Link Exchange: Make Links Feel Cozy On Your Site.

You have seen this many times before: you get to a site, want to search more, click 'Links' or 'Resources' and get to the page where all links are piled together and you just feel lost about it. As a site visitor you don't feel that the owner of this site or webmaster has done any effort to give you the best. Bad visitor experience = very bad for search engines, and they start fighting the pages with piles of links.

Still, link exchange is a vital element of the Internet and no one can prohibit it, because without a possibility of one site to recommend another site the whole Internet loses its major aim - share information with people.

Those who want to succeed with link building should should exercise the new philosophy to allocating links on the pages of their link directories. Nothing difficult. Just try to remember where you had the best experience of using link resources. Most probably that were the sites where you were explained what exactly kind of info you will get by clicking this or that link. Thus you were pre-qualified to see what you will get by clicking this or that link. And, of course, it was great for you to find extra useful information on this page that has real relevance to the topic you are searching.

Having analyzed this experience it's really easy to create an algorithm of building cozy environments for any links on link directory pages.

These elements can bring the life back to your link exchange directory pages.

(1) Unique content.

It is better when every category of your directory starts with few paragraphs that explain your site visitors what exactly they will find here. Prepare them for the searching experience in this category. Focus attention on the things they should care about (like using search boxes in the directory). You can also explain what criteria you have been using to select the links into this category. This will save time to your site visitors on searching what they are looking for. And also this will show that you CARE for your site visitors, and people love to see respect and care. And for search engines it will be perfect to see another page with your unique, relevant content.

(2) More sources of relevant information.

Make each page of your site soak with relevant information. For example, in your link directory you have category about pot flowers. Put the download link to pdf file with tips around this topic. No matter where you put it on the page - you take the decisions about your site and your online business. People will love to see that you tried the best to give them maximum of relevant info. That can be not only files, you can give people relevant news and/or press releases from reputable resources. But mind for relevancy. If one is searching for pot flowers, the news about democratic party winning in some country would not give much passion to this page.

(3) Visualize your directory.

This isn't brand new, but when you see a screenshot to the site, or see its Google PR or see its Alexa rank - somehow all these elements help your link page visitor to make a more qualified choince. Of course, if your link don't have all these elements, but are relevant, you will survive and have success, because you are still giving your site visitors quality resources. But if there is any chance to save the time for site visitor and help in choosing the resources, don't lose this chance. Your helping efforts will result in this page being added to *favorites* and you will be receiving stable traffic.

(4) Use Sitemaps and RSS feeds.

Using Sitemap and RSS feeds will not help your site visitors in the first hand. But IT WILL help. With Sitemaps and RSS feeds you help search engines to find new materials on your site. Thus, you help your potential site visitors find these new materials.

Link exchange is so DIFFICULT?!

Well, if you want to comply with the new standards, you need to put some effort. If you prefer the old style, then don't get surprised to fight constantly for top positions in search engine results and never see your site there. Either you obey to the search engine rules, or look for traffic from another pot.

And again, nothing difficult. In the 21st century much of the routine jobs that are mentioned can be done by restless robots - computer programs. They will help you to build link directory pages, they will help to allocate the resources to the places you want, they will help to update your page with relevant materials and will let search engines know that these materials are up and running on your site - the field for smart automation is really big. All YOU need caring about is the human part of work: how to grow your business, what to focus on, what information is ok and what is losing interest and driving the people off your pages. Do what humans are destined to do, and the rest can be put on the shoulders of restless robots.