Today I got another link exchange request from a former client. You know those requests; she asked me if I would link my company’s website to her company’s site. Maybe I shouldn’t announce this to the world but I am usually happy to do this.
So what’s the point? How important are these exchanges?
To understand the why, we’ll start with understanding what a link actually is. Google (as well as Bing and the other search engines), want the most useful sites to appear at the top of the search results. They assume that when a webmaster links to your site, they’re vouching for the usefulness of your site.
Not all links are equal.
A link from an authoritative source is considered more valuable in digital marketing. It’s better to have Apple link to your site than to have Bill’s Computers link to you. The authority that a site has is measured with Google PageRank. It’s at the heart of Google’s ranking algorithm. It takes into account the content of the site and the sites that link to it. The score ranges from 0-10 (with 10 being the best). The average PageRank is estimated to be about 2.2. Though any link is good, getting a link from any site with an above average PageRank will really help you with your SEO (search engine optimization).
Link Building
So this brings us back to those link requests you get. Like I said, I’m happy to do this. That’s especially true if you or your business have a relationship with me or my business. The exchange helps to boost my PageRank and ultimately helps me appear higher in the search engine results. It does something else too and that is it expands my sphere of influence…which is a topic for another post.
Here are 4 tips for boosting your link building program:
1. You have some leverage with your suppliers so start there. Send an email to your contact there and ask them if they would be willing to link to your page. It’s only fair to link back to them but because of your leverage, you may not want to.
2. Your distributors and clients want you to be successful. Don’t be bashful! Ask them if they would be willing to do a link exchange with you. It’s good for them too!
3. Post on Facebook and LinkedIn that you are looking for partners willing to exchange links with your website.
4. Drop me a line if you’d like to do a link exchange! Click to contact me!
