Just Ask Matt - Answers

Do Link Exchanges Still Work?

QUESTION: (Gerald) I have a number of people asking me to exchange links. I have read that this is good, but can’t find anywhere how to do it. Any suggestions, or is there an article you have that would help me. Appreciate it.

Good question, Gerald, because we really don’t hear as much about link exchanges as we did in the past.  I think the big reason for it is it’s effectiveness (or lack thereof).  Search engine spiders are much smarter than they were 2 or 3 years agos.  And most will recognize a “link exchange” rather easily.

For those who don’t know what a link exchange is, it is when you approach another website (usually with similar content to yours) and ask them to place a nice, keyword-rich anchor text link back to your website.  In exchange, you will do the same for them.  Remember that an important part of SEO is backlinks (i.e., receiving links from other websites pointing back to you).  A few years ago, a lot of this “linking power” was represented by a Page Rank.  Getting high Page Rank websites to point back to you effectively will increase your own page rank.

Personally, I think Page Rank is a bit of a farce these days (at least the public one).  I do think the major search engines (like Google) have there own ranking system based on popularity, but it would not be public.  Still, getting links from “authority sites” with relevance (to your niche) is always key. 

Now getting back to the question…I think link exchanges (or “reciprocal linking”) is really not going to help or hurt you.  Any backlink (in most cases) usually will help you.  But if there is a reciprocal link, the spiders will usually recognize this and probably not give you proper popularity for it. 

Again, like everything SEO, this is speculation, but I know there has been a lot of abuse of link exchanges over the years (like link farms, paid text links, etc.) to draw a lot of attention to it.  I used to do it quite a bit.  I don’t really do it any more (unless I am quite friendly with the website and we exchange primarily for the traffic, not the SEO).  I think your efforts would be better suited to article writing/submission, press releases, even directory submissions. 

You can also consider n-way link exchanges.  For a 3-way link exchange example: Site A links to Site B, Site B links to Site C, and Site C links to Site A.  You can do this rather deeply, too.  But still, the search engine spiders are smart and may start recognizing the linking footprints.  The larger the “n”, the better off you are…but of course, this is a hell of a lot more work and requires some skillful coordination.

Personally, I have become somewhat of an a-hole about link exchange requests.  I don’t get as many as I used to, but when I do I usually ignore them. 

cheers…matt

P.S. If you want to know more about Getting Backlinks, check out SEOExciter.com.  (There are 10 free videos over there that shows you how!)

More Questions & Answers...
GOT A QUESTION?

Who is Behind Marketing Mind?

Matthew BredelMy name is Matthew Bredel and as of March, 2007, I am a full-time, work-at-home internet marketer. For close to 10 years, I worked for a defense company which was an OK job, but I was so uninspired in life and frankly, I needed some more money. That is when I first discovered internet marketing! Now I admit that I didn't start making thousands in my first couple of months (in fact, I lost my shirt!), but I finally saw the "internet light"...

Read More about Matthew Bredel
GURU STUFF
Interviews, Guest Posts & More

Exposing the FTC Regulations on Endorsements and Testimonials

Over the past month, I have felt a lot of rumblings throughout the internet due to the lasted FTC rulings on Testimonials and Endorsements. This IS going to change the way we market online, but who really understands this? Here, I sit down with expert internet law attorney Linda Goodman (from TheGoodmanLawFirm.com) to help me understand the fate of my own websites and its affect on this internet marketing world.

Read Full Post >


GEEK CORNER
HTML, PHP, MySQL
& Other Geeky Stuff

Htaccess & Other URL Redirect Methods

(Sonya) I came to this site by clicking on a “learn more” link that redirects to this page - what I want to know, although be it very basic, is how do I get a link to look like that? For example this web page url is http://www.matthewbredel.com/just-ask-matt, however I just clicked on something that said “learn more”. I want to know how I can title my links whatever I want with hidden url links in the exact same way you have!

Read Full Post >


Share This Post...

Getting your first website up can always be a challenge (and frankly, is one of the biggest stumbling points of any new internet marketer). My friend is just about to release to the public an awesome and simple website builder to get anyone up and ready with an offer in no time at all. (He’s pre-leasing it to my visitors now, so check this out today…)

bloopioBloopio What?

(Yes, today’s post is promotional but Hollis always seems to create pretty darn good products and this offer is a good one!  Check it out below…)

A few months ago, I introduced you to a friend of mine, Hollis Carter, and I know a bunch of you joined his SNEmpire and currently LOVE IT!  (I rarely get this much positive feedback on any product that I have recommended!).

But before I even knew anything about SNEmpire, I was originally introduced to Hollis’s vision of a Quick & Easy Website Builder.

Let me explain…

I first met Hollis at JVAlert here in San Diego last year.  We randomly were just chilling by a pool drinking beers and he was telling me about this website builder he wascurrently creating.

Now I meet many people in the industry and the products are usually all the same (or something I have already heard of before).

I was skeptical at first!

Is this just another Wordpress blog?

After about three minutes, I realized that this was BETTER, SIMPLIER and MORE POWERFUL than Wordpress…at least for the function it was trying to provide.

The product name is Bloopio.

And what I liked most about Bloopio is its function:

“Fast, Professional Websites; No Technical Experience Required”

I receive countless numbers of emails from people asking me:

- how to get started?
- which website builder should I use?
- how long will it take to create a website?
- how will I create a website myself?
- how much will it cost to create a website?

I usually point people initially to Wordpress.  It is a blog, though. Sure, it can be used to sell products and to promote products, but it is not designed to do that. It is meant to be a blog.

What makes Bloopio so unique is that it caters to the online marketer.  It is the quick and easy way of getting actual offers and promotions onto the internet without having to deal with all of the
crazy plug-ins, modifications and WORK!

(It even incorporates things like opt-in forms for you…one thing that I ALWAYS tell my clients to add whenever they create an website.)

Enough of my ranting about this.

The moral of this story is that I mentioned to Hollis way-back-when that when he WAS to release this product, I want to be one of the first
to tell my clients about it.

Now is that time and Bloopio is currently in pre-launch…BUT NOT FOR YOU!

Between NOW and Tuesday (2/9), you can get this for only $97 before it goes live to the general public.

This is the link:

Watch Bloopio Video

Here, they tell you more about Bloopio, provide you with a great tour of the product and more information on taking advantage of this awesome price.

And if you are not sure, SEND ME AN EMAIL WITH YOUR QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS (justaskmatt@matthewbredel.com)! Comments below are also welcome!

I’ll follow up with Hollis and give you an answer before the $97 promotion expires!

Deal?

But first, check out their video and then tell me what you think…

Watch Bloopio Video

cheers…matt

P.S.  As long as I have known Hollis, he has been a man of his word.  Here, he offers top support, and I don’t doubt it. Plus, they always do such a good job documenting all of their products.  I expect nothing less here.

And at $97, you really can’t lose here…but the price goes up on Tuesday when it officially goes live, so get it today!

Watch Bloopio Video

Don't Buy Another Money Making Product Until You Watch These FREE Videos!

First Name:
Email:

Leave a Reply

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>