When your website is online and has your primary initial content for people to view, you have arrived at the next level of importance -- driving quality traffic.

One of your top priorities is to begin lining up some reciprocal linkage -- ie, getting your web address listed on other sites in exchange for listing them on your's. This is one of the most effective mechanisms for traffic generation, so I strongly encourage you to try spending about an hour a week investigating the possibilities. Investing that time will pay handsome dividends because it will also help you with better rankings in search engine results. For example, click [here] to read what Google says about the importance of relevant linking.

However I would NOT necessarily suggest that you swap links with direct competitors -- the decision as to whether or not you think that's a good idea would be entirely up to you. Rather, I'd recommend that you find other quality sites that complement your own work but do not compete. For example, a woodworker who made handmade tables might want to exchange links with someone who made handmade chairs; a jeweler may want to consider a fiber artist who hand-dyes elegant silk scarves; a dentist may want to exchange links with a local optometrist; etc. The possibilities for any business are innumerable.

Click [HERE] for an explanation about the meaning of "Quality Links".

Also, look into finding "directory" type sites that list lots of people who do what you do. There are many "professional associations" for example that will list hyperlinked business names by city/state -- take advantage of these opportunities if they are free or very reasonably priced. (If you are an artist, you can check out these online art & craft portals).

Here is a simple method that I and many others use to find other sites for possible reciprocal linkage. Go to a meta search service such as:

QueryServer.com
(Note: If their page does not load the search box, click the "Web" link on the left hand side)

Use for your search queries a series of phrases, each of which is 2, 3, or 4 words that directly relates to what you do. For example, our table maker mentioned above might use each of these:
handmade chairs | handcrafted chairs
handmade furniture | handcrafted furniture
handmade wood chairs | handcrafted wood chairs
handmade wood furniture | handcrafted wood furniture

When the results are returned, briefly look at those which appear to be the most promising and either bookmark or keep a list of any which you find acceptable. When you get finished, go back and individually visit each of those selected sites to find the email address AND confirm that they have a prominent links page (only focus on those sites that do already have a page to place reciprocal links!). Send them a concise message in which you offer to add their site to your own links page if they will add you to their's -- an even exchange.

The easiest way to do that is to compose a friendly generic message for this purpose. Thereafter, all you have to do is to copy & paste -- that will reduce the time required to less than a minute per email. In that email, be sure to include your own website URL and also include a suggested wording that you'd like to see them use for your listing on their site. If they reply and say that they'd rather have a graphic banner to use for your site's listing, let me know and I'll make up a simple one for you for very little expense (and which you can use for all other "banner" type exchanges henceforth).

Click this link to see a sample wording for your reciprocal link email (popup window).

Also, if you need for me to send to you the HTML coding that they would use for your listing, I am happy to do that. It would be best to actually include that HTML in the body of the email message -- that way, all they have to do is to copy & paste it into their own links page. The easier you make it, the more likely that you'll get reciprocal links!

Don't be surprised or discouraged if only 1 person in 5 wants to do the trade. Even so, if you get just one new reciprocal link per week, then in less than a year you'll be included on 50 other websites and the additional quality traffic from that effort could be enormous.

As a residual benefit, you may find that your ranking in search engine results goes up as you are included in more reciprocal linkage agreements. That is because the more links you have on the web pointing to you from other sites that are in a field similar to your own, the more "valuable" the search engines assume you to be. Thus, they give your site more "weight" which can move you higher in the rankings.

Above all else remember this -- you'll only be successful online if you get targeted traffic, and you only get that if you work at it. Only one hour per week could eventually result in a huge increase in your visitor count, so try to start on this reciprocal links project as soon as possible -- you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain by the effort. As you successfully work out trades and you need their listings added to your own "Links" page, and I'll do that for you.....

    ~ Steve Reynolds
       ClassicWebsiteDesign.com

For more info...

·  Read this [excellent explanation] from InstantPosition.com as to why reciprocal linking has become so important.

·  Here are some additional tips from [Back Bone Media] about finding reciprocal links

Additional Information...

Setting Up A CC Merchant Account

Promote Your Site

Pay Per Click Services

Online Shops

Artists -- Online Galleries

Shipping Resources