Using the Software

Last issue we told you about our strategy for using most software - rather than reading the instructions we follow the simple "PCDRR" method of :
Point, Click, Double-click, Right-click, Reboot !

With AddWeb 5.0 even we have found some benefit in carefully reading the concepts behind the software and how it applies to search engine marketing concepts.

On that note, this month's subject is ...

LINK POPULARITY

If you don't know what link popularity means, then you're in a spot of bother. So you need to read up on it. There are numerous articles on building link popularity, including http://www.searchengineer.org/link-popularity.html - providing some ideas on how to increase link relevance between sites you control. The beauty of AddWeb is it allows you to increase link relevance from sites you don't control as well - ie. other sites with relevant content who are prepared to link to you.

The basic concept of link popularity is a combination of factors :

• how many sites link to your site
• how popular the individual sites are that are linking to you
• what the text links to your site from those sites actually say
• the theme of the site linking to you

That's a generalization, but near enough.

Guns don't kill people - people kill people

Just like the above saying (whether you agree with it or not) LinkTrader doesn't guarantee you relevant links, people guarantee you relevant links !

The key here is RELEVANT. You do not want 3,000 porn sites linking to your baby goods site, any more than you want to have a page linking to "hot grannies of the Australian Desert" from somewhere on your real estate site. Why ? Aside from good taste, the search engines will likely PENALIZE you for "link farming". That is, the antiquated practice of asking everyone and anyone to link to you.

Why would they penalize you ? Well think about it - why would a search engine with billions (yes billions) of pages in its index allocate importance to some maniac (apologies to all those maniacs out there) who wants a list of unfocussed, unmanaged, irrelevant links to their site, just on the off chance the person who accidentally arrives there might buy something ? Search engines are in the business of building useful entry points and drilling down to specific topics and subjects. If you help them by making a network or similar themed sites, which helps them AND helps you, then you're "cooking with gas" as we say.

Use AddWeb to Manage the Process

Adding a Trading Page (Link)

Here's the steps :

1. Open AddWeb and sign on via LinkTrader
2. Add New Link
3. Title : relevant key words related to your site (3-5 words preferably) - avoid "the" "and" "but" "of" etc - more like "Travel Australia Tourists" not "The Travel Place of Australia"
4. URL : list your home page URL
5. Link page : the page you will maintain all outgoing links on - put it somewhere you can find and upload easily, and avoid using the word "links" in the page name or content
6. Description : a clear one paragraph description readable by humans and containing key phrases
7. Category : Choose a relevant category from the drop down list
8. Country : Choose your country
9. Decide whether to allow or disallow Personal, Business and/or adult sites. Remember only allow them if they are likey to be relevant to the theme of your site.

You're underway. Now you can decide whether to go out and "Find Trades" or wait for the incoming emails in the "Check Mail" area requesting trades with you. Or both !

Find Trades

The key here is to Search By Category. This allows you to ensure you only request trades with sites that are themed similarly to yours. On a scale of 1-10 of importance, 10 being life-threatening, this is a 9.5 !!! Don't say we didn't warn you !! ONLY ONLY ONLY request trades with sites that have similar themes and content to yours !! Hokay !!

You can judge by the site description what it should be about, but its safer to click the site hyperlink and check it out personally, before requesting a trade. If the link takes you to a cool-looking site that a human being could easily read, and it seems related to your topic, then its probably a good one to request a trade with. If it is a blatant huge list of unrelated links, or there is no useful content shown, our advice would be to avoid requesting a link. If your trading partners are keen on the "spam" approach, or have no quality content, they will probably drag you down with them. Just our opinion - take your own risks if you like - just before you take a jog down the middle of the freeway in peak hour, thrill seeker ;-)

Check Mail

A key point here is AddWeb can not protect you from the maniacs out there. Granted, you can disallow Adult sites (we are not calling the Adult industry maniacs by the way, in fact the Adult industry has some of the world's best search engine marketers who we can all learn from) or Personal Sites (who may also not be maniacs ;-) ) but it doesn't stop sites with a different theme to yours requesting a trade with your site.

This will become obvious to you when you first "Check Mail" and see "Mistress Kitty's Dungeon of Pleasure" requesting a trade with your "Alphabet Books and Learning for 3 Year Olds". Like we said, AddWeb can provide the channel to make your job easier, but the latest version of the software does not yet tap into the brainwaves of the online marketing spam maniac ! So you have some maintenance and responding to do, if you want to use AddWeb effectively.

The great thing about the current version of AddWeb is it tells you which of your sites they are requesting a trade with (this is super useful when you have many sites listed in the LinkTrader feature). So take a look at the incoming trade, and if their site and the description do not match the theme of the site they're requesting a trade with, then "Reject" and move on to the next one.

Another nice feature of AddWeb is that all mail not actioned within 14 days is deleted. So you can rest easy on your next month trip to the Bahamas (the one funded by all the extra business you will get as your sites' popularity grows with all your new link partners !)
When you see a relevant trade for the theme of your site, Accept the trade (we suggest check out their site via the hyperlink first).

Build Page

You now need to build and upload your links page ready for regular updating with your link trades. Choose Build Page.

In "Select the type of page to build" we usually use "Links Only"

This allows you to cut and paste the AddWeb code into your own site template. Looks good for people, works good for search engines. Everyone is happy :-)

Make sure you update the page every 48 hours or so, otherwise you'll have people canceling trades and getting impatient 'cos you haven't reciprocated, as outlined below.

This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship ... (Verify Trades)

Or it could be a waste of time, so make sure you Verify Links regularly. This allows you to check if your trading partners have in fact placed your link on their reciprocal page (the whole reason you're doing this!)

If they are, AddWeb will respond "OK - your link was found on the trading partner's link page". Don't you love the spirit of community ? I'm serious ! This is cool !

If they aren't, AddWeb will display "Link not Found - your link was not found on the web page checked". Scumbags ! Filth ! (or maybe they're just on holidays ;-) ). Anyways, AddWeb now allows you to choose "Send Warning Message" and hit Action. This will tell your erstwhile colleague you're on their case, and hopefully they'll fix this oversight. Our rule is one strike and you're out. Leave it 72 hours, check again, and if still no luck, we choose "Cancel this Trade" and Action.

Ever Wanted to be a Cop ? (LinkTrader Police)

If we are forced to Cancel a Trade due to inaction by a trading partner, we also "Rate/Report" before canceling the trade. Here you can choose a rating from 1 for scumbag to 10 for hero/heroine. The instructions tell you how to rate a partner. We should all take part in this system as it helps build the sense of community and accuracy in dealing with possible trades. The LinkTrader police feature also lets you report underhanded operators for penalties under the system. We call that "dobbing" in Australia ;-)

It would also make sense for everyone to rate a 10 all the trading partners going to some real effort in making the system work, so we can all see who it is worth going that extra yard for.

Enough !

There's no better training than doing ... so start up AddWeb, follow the above steps and start playing around. Like us, you may very well find what starts as a bit of a game becomes a serious part of your online marketing strategy.

Till next month ... (we haven't decided what to write about next month, so if you have any AddWeb topics you want help with, feel free to request)

Unearthed www.unearthed.com.au
Online Marketing Brisbane Australia