Getting Reciprocal Links with Zeus

[Eccus]

I am a newbie and I wanted to ask if I can use Cyber-Robotics' Zeus robot to identify, email and create a reciprocal links directory for my website?

All replies are very much appreciates....

[rcjordan]

Eccus, welcome to WebmasterWorld.

>identify

Yes. That part worked great. Get the free version, if still available. When I used it, it generated a nice little reference database. However, that's the only part of zeus I did choose to use.

>email

No, IMO. The consensus here seems to be that the auto-generated emails are very likely to be regarded as spam. (Remember, you're not the only webmaster that has found Zeus. Many, many before you have abused it and other link harvesting techniques.)

>create a reciprocal links directory

No, search on 'zeus' or maybe 'zeus directory' here. While directories can be powerful link management tools, zeus appears to have been crossed the line so far as the search engines are concerned.

[australiangirl]

HI,

I'm a newbie too, what is Zeus and can I download for free? of do I need to buy it?
Thanks,
Australiangirl

[rcjordan]

There is still, apparently, a free version. Note that to keep it active, you have to contribute to the communal link, ummmm, collection within 14 days.

Check out cyber-robotics.com

[rogerd]

Zeus is a piece of software that follows links to look for related sites using keywords, provides contact management for contacting the other sites about exchanging links, and publishes a link directory on your site. There was a free version that included links to the author's site in the link directory pages. The free version seemed even more prone to attracting abusers, and there was some discussion that it should be withdrawn. I don't know if it's still available or not.

I would search this forum for "themeindex" for a discussion of Zeus-related penalties. There was a big flurry of discussion on this topic last year. Google doesn't openly admit to penalizing Zeus users, but the facts seem to indicate that many found their PR reduced.

It's a nice example of labor-saving automation, but users have abused it both as a spam tool and to create garbage link directories. Many of the abusers paid the price in PR, and some non-abusers got caught in the net too. I would recommend employing this product with extreme caution, as misapplication could result in penalties.

<added>Looks like the free version is still out there, per RC's post.</added>

[australiangirl]

Thank you Rogerg, I think I will establish linking relationships the old fashioned way, personal email.

[Nomad5]

I'm new, and a relative newbie to professional webmastering, though I've run small websites for a while.

This thread caught my eye in a google search looking for information on the Zeus Web Server!

The only Zeus I know about is the web server. They're a UK-based company - been in business since mid-90's.

They have nothing to do with this product from cyber-robotics AFAIK.

Thanks for running this forum, btw ...

[wlitten]

Just wanted to put in a good word for Zeus as a reciprocal link program. I've been using it since 1999 and I have excellent rankings with Google, plus I get a lot of traffic from some of my link partners.

Some of the information posted above is incorrect. There are no 'canned' emails in Zeus. They were removed due to abuse. Every user must create their own personalized emails asking for links. It is definitely not spam. Zeus will find hundreds of potential link partners for you, and you must visit each one to see if they are suitable. It saves you lots of time and finds sites you might not.

The newest Pro version also will check automatically for un-reciprocated links and broken links. It's a great time-saver now that my link directory contains more than 1200 tightly-themed links.

Google does not penalize Zeus link directories - the official word is that if you do not change the Zeus default page names 6 months after Google spiders it, Google will no longer index that section of your site. It's simple - just change the page names. Google just thinks that if you don't change the defaults, your link directory is not being maintained.

[Eccus]

Thank you all for responding. By the time I posted this, I had already used and created a link directory on my website. Not too many tough.

I really like the Zeus locomotive to find potential partners for my website and I will probably continue to use the locomotive portion.

What do I do now with the link directory I have on my website?

Wlitten:
I would like to find out how accurate is your information about zeus. I am getting more negatives than positives. Are you really sure that google will not penalize for using it?

Can we get other webmasters/gurus to clarify the zeus mistique?
Zeus is having conferences explaining their relationship with google... should I take it?

Thanks again for the advice

[coconutz]

Google does not penalize Zeus link directories - the official word is that if you do not change the Zeus default page names 6 months after Google spiders it, Google will no longer index that section of your site.

Hi wlitten, welcome to WebmasterWorld. Try a search on Google for allinurl:themeindex. Check the results, PR0s. And these pages seem to be indexed just fine. Check the very first result. Home page PR6, all of the internal pages linked to from the home page are also PR6 or PR5, with the exception of the Links Directory page. PR0. The links pages PR seems just a little low also.

I would like to find out how accurate is your information about zeus. I am getting more negatives than positives. Are you really sure that google will not penalize for using it?

rcjordan and rogerd have offered some good advise. I'd also suggest using the site search for themeindex or Zeus. Here's a couple of discussions to get you started.

Zeus and Google (again!) [webmasterworld.com]

themeindex.htm is a penalized word [webmasterworld.com]

Zeus is having conferences explaining their relationship with google... should I take it?

From what I hear, this is the conference [semconf.com] to attend. :)

Many webmasters have been successful when using Zeus, but from what I've read here, I'm in no hurry to try it. I think if you polled this forum, you'd find very few of those willing to exchange links with someone using Zeus to build a reciprocal links directory. That tells me enough right there.

Eccus, a great place for information on Link Development is in the Forum Library [webmasterworld.com]. Try these:

Linking – What’s the big deal? [webmasterworld.com]

Prompting sites to reciprocate links [webmasterworld.com]

Hope you find these helpful.

[wlitten]

Good questions.
Yes, I'm certain that Google does not penalize me for using Zeus. I am in the top 3 for most of my keywords and I don't do any 'optimization'. My pages have lots of content and they are about what they say they are about. Becuase of Zeus, though I don't just rely on the search engines for traffic - my link partners also send me lots of traffic. Of course, I have a newsletter, etc, etc...

I would advocate changing the name themeindex.html to something else. That's all.

I don't judge potential Link Partners based on whether they use Zeus - I judge them on whether their site is relevant to mine and whether their links are tightly-themed. If they link to lots of different types of websites, willy-nilly, then, no, I will not link to them.

I don't need the Zeus locomotive part anymore, though I sometimes run it, because it's fun. I receive hundreds of link requests every week. It's enough work, in itself!

There are a few different Zeus tele-conferences. The beginner ones are free, and probably well worth doing. I attended one that cost $10. It was really interesting, plus it included Q&A with the developers. That was really helpful to me. I do have to mention that the support for Zeus is really good - they answer questions within an hour or two.

Thanks for the welcome, coconutz. I don't post to forums very often. I like to make sure I really have something to say and it's enough to keep up with my own forums...

[coconutz]

I judge them on whether their site is relevant to mine and whether their links are tightly-themed. If they link to lots of different types of websites, willy-nilly, then, no, I will not link to them.

One of the first comments I've read here in such a long time that does not mention PR as a determining factor. ;)

[watercrazed]

I have been using Zeus for about three months now, the only real change to my site. My PR on homepage went from 4 to 5 my links page is 4. However I would not recommend using the free version, and customizing the look of your links page to match your site. A fully customized link index can not be identified as a zeus index.