When you trade recip links with major sites...

Why does it take them so long to do a recip link back?

I wont name names here, but some of these sites I have to email a dozen times for them to add my link. I would rather they let me know when it has been added, or send me an email back saying why they wont trade with me. The smaller sites, may not have as much traffic add me right away.

I have waited about 6 weeks to 2 months for certain sites to add me, should I just take down their link on my site? I am trying to build as much traffic to my site as I can, I am just having a rough time.


Chuck :yeah:

I think most large sites operate under the premise that you SHOULD link to them because they are important, and that linking back to you is not a priority...I mean, they are important, you are not, why should they send surfers there?

It's also possible that the lack of response is calculated so that they get the link pointed at them, the smaller site tries for a while to get the link back, after a while forgetting the effort and also forgetting to remove the link to the larger site.

JMHO

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Originally Posted by TheWhack

Why does it take them so long to do a recip link back?

I wont name names here, but some of these sites I have to email a dozen times for them to add my link. I would rather they let me know when it has been added, or send me an email back saying why they wont trade with me. The smaller sites, may not have as much traffic add me right away.

I have waited about 6 weeks to 2 months for certain sites to add me, should I just take down their link on my site? I am trying to build as much traffic to my site as I can, I am just having a rough time.


Chuck :yeah:

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Because they don't realize the true value of links. Not for traffic but standings in the SERPS which is what GENERATES the traffic.

For myself, and just my opinion, too many sites look at link trades as a means of direct traffic. Frankly if I don't get a single hit from their site it doesn't matter if they have a touch of the green. That is what I look for as it helps me climb the slippery slopes of the SERPS which does get me targeted traffic that actually buys.

It is funny, I'd think that most large sites would be quicker off the mark given most have at least some staff, while the smaller operators do it all themselves, so a time lag would seem to be from the smaller sites.

Sometimes too it is that the email didn't make it past the spam filters. I know I have that headache.

BTW whack (or anyone else interested in some serious link exchanges), shoot me an email with some linking info & maybe we can do some hard link trades... webmaster AT gaystoryman DOT com

Ian

it's not just links - the largest company who ever had me write site text took months to add it. everyone else adds it within days. they told me they felt their sales should go up at least 10-15%, yet it took them over 90 days.

another LARGE program i know of got a second processor, but have still not added it to their cascading. large sites and programs often take forever to do anything - even if they stand to make money.

in 1996/7 we did a link trade with a site that became the first of many in a large program. the site was already pretty big, and they took weeks to add us to their 37th link page - i'm not kidding. we had them on our first, so we actually sent them many times more hits than they sent us (which was only 1 - 2 hits per day).

still, it does help keep you listed on search engines to be listed on more sites... it's too bad we have to nag so much for them to extend us even common courtesy.

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Originally Posted by gaystoryman

BTW whack (or anyone else interested in some serious link exchanges), shoot me an email with some linking info & maybe we can do some hard link trades... webmaster AT gaystoryman DOT com

Ian

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You and I already exchange links with our blogs Ian. Thanks for adding my trade so quickly 3 months ago BTW ;)

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Originally Posted by TheWhack

You and I already exchange links with our blogs Ian. Thanks for adding my trade so quickly 3 months ago BTW ;)

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No problem, but that's only one.. doesn't have to stop with one unless you only have the one site. Then it could be complicated, but it can be done, so if you interested in some other link trades, let me know... and of course anyone else.

(okay so I am being a link whore, hell someone has to do it :signhere: :goof: )

You know a lot of the problem is, apart from the recip trade taking ages to setup is that many of the sites people link to, specifically resource wise, simply arent worth linking to to begin with.

We usually submit to several sites whenever we launch a new resource and, like you, we find that we're having to wait sometimes up to 3 months to get a recip trade going, during that time, their link has already come down and we've linked someone else up in their place.

The one major piece of advice i can give anyone working with recips is make sure that the recip is doing YOU more good than it is doing the site you are linking to.

I see webmasters so often linking their high trafficked sites to other sites that get minimal traffic levels and all they are doing is wasting their traffic by sending it to another site.

Of course, who sends what traffic and how can it benefit you is something you'll find out over time but, be aware, linking to 'smaller' sites just to get link trades going, really isnt worth the effort initially however, sometimes thats all that i available to you.

