3.4.3. Finding Link Partners 202 Use Search It!
Let’s do quick review of your best 80-20 way to proceed so far...
1) Keep on creating high-value content on your site.
2) Obtain a few quality links from directories (major and/or second tier) and themed directories and hub sites.
3) Build the C-C-C-C-C of Content 
Traffic PREselling Monetization
The last two steps are...
5) Sign up for SiteSell’s free Value Exchange -- you’ll receive high-quality, new matches on a regular basis.
And do not devote much time to manually surfing/searching for the ultimate value-exchange partners (great traffic, similar theme, non-competing). The response rate to friendly individualized e-mails requesting a “link exchange” is almost zero. It’s not worthwhile -- unless you schmooze better than I do!
6) After that, simply keep an eye open for suitable link partners as you go about your regular work on the Web. Don’t spend time searching for a great site, but when you happen to come across one, don’t ignore it.
What’s that, you say. Yes, this is the section about finding link partners manually. Did you notice #5 above...
“Do not devote much time to manually surfing/searching for the ultimate value-exchange partners (great traffic, similar theme, non-competing). The response rate to friendly individualized e-mails requesting a “link exchange” is almost zero.”
Honestly, if you follow the “strict” manual process (Finding Link Partners 100), you’re wasting your time. But I can show you how to increase your chances.
However, a small caveat before we continue...
I don’t actually recommend this as a great time investment for the return on your efforts. You’ll get much bigger yields by investing time in creating more and more Content-Content-Content -- that builds all your off-page criteria, powerfully and naturally.
If you should decide to do the manual route, what’s the best way to do this? Use the Search It! tool’s Back Links Search Category (STEP 1). Check your own popularity with the major engines for free...
Use it to check the link popularity of sites that you regard as close competitors. Pay special attention to who is linking to them. You’ll find...
1) the fruits of interesting directories or other inbound links that you may havemissed! Wow, grab these, too!
2) other sites that, since they’ve linked to this site, are open to linking out and might be interested in linking to you!
Ah... now that reduces all the work of writing 1,000 letters, receiving 200 spam complaints and maybe one reply of interest... from the least attractive of the 1,000!
Divide those “other sites” into...
1) Business competitors (no opportunity here, but do not eliminate just yet!)
2) Businesses complementary to your business
3) Hobby sites (only consider those that are extremely rich in content and well done).
Got your list? Great! To prune your list down further, install Google’s toolbar to verify the PageRank of the sites in your list. (if you have programming skills use Google page rank algorithm to check your list in bulk without installing toolbar)
SIDEBAR
Google’s toolbar, available at...
... displays the PageRank score of a Web site as a green band.
Sites that are known to Google will show some green in the toolbar -- this number will vary from 1 to 10 -- the higher the better. Sites unknown to Google will show up as a gray bar. Sites that have a white bar are known to Google, but haven’t yet established any PageRank score.
You can also use Alexa to eliminate sites that get near-zero traffic...
For more info about Alexa...
http://www.sitesell.com/alexa.html
SIDEBAR
You can also use the Related Sites function of Alexa
to find sites that are related to your competitors. You might even be
there!
A word of caution...
Be flexible, and wise, with both of these tools. The purpose behind exchanging links is not to manipulate the engines. Of course, you would prefer that your inbound links be from higher Google PR and Alexa ranked pages. But it’s more critical that they be great sites. As for linking out... the “great site” part is ten times more important! (I can’t repeat this enough.)
Most newly minted sites have yet to build link popularity -- that’s the nature of the game. So don’t discount high quality sites that have yet to establish themselves, especially if they provide a valuable resource. Spot those young diamonds in the rough.
Remember reality -- add value to your visitor’s experience
and obtain a quality link. If you get some traffic from an exchange,
consider it a nice bonus. But the big bonus, in the long run, is combining
this with Content Traffic PREselling Monetization
to get that ever-rolling snowball growing out of control!
OK. All that’s left now is to visit the sites on your tightened list and decide which ones warrant a link trade (i.e., provide great content, are non-competitive and fit your visitors’ needs). Once you’ve compiled this list...
Draft a nice “form letter” for each site owner. Introduce yourself and your site. Add a personalized compliment about each site. Mention that their visitors would be interested in the content on your site, and vice-versa. Don’t forget to mention the “plus” feature of a high-value-exchange such as the one you propose.
SIDEBAR
The presence of your Specific Keywords in both your links out, and your
links in, gives you a slight boost in rankings. So when you send a request
for a link, I suggest that you include your site description, perhaps even
the HTML, so the Webmaster can simply copy-and-paste. This way,
you’ll get the text link the way you want it -- with the keywords in
it! Here’s an example...
One of the most important keywords for SBI! Product Manager Paul Crane’s site (Ultimatefatburner.com) is “fat burners.” He asks that prospective partners link to him like this...
<A HREF=“http://www.ultimatefatburner.com/”>Reviews of fat burners, diet supplements, and weight loss programs</A>
And not like this...
<A HREF=“http://www.ultimatefatburner.com/”>Ultimatefatburner.com</A>
Smart move, Paul!
Special Tip: Place a link to your possible link partner’s site on your own site before you e-mail her with the proposition. Send her the URL so that she can see for herself. Then include the URL of your own site, and a brief description. Then all the Webmaster has to do i s cut and paste it into the links page.
How can she say “no”?
Ummmm... pretty easily, it would appear -- if you even get the courtesy of an answer (not likely).
Remember, Webmasters will be looking for links that add value to their own sites, rather than those that just benefit your business. But generally, most are not actively looking for links. So I’m not promising any results with this approach, just trying to save you time from the “totally manual” approach.
Bottom line...
Do not waste time manually building a value-exchange program. Seriously. Make your short list of sites (if you must) and send a few e-mails. I think you’ll find it very low yield. I really hate to be a party-pooper, but that’s “the reality.”
And that brings me to a far better, rewarding, real, and time-effective way to exchange value...
MYLW: <<3.4.2 Fraud-Exchange Tricks 3.4.3 Use Search It 3.4.4. Value Exchanging>>
