How much does link traffic improve sales?

Do your incoming links bring you buyers or just link hunters?

[jeffb]

I work at building reciprocal links to commercial sites that I work for, but can't shake the nagging question, "Does the traffic I'm building include any potential customers, or just other webmasters searching for potential link partners?"

I look at the way I use hyperlinks when I'm online. When I read an article and find a link that looks like it has more information on something that interests me, I'll follow it. But if I'm looking for a tangible product, I use search engines. Do I ever click on a site's link directory to see what sites they recommend? Never.

The only time I ever set foot in a site's link directory is when I'm looking for related sites that might make good link partners or affiliates for a commercial site that I'm building. I never have the slightest thought of buying.

Which makes me wonder, does the traffic I build for my commercial sites have any benefit? Or am I just creating a stream of mercenaries like me through the sites I build?

Any thoughts on this? Do you follow links in a state of mind that holds a potential of buying? If so, what are the circumstances that get you following links while in that state of mind? Or does anyone know of any stats or reports about this subject?

[topr8]

Do I ever click on a site's link directory to see what sites they recommend? Never.

you said it!

link pages and the like are USUALLY pretty useless from the surfers point of view, badly organised, and usually put together for pr reasons, google is working on degrading links from such pages i believe.

however, decent links from appropriate pages DO bring traffic, not only that, in my view this traffic can be highly qualified.

[shasan]

given my limited knowledge of link exchanges, I thought the point was to 'prove' to the search engines that your site is indeed worthy of a higher ranking because other sites refer to you.

I'm sure this would result in improved sales no?

I think you're right about the link directories though... I've never clicked on an entry (at least not that I can remember).

I guess it matters how your link is presented on the link partner's website. I would think it would improve sales if the link partner became an affiliate, or if the link partner offered a product review of your widgets, or something.

shasan.

[antmcd]

when I research and develop links for clients. foremost on my agenda is understanding their business, target audience, keywords, and key phrases. my emphasis is on getting them, targeted traffic coming from complementary linking partners. while also helping to improve their existing ranking in search engines and directories. I am very wary of sites, whose links pages are not even being indexed, have the links pages not accessible from the homepage. or even worse have link pages, accessible from the homepage. yet the font is so small, you would need a magnifying glass, to find the links button.

further I encourage my clients, to have the link pages, accessible from every page on their site. broken down by category and each of those categorized pages optimized. in addition to tracking those pages, through Webtrends or a similar tracking utility. to measure the effectiveness of inbound and outbound links. the more user friendly and accessible the links page is, the more likely people visiting the site will utilize it. I would expect potential linking partners, to be practicing similar behavior.

[killroy]

Try for links near the relevant section on the relevant page. Or at least at the bottom of hte page under "RElated MAterial". Like the articles in a e-zine.

I think you're right in thinking that likns pages are pretty useless nowadays. Theye an artifact from ebfore search engines. But normal context linking works jsut fine, perhaps even better.

SN

[davewray]

There are literally hundreds of directories that allow you to add a link without asking for a reciprocal in return. From those directories you can get very targetted traffic and make sales :) Also, I look for main page partnerships. Frankly, if the surfer can't find what he or she is looking for on my partner sites I'll welcome them with open arms to my site ;)

Dave.