Tag Archives: linkexchange

Monday in the HTMLab

Link-Hopping

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When I was bored or couldn’t sleep at college, I often found myself aimlessly cruising the Internet, searching for something to keep my mind occupied. Eventually, I came up with a way to “hop” from one site to the next, using the first site’s links and affiliates page to discover more sites I’d never been to before.

This was in the days before StumbleUpon, so I had to devise my own way of doing it. Try the following process:

Do the Link Hop!

  1. Search for anything you’re interested in, using whatever search engine you prefer. This can be a topic, a TV show, a name, a style–anything!
  2. Scan the list of results for anything that catches your eye. (Beware of scammy or spammy-sounding sites!)
  3. Open one link and check it–see if it’s really got anything that interests you.
  4. If you like what you see, make a note of the site by bookmarking/favoriting it.
  5. Now, go to the site’s links/affiliates pages and check each one, seeing whether any of these sites sound interesting. (I find it easier to open each of these new links in a new tab or new window so that you can keep track of “where you’ve been” so far.)
  6. As with the first site, bookmark or favorite any sites that you really like.
  7. Then, go to the new site’s links/affiliates page, and check out each one in the same way.

How Does This Relate to Web Design and Development?

I find that this is a great way to discover possible new affiliates and link exchanges. By searching for my site’s topic, I can find other sites that are related or on the exact same topic, and by offering to at least link-exchange, we can help each other get more traffic and be more visible on the Internet.

This is also a way for you to find out what kinds of sites are already on the Internet, in case you want to occupy a small niche within your chosen topic rather than trying to cover it all. If there are tons of gardening sites, for instance, you might want to focus your gardening site on growing your favorite flower, instead; if there are thousands of sites about Twilight (as I’m sure there are), you might want to focus your Twilight-themed site around a specific concept in the books or movies.

The Results

Most likely, you’re going to come across some sites which you won’t be interested in adding, but you’re also going to net at least one or two that are worth bookmarking. If you continue clicking through sites, bookmarking the ones you like and exploring their links to find more, who knows how many new sites you could discover? This can help you both as a web designer and as a web surfer–kill two birds with one stone!

I find this to be a very relaxing pastime, as well as a fruitful one. Try it sometime, when boredom or insomnia has eaten your will to do anything but sit at the computer–see what you can find while exploring on the wild, wild Web!

Monday in the HTMLab

Affiliates: How to Start Getting Traffic to Your Site

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Making a site for yourself is great, but if no one comes to visit, what’s the point? *ahem*…*directing your attention away from my affiliate-less blog* To get visitors, you need people to link to you and people to link to…this is where the affiliate program comes from.

What is an Affiliate?

An affiliate is someone with a site on the same or a similar topic as yours, who has agreed to link to you in a special, privileged fashion (first-page or front-page display). To become affiliates with them, you have to offer them the same courtesy.

How to Get Affiliates

First, do a search for your site’s topic. For instance, if I wanted to find blogs about music, web design, Biblical interpretation, or gaming, I could easily search those topics and find sites about those through any of my favorite search engines.

But don’t limit yourself to just the specific subject match–look for sites whose webmasters seem worth getting to know, too, and link to them as well. One other way to begin getting affiliates is to send emails to webmasters whose sites you visit frequently and enjoy; if your site is along the same lines, they might be willing to give you affiliation, or if you’ve already made a friendship with them, that might help, too.

If you’re doing a search, you’ll next need to scan through the search results for sites that don’t sound spammy or created just for pay-per-click ads. There are a lot of fake blogs out there, and if you can skim through those or avoid them, you’ll save yourself some time. Telltale marks of a “fake” blog are overly-generic blog themes, with content that sounds either like it’s written just to advertise, or sounds like a bunch of non-sequiturs strung together.

Once you’ve come up with several sites that seem like they’re worth checking out from this initial search, thoroughly review each of them. Check content to see how theirs compare to yours; make sure they haven’t stolen any content or images, and that their site has been updated recently (within the last month at least).

Now, if you like what you see, contact the webmaster with a politely-phrased email, telling them your site’s name and topic, your Internet nickname, and your URL, and also sending them a link to your link button image if you wish. Ask if they are accepting affiliates, and say that if they are, you would be glad to be one.

Can’t Affiliate? Link-Exchange!

If they don’t want to affiliate, don’t despair! You can always link-exchange instead. Link-exchanges are often looked at as inferior to affiliation, but you’re both still putting each other’s link on your site–it’s just on a dedicated “Links” page rather than the front page. It’s second only to affiliation, and can still get your site name and URL out there for others to enjoy! Exchanging links with another site can be the opened door to affiliation sometime in the future, and meanwhile, you’re both helping each other with site recognition.

Summary

Linking to other similar sites is a great way to start building community with those who love the same content, as well as getting more recognition for your own work. This is where real Search Engine Optimization begins–with good ol’ keyboard-work and a little savvy networking.