Link Dilema

Whats a man to do

[kazecoder]

I have a bit of a dilema when it comes to link exchanges.

I have a website that acts as an online community for red widget owners.

When I google search for ' red widget ' the top results are the red widget manufacturer and they WILL NOT link to me.

When I google search for ' red widget forum ' the top results there wont like to me either because we are in direct competition.

Anyone have any recommendations?

[birdstuff]

Don't try to get links from the top-ranked sites. They're already at the top so why should they help you get there?

You'll have much better success requesting link exchanges with the sites that are ranked slightly above you and all of those below you.

[kmcgaffin]

Link and praise - it works a lot more than you would think!

If you run a widget community it might be very useful to do a quick review of the top widget manufacturers including links to their site. Make sure they get to know about it - either by telling them or clicking on the link on your own site so that you show up in their referrer logs.

Of course your review needs to be positive, well-written and of course, true.

[caveman]

kazecoder, consider other linking possibilities that may not be the top two sites in your narrowly defined category, but are nonetheless highly relevant.

Gold is relevant to:
- mining
- jewelry
- investing
- exchange rates
- wedding bands
- treasure hunting

Cat food is relevant to:
- feline nutrition
- feline breeds
- feline health & medical
- feline behavior
- feline-related allergies

...etc...

;-)

[chasing something]

you could try seeing who links to those top sites and get links from them

[treeline]

Do a search for red widgets add url or for red widgets submit site to find directory type sites that will help you.

[kazecoder]

Thank you all for your replies! I will take all your info into consideration.

[mosaic service]

try linking to sites which complements your site and see the wonders.

top ranked sites won't link to you...

but in the quest to get lots of links don't forget to concentrate only on quality and theme based links as irrelavant links won't count and possibly hurt your own ranking.

so be careful..

[MarkWolk]

When I google search for ' red widget ' the top results are the red widget manufacturer and they WILL NOT link to me.

Do a search for 'red links', 'widget links', 'red resources', 'widget resources' etc. I.e. if your site is about sports cars, it makes sense to link with sports sites, and with car sites.

[Tigrou]

kazecoder, if they are top-ranked won't it be better to pay the $50 and get one-ways?

CF

[neuron]

Not all industries are the same. Not all websites would even consider themselves to be in an industry. In my particular area, related websites, as a rule of thumb, do not link to other industry-related sites. The jewelry industry is a good example of just the opposite. Go to just about any jewelry related site that has a link directory and you will see that they interlink heavily to competitors sites.

Since I couldn't get links in my industry, I just got links from anybody and everybody who I thought had a website that could potentially be a good resource for my site visitors. A good way to start is to do a link analysis of all those who link to those sites who rank well for your keyterms, and invite them to link to your site as well.

The same cookie-cutter solution does not work for everyone. While it appears the search engines are continuing to implement semantic/topological analyis into their algorithms, and that these techniques are being applied to links as well as to on-page content, making themed linking of increased value, non-themed linking still has great value, and one of the nice things about non-themed linking is that there are a lot more sites out there not in your theme than in your theme that you can get links from.

[MarkWolk]

Maybe my previous example was too abstract. Let's use an actual example. One of my websites offers private tours in Widgetstan with a driver-guide. 5 keywords: private, tours, Widgetstan, driver, guide.

It does make sense to link to any website using either of these keywords, whether in the same industry or not. Obviously, I have links with other tour operators worldwide. I also have or could have links with general websites about Widgetstan. Or with private investigators. Or with a website about the city of Widgetkova,Widgetkrania. Or with a website about drivers for your PC. Or a website that is a guide to whatever. Etc. That way, search engines will understand that all these words are related to your website and you should have good rankings for your keywords.

[edited by: martinibuster at 8:45 pm (utc) on Mar. 12, 2005]
[edit reason] Widgetized. Works Just as Well! Woo-hoo! [/edit]