to your site from JoeBobs-Link-a-Torium" (Ward, Building 5). Judging the value of links isn't always so obvious, but it is an essential task.

When a link has been established, it is important to have the second site complement your site's intended image. For example, an educational site for children would benefit more from a link with a library's web site than an adult magazine site. Erin Whalen, Assistant Marketing Manager of Cielo Wind Power, contacts trade organization sites, such as the American Wind Energy Association, to request links. If you swap links with a reputable site, the quality of your visitors will improve (Whalen).

After a site manager has established a linking exchange with a web site, he must constantly verify that the link is working. Review the site to "make sure it hasn't dropped the link or put up a porno banner right above your link" (Ward, Linking 12). The way a site is advertised can influence your potential audience’s perception of that site.

A disadvantage of exchanging links is that although you build traffic from some sites, you also lose traffic to other sites. Decreased traffic may result in an increase in traffic to competitive sites. For this reason, in recent years, linking strategies have become less and less popular. However, one-way links from a site directly to your site are a great way to increase traffic. Linking strategies are most successful if there is some sort of complimentary relationship between the two sites (Srinivasan).

Linking strategies allow others to carry your marketing message for you, much like viral strategies.