The old days of linking need to be tossed out but the new way of linking does rely a bit on the classics strategies but from now on, honesty, integrity, and relevance are the winning combinations.
First of all, if you’re going to go on a linking campaign you had better have all your Ps and Qs in order. Don’t even try to get linked to from a site of authority yet your site looks like every other cookie cutter website out there. Professionalism and originality, relevance is the high ground here. Even if you’re doing a linking from a major site, you still have to look great or they could find themselves penalized by Google.
You need to get your linking team together and there’s no resting on your laurels. This is a long term effort and one that calls for perseverance and professional communication as you’ll be asking sites that have made the top grade to link to you and you have to rely on their good graces to get those important links.
Reputation is a major factor here too. You cannot afford to get a reputation for being dishonest or incompetent. It will show up and hound you. You need to show a professional and courteous face when linking or you’ll get the boot from everyone.
This all means quality. Yes you can have 50 links but are those links of quality? Is the exchange ratio equitable? Are you giving more than you’re getting back or vice versa? Getting a dozen links from crummy sites will make your site look crummy.
Diversity is a good value too. All links need to be relevant however.
This is about getting the best for your SEO linking budget and efforts. It’s about exchanges and that’s where many fail. You’re trading a space on your site for a spot on someone else’s site. Their site may be of equal value to yours, or higher, or lower, but it’s a link that must be relevant and provides the extra boost to your public profile and become an integral part of your long term plan. These links will appear to Google as a recommendation from a site that has value. Especially if the site is a high profile one with authority.
Here’s where you now apply your statistics. Metrics and so on. The term here is ‘relevant KPIs’ which means relevant Key Performance Indicators. These are the tools you’ll need to employ along the way. This way, you’ll be able to monitor what is going on and what is successful and what isn’t. This is for the long term of your SEO linking campaign. Never underestimate the value of any statistical data. It could mean the difference between success and failure on a grand scale.
The primary concern here is again, regarding the value of the linking that is going on. Call it exchanging or swapping or what have you, but the bottom line is that you’re getting attention pointed toward you from another source that is of importance to your general survival. It’s not to be toyed with and you had better look at the importance and responsibilities therein.
You want to look your best and getting recognition for your site from top pros in your niche is like getting votes if you’re running for office.