Reasons people link to sites?

Try to figure out why people link to a site?

[eplus]

OK I was woundering how to get people to link to one of my sites and what I would need to offer to get them to link. Before anyone says it yes CONTENT but what content exactly?

I was thinking

1) An XML news feed or some form of fresh information that people can include from your site.

2) A horrid webring, I know they work for some but I'm not sold on them.

3) useful information, refference material. Unfortunatly easy said for an established site but when you are starting up it's hard to get those links.

4) Free e-cards. an old classic.

5) Free images. lots of work involved for this one.

6) A Forum, great but helps if you are already established.

Any other ideas?

[korkus2000]

A link back. With your page with the link to their site having high PR in Google or being best of the web in Inktomi.

[paynt]

Eplus – Welcome to Webmaster World and thanks for posting.

A tips column with archives and/or a news section with archives. The linking opportunities both internal and external are terrific for both. Contribute articles to other sites, providing the top third of your article for their site with bio and keyword rich text link back to your site. Offer the same for others from your site.

[eplus]

oops sorry posted in the wrong forum (was only thinking of links in relation to google pr and forgot they exist for other purposes, doh)

I've thought of another method to get people to link to you, one I use all the time. Crawl guestbooks and add your site, it's automated but you do get a link for it. I know it's obviouse but it deserves to be on the list.

P.S. thanks for the welcome, I've been lurking for too long now.

[jdMorgan]

eplus,

I agree with paynt... A page or pages of tips on how to (whatever your site is about) can be real
link-magnets if well-written and authoritative. User like them, other sites on related subjects
like them, and ODP likes them when reviewing your site. SE spiders like them because they are nice
big spider-meals, and since the pages can have lots of text, you can get all of your keywords in
without the writing sounded stilted.

Jim

[eplus]

I agree to that authoritive information is always good but not always possible when you sell something like flowers (or in one of my clients cases teddy bears). I've ended up starting to produce some normal sites that are for want of a better word sponsored by my client, I find this free's me up to use more casual internet comunity site design as opposed to the slightly more restrictive professional approach you need on a shopping site.

I couldn't be particularily bothered by reciprocal linking as it's rare to see more than a page rank four in teddy bear sites, a fairly easily achieved page rank. (your doing something very wrong if you don't have a pr4 within a couple of crawls). I find guestbook signing can pay of fairly well but I suspect it's only a matter of time till google picks up on these.

I've heard it can be an advantage to link to all the places where people link to you to help your incoming links get a pr boost but I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing on a clients main site, it feels a bit to close to being spam for my taste buds.

[jdMorgan]

eplus,

1) The teddy bear was named after Theodore Roosevelt after he refused to shoot a small captive bear
for sport.

2) Some teddy bears are highly collectible, and expensive! How high do they go?

3) Teddy bears have grown in popularity, not only in this country, but in many others.

Tell me all about these subjects in three pages under a nice little graphic called "Learn all
about Teddy Bears" on the home page. Professional, useful, possibly memorable, and worth a few
links from teddy bear collectors and groups. And if done well, another link from ODP.

Flowers?

1) What flowers are appropriate for which occasions?

2) Certain cultures associate white flowers with death - Watch out for that social faux_pas!

3) How long do certain flowers last?

There's three subject areas in the businesses you mentioned, and I know hardly anything about them,
Surely you and your clients can come up with even better ideas!

Just because a site is commercial doesn't mean you can't inform your customer and be a little more
informal off the index and shopping pages. Consumers are getting tired of faceless corporations
these days. Call it the "Enron syndrome".

Good solid info and tips pages are good for you, good for the customer, and good for the web.

If you inform me and help me to find just the right product at a fair price, then I am a truly-
satisfied customer. See me smile. See me refer.

Jim

[eplus]

good point jdMorgan just because a site is commercial doesn't mean it can't be informative, I'll see if I can persuade the punter.

[deltakits]

And if done well, another link from ODP

I thought you could only have one link from ODP per site?

[Jane_Doe]

You can have lots of ODP links as long as they are on fairy different topics. I have one site that has about 15 ODP links.