paynt - 2:41 pm on Mar 9, 2002 (gmt 0)

It probably goes without saying that Google has made linking a big deal. A whole search engine has credited its importance so linking is not going away any time soon. Linking is also a biggie for spam filters. We’ve seen it time and again. Folks are still talking about getting out of those once ‘ever popular’ link farms of a few years back. The struggle with crosslinking and bans goes on. I continue to see people trying to create the next automatic linking system that won’t cause a major problem or maybe they are out for a quick buck because those systems just don’t last long at all.

We’ve talked about standards. Creating websites that scream for linking because the content is terrific and on theme, perhaps comfy in a nice little niche.

We’ve talked about hubs, directories and creating authority – although I believe we have so much further to go with this.

We’ve talked about how to attach reciprocal links to our site so they don’t take away from the site. In the process of this we’ve included discussion on what to call links because gee – we can’t call a link a link due to spam filters. Ah…….. a link by any other name or a link is a link is a link…. Oh well!

We’ve touched on linking for traffic. Rogerd brought this up again and I’m glad because I’d like to see more discussion on this.

We’ve discussed how to find links, how to get links and what to do once you have them. This has included sharing PR or how much to give away.

I suppose what I want to know from the community is where you believe the status of linking in the industry stands today and perhaps where it’s going. Along with that I’d like to know what you would like to see more discussion on in this forum, if there are holes and what you’d like to revisit or build on. Newbies (meant in the fondness terms) and lurkers welcome. We need to know what you think and what you’re looking for. This is an open discussion to generate ideas and figure out how to meet the needs of the community as a whole.