Forum Moderators: martinibuster

Message Too Old, No Replies

Obtaining inbound links?

Is this an appropriate method?

         

fred griffin

5:22 am on Apr 18, 2005 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



I am new here to WW so please be gentle.

My wife and I have run a business for 9+ years now. I only recently learned html and have created our company website. We hope to experience a new revenue stream from the www. I have already made a few mistakes. I hope to overcome those in time. Everything I have read in this and other forums indicates that linking is a very big thing when it comes to determining a sites validity.

Our website is only a few months old... we have very few links to us if any at all. I would like to change that and here is the crux of my question:

Is it appropriate to offer a referral bonus in exchange for a link? We have always relied upon word of mouth advertising and this has served us well. We always offer our clients a referal bonus of 10% to all new clients they send us. We would like to extend this opportunity to our www friends.

If I find a site that is related to our service offerings, is it considered "bad taste" to ask for a link to our site while mentioning that all referals will yield a 10% kickback to him/her?

Looking for advice and recommendations.

Thank you

martinibuster

6:55 am on Apr 18, 2005 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Administrator 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



It's not in bad taste, it is called a business model. For instance, Amazon.com pays a commission to people who send referrals that convert into a sale. Please take a look at WebmasterWorld's Affiliate Forum [webmasterworld.com].

[edited by: martinibuster at 6:55 am (utc) on April 18, 2005]

Matt Probert

6:55 am on Apr 18, 2005 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



What you are offering is an "affiliate program". It's quite acceptable - to many people.

You can also try paid advertising, whereby you pay publishers upfront to display a link to your site.

There are various brokers offering "text link advertising" which you may find by doing a search. They vary in price and effectiveness, and I'm sorry but I'm not allowed to mention specific companies!

Matt