The internet is our portal to topics as diverse as they are numerous and as the popularity of new media continues to grow, so does the importance of generating a form of online presence for any business hoping to stay competitive in their industry. Obviously some industries appear to lend themselves more to creating a website and using the internet as a marketing and sales tool whilst in other trades the exercise may seem less of a priority. A graphic design company for instance would be foolish to ignore the marketing power of the internet in terms of generating interest, showcasing previous work and possibly even as a means of expanding their services to such areas of website design. A PVC strip curtain manufacturer however may seem to be less of a web-worthy business: this is however very far from the case.

With the rise of the search engine and home pc has come a whole new culture when it comes to finding information, a person, a business, a product...pretty much anything and everything. The repercussions of this are far-reaching. Whilst previously face to face networking or an advert in the Yellow Pages or a local publication, in conjunction with a reputation built on word of mouth would be enough to stay ahead of the game locally in manufacturing or contractor based work: the internet has skewed this. Online directories and banner adverts have usurped listings in paper directories and local advertising, whilst link building, social networking and online promotion are beginning to influence networking and word of mouth reputation development.

Given these changes to the way in which even companies with small marketing budgets promote themselves it is incredibly important that companies in all trades and industries, whether large or small, consider the benefits of having their own website. Growth in business is heavily reliant upon addressing progression, trends and development. Not only does a website serve as an advert, it can be used to sell products directly, keep suppliers, distributors or customers informed and act as means of communication.

Returning to the PVC strip curtains example particularly: a website not only showcases the various items they stock and gives product details (at a lower cost than having a brochure designed, printed and posted) but with the use of SEO it also allows them to reach potential customers not only locally but nationally. The cost of the website is cancelled out after a few orders- which may well themselves have originated as a result of their having a website. Quite simply, a website serves as an additional storefront, an advert, a communication line, a brochure and a cash register all in one attractive, publically accessible package.

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The next topic is reciprocal linking. Generating reciprocal links is the most common and probably the easiest form of link building there is. There is a lot of debate out there as to how effective reciprocal linking is, but my opinion is that done properly it can be really beneficial.

First of all, you need to ensure you have done your research properly and identified the sites that you want a link from. Don’t set your sites to low here as one link from a great site can benefit you much more than 10 links from just any old site.

Ok so you now have your list so how do you get the links? Its common practise when reciprocal link building to send an email to the webmaster of your targeted site explaining how good your website is and how important it is to swap links blah blah blah blah. If you are anything like me the first thing you do when you get this type of email is slam it in the recycle bin. Fortunately this method is dying out and SEOs have to become more cunning.

HOW TO OBTAIN RECIPROCAL LINKS

First of all be prepared to put in the time. If you have chosen your target sites well your time and efforts will be rewarded. I know I keep banging on about content but first on your checklist needs to be the quality of the content you want to get links for. Rubbish content will result in rubbish links and none of the big boys will touch you.

Stay away from link farms and link exchange sites. I will cover these types of sites in more detail in another post but for now take my word for it and steer clear. Join some social network sites related to the niche you are working in and start to participate frequently. This may sound like a nightmare but by participating UN selfishly you will begin to build up a nice contact list of people related to your niche area that once you have built up confidence in can approach them for a link exchange. People are more likely to link to you if they feel like they know you.

Have a really good think about everybody you know and what jobs they do. You never know you could just remember that professor that is really high up in a university who is really good friends with the University web master. You get where I am coming from here.

Get a blog and start blogging. It’s more difficult to offer reciprocal links from within your website so a blog is a great way to build up top quality content that you can then use to link out to people in return for a link in. Blogs are especially great because there are no limits as to what you can blog about. The more you blog the bigger the buzz will become around your blog attracting more subscribers. The beauty of this is that if somebody has taken the time to subscribe to your ramblings they are obviously interested in your subject so yet another good candidate for a link exchange.

This list can go on and on and I couldn’t possibly give all my secrets away here but the main point I am trying to make is that you need to do your research and be prepared to put the time and effort in to make reciprocal link building more effective. If you just trawl the net obtaining reciprocal links from any old site, although you will see some short term benefits, as Google continues to improve its search algorithm you will waste your time long term.