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Top Tips For Requesting a Reciprocal Link
By Colin Evans

While most webmasters agree that reciprocal linking is a very 
good way of increasing web site traffic, get your reciprocal 
link request wrong, and you won't get the link.

To make sure you don't make this mistake, here are some 
important tips for requesting a link from a potential link 
partner:

 1. Make sure your entire web site looks professional. Nobody 
    is going to link to a scrappy or unprofessional looking 
    website.

 2. Whether you use a linkbot or not, you must carry out some 
    physical research on any potential link partner's website.

    i) You need to answer these questions:

       - Is the website of a similar or complementary theme to 
         your website?

       - Is the website content useful?

       - Does the website look professional?

       The key is to look at the website content from your 
       visitor's point of view. They clicked a link on your
       website to find more information, make sure the content 
       at their destination is worthwhile.

   ii) Traffic to a new website will come almost entirely from 
       reciprocal links. To maximize the traffic through your 
       reciprocal links, check out your potential link partners 
       "Links" or "Resource" page:

       - Are the links useful?

       - Are the links logically grouped and easy to search?

       - Are there less than thirty links for each category? You 
         will not get any traffic from a page that has more than 
         this.

       - Do they look appealing?

       - Are the links of a similar or complementary theme to 
         the main website?


 3. If the website is worth linking to, locate and copy the 
    "link code" that the Web site owner would prefer you to use 
    for their reciprocal link, such as:

    - Link title

    - Link URL

    - Link description

    You need to make a note of the web page you would like your 
    link to appear in, and if the website has a categorized link 
    directory, the category.


 4. Find the contact details for the owner of the website.

    The increased harvesting of email addresses means that not 
    many webmasters will put an email link on their website, 
    most will use a contact form.

    Try to find the name of the owner. Many website owners have 
    a web page about themselves or their business.


 5. Using the link information you found during your research, 
    make an html link which points to your potential link partner 
    and upload it to your links page.

    The only time it is acceptable to use information 
    "discovered" by your linkbot is if you can't find any
    linking information during your research.


 6. Contacting the owner or webmaster for a reciprocal link will 
    mean you must do one of the following:

    - Fill in their link submission form.

    - Contact them using their contact form.

    - Send them an email (This is the last resort). Sending 
      emails to the WhoIs contact details is the same as
      spamming, DON'T DO IT.

    Use pre-written templates of linking letters that you can 
    copy and paste into the contact form or your email program.

    To ensure the email looks personal, fill in the following 
    "gaps" on the template:

    - The web site owners name. Don't use Hi John, or Hello John, 
      use Dear John. If you can't find the owner's name don't use 
      any salutation at all.

    - The URL of the web page where you would like your link to 
      appear. If necessary, state the category you would like 
      your link to appear in.

    - The full URL of the reciprocal link on your website.

    - The title of your link.

    - The URL of your link.

    - The description of your link.

    Make sure you state your email address and your website
    URL after your name at the end of the email.

    If your website has a low Google PR, state this and tell
    your potential link partner that your website is new, does 
    not have a high Google PR and linking with you will not do 
    their Google PR any good. 

    Tell them you have a policy of linking with quality sites 
    that have a similar or complementary theme and consequently 
    your Google PR is going to steadily increase, as will the 
    number of people visiting their website from their link on 
    your web page.

Anybody receiving a link request written using these tips will 
be more inclined to swap links with you because you have taken 
the time to check out their web site and your professional 
approach will have a positive subconscious effect on their 
decision.

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Written by Colin Evans C 2004 - All rights reserved. To find 
other tips, advice as well as articles, tools and resources to 
help you increase traffic to your web site visit: 
http://www.colevans.com
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