Just make sure you keep track of who you are linking to, how long the link has been up and, how many hits you have been sent during that time, if you are only getting a couple of hits a week, drop that link trade and find someone who will trade with you thats going to be able to send you a couple of hits a day.

Regards,

Lee

Okay, me gonna disagree with you Lee. If you use link trades for traffic, then yes what you say is 100% spot on, but if you use link trades for SERPS positioning, then even if you get zero traffic from the site, it can boost your SERP position up dramatically if that site is say a PR4 or PR5 at Google, and you can 1000's of target traffic from the SERPS that will convert ten times better than simply traffic links... so for me, if the site has a PR value, i'll link with it to gain a IBL which will improve my SERP rankings, plus add to my PR value.

Traffic trades are one thing, but true link trades aren't about direct traffic in the SE game... its about getting your anchor text, IBLs and SERP rankings.

but just me, and my warped little blonde head. :coffee:

Ian

Ian right but, if you use link trades for the SERP's do what we do, link to your own sites, itll benefit you more in the long run :)

That way, if a site you are linking to gets blacklisted, its not going to effect YOUR rankings in any way although, im pretty sure Google just canged how they measure backlinks and such so that might not work as much these days as it used to LOL

By linking to your own sites as well as linking all of the pages on a single site together either through using a sitemap or standard navigation structure, your going to help yourself more.

Regards,

Lee

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Originally Posted by Lee

Ian right but, if you use link trades for the SERP's do what we do, link to your own sites, itll benefit you more in the long run :)

That way, if a site you are linking to gets blacklisted, its not going to effect YOUR rankings in any way although, im pretty sure Google just canged how they measure backlinks and such so that might not work as much these days as it used to LOL

By linking to your own sites as well as linking all of the pages on a single site together either through using a sitemap or standard navigation structure, your going to help yourself more.

Regards,

Lee

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Oh I do that as well, carefully though.. site a to site b to site c to site a... no cross linking, least I hope not.

Well G is on a 3 stage update, so not sure yet what they are up to but it appears interesting so far. Least I didn't go off the board so keeping my fingers crossed on that.

As for penalties.. yes you do need to be careful who you link to, but it depends on how you set the links up. If you link to them from site a & they link back to your site b, odds are you won't get any penalities if they are black hatters... but i check before i do any link trades.. for the obvious hidden text, redirection etc...

and internal linking is underused by most too, but that comes down a lot to naming the pages, and to proper navigation, which to be honest, many sites don't have...

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Originally Posted by gaystoryman

and internal linking is underused by most too, but that comes down a lot to naming the pages, and to proper navigation, which to be honest, many sites don't have...

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True enough, we've had a site #1 in Google for about 5 years now and, it pulls a decent amount of traffic, there are very few links going to the site but there are a heap going out of it and the only reason i can think its listed at #1 for so long on so many search terms is because the internal linking system and keywords in use.

Regards,

Lee

i know someone who gets all her sites way up on google, often to the number one spot. she links to the bigger sites even if they don't respond - and says linking to big sites helps. judging by all her listings, she's doing something right...

theWhack, I understand your frustration. I went through this a couple of years ago when I launched my first site. Few want to bother talking to you when you're small.

I also think that so many of us are just simply overwhelmed with stuff to do.

Also, we're a victim of our own business. I get so much spam in my e-mail boxes that I'm sure I miss the odd good opportunity because I simply quickly scan subject lines and trash ferociously.

I added you to Bear Universe a few weeks back, btw.

Michael

Thanks everyone for your responces.

With all my hard work, I am now a pr of 4 from starting the site just 2 months ago. Ian I would like to do some 3 way trading with you...

I also do link to the big sites, which probably did help my pr score. I would simply like them to link back to me.

I will keep those trades going. Anyone with a gay blog, or gay sites that want to trade. email me webmaster thewhack.com

Sounds good... i lost a bit in the first round but we'll see what the third round in this update brings... though I held in the serps... so not complaining..

One thing, linking to the big sites, has zero effect on your rankings or PR... its what is coming to you that counts.

Send me in PM or email the anchor text, url, & description you want used and I'll get them up for you.