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Link Marketing Menu
What is link marketing?
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Link Marketing
Link marketing is an Internet related process where one company links its Website to another. Sounds easy, doesn't it? The link itself may be in the form of a text link, formal ad, banner or concept page. Despite the importance of link marketing, it is one of the most poorly understood online marketing concepts. Most companies using the link marketing approach not only do it incorrectly, they may be sabotaging their overall marketing efforts. In this training segment, I will attempt to take you beyond the concept of link marketing and show you how to avoid the common mistakes made by most users of this technique. The theory behind the link marketing concept is incredibly simple. The theory states that if a company online links its Website to another company's Website, both will benefit from the potential exchange of customer traffic. The assumption of mutual marketing benefits between two or more companies exchanging links is a sound one. However, there are rules to this game that most Internet marketers either don't know or completely ignore. The fact is, if it were just a matter of creating links between company sites, you would expect to see a much greater level of marketing success than currently exists on the Web. There must be more to link marketing than meets the eye. So, how does one use link marketing in such a way that it results in real marketing success? If you want your online link marketing efforts to succeed, you must first go through the exchange marketing process. See the "Exchange Marketing" segment in this program for more details on how this process works. Recall that Exchange Marketing is a process whereby two or more businesses formulate a working relationship that allows them to share assets and resources. In order to know if a potential link source is right for your business, you must complete the exchange marketing process for that business. Linking your site to the wrong company can hurt your business in a number of different ways. You can avoid this marketing mistake by taking a little time to learn about the company you intend to link with. To determine if you are dealing with a company that would be a bad link source for your business, ask yourself the following questions: If the answer to the above question is yes, this is the wrong link source for your business. Any company that is in direct competition with you, could potentially take customers from you. Therefore, it would not make good sense to link with such a company. 2) Does the link target have a solid business reputation? If the answer to the above question is no, this is the wrong link source for your business. Linking your company to a company with a bad reputation could make your company appear to also be a scam. As obvious as this sounds, thousands of businesses make this mistake on a daily basis. Unsuspecting companies go out on the Web and identify companies that appear to be good link sources. Without doing any research on the targeted company, they arrange for a link exchange. A few months down the road, they find out that they are part of an investigation because their link was found on the scam company's Website. 3) What is the customer base of the link target? Before making a link, you must know or at least have an idea of what the link target's customer base is. What kind of customers does the link target attract? Could this customer use your products or services? How does the link target attract his customers? Knowing how the link target attracts his customers allows you to save money by avoiding the exact same marketing approach. For example, if your link source is advertising in your local Newspaper, you may not have to! By linking to his site, you will glean customers that originated from the link target's Newspaper ad. Of course, running your own ad may still be a good idea. Most new services run ads to get their name out into the community. Running ads is as much about community recognition as it is about attracting customers. The right link target for your company is determined in the same way that the wrong link target is determined. You must use exchange marketing techniques to evaluate and determine if the company is a right link source. If the target company has a good reputation, is not in direct competition with you, has a customer base that could use your services and is open to cooperation, this target is probably a right link source for your company. Don't forget to evaluate what the target company wants from a link relationship. Too many would-be link marketers forget that link marketing should be mutually beneficial to both companies. Finding out what the target's marketing needs are can help you to create a more meaningful relationship. This approach also gives you more leverage, because you have taken the time to learn what the target market really wants or needs. There are several different ways to link your page to someone else's site on the Internet. The most common link types are text links, formal ads, banners or concept pages. Each of these link types are used in different situations on the Web. Text link: A text link is a word or group of words that have been programmed or linked to a page other than the page on which the text link is found. Example, link "Jim's Produce" would be a live text link that allows you to click for a response. That response is to link or send you to the target page. If a person clicks on an active text link, they will be sent or connected to the link target page, on the same site or on another Website. This is the most common link type and can be seen on most any Website. It is also one of the least effective link types. Text links are ineffective because they are usually used incorrectly. The most common mistake online marketers make with text links is to place them on a "Links" or "Hotlinks" page. I'm sure you have seen sites that have a button called links. If a customer clicks on the links button, which is extremely rare, he is sent to a links page. On the links page, you usually see an endless list of related or unrelated text links. The only way to find out if going to the linked site is worthwhile is to click on the link and visit. Most customers will completely ignore this approach. The best way to use a text link is as part of a descriptive paragraph or within a concept page. Use text links carefully, making sure that there is compatibility among those you exchange with. Formal ads: A formal ad is usually a display ad set onto an Internet page. The formal ad is usually a stagnate piece located on a designated ad page. It may or may not be linked directly to a Website. It is slightly more effective than a text link. This is because the sites that accept formal ads are usually market related sites. In other words, these sites sell advertising on their site and solicit visitors through some other promotional process. The problem with display ads online is two fold. First, they are way too expensive for the results they deliver. You can expect a less than .05% response. This means that out of two hundred people who see the ad, one will click through to your site. The other problem with formal ads online is presentation frequency. Most marketing related Websites rotate the ads to make room for more ads. This means that your ad will be displayed on a frequency basis. So, a person might have to sit and stare at the ad page for awhile before your ad is displayed. It also means that if a person visits the ad page more than once, he may or may not ever see your ad depending upon your ads presentation frequency. Don't use formal ads on Websites unless it is part of a traditional advertising deal. As an example, your online ad is given away either free or at a significant discount because you are advertising in the company's off-line magazine. Banner ads: A banner ad is similar to a formal ad. However, it is usually located within the body of a sponsoring Websites web page. The displaying page for the banner may or may not be related to an appropriate subject. This is part of the problem with banner ads. They are often displayed on pages that are not appropriate for the product or service being offered. For example, a banner ad may be found at the top or bottom of a site Home page. This is not bad if the displaying Website attracts visitors who might be interested in your products or services. However, a banner may just as often be displayed within structured groups on a sites. When this occurs, you are not only competing with a group of other unrelated products, you may also find that the page is completely inappropriate for your service. As a result of these and other problems with banner ads, they are usually very ineffective as advertising sources. Banners ads are historically one of the poorest advertising performers on the Internet. Not only that, if used improperly, banner ads can ruin your marketing campaign. They are too expensive, improperly displayed and if accepted on your site, could reduce the sales you get from that site. This happens when you accept too many banners on your site. We suggest that you accept no more than two or three ads for your site at a time. This reduces the risk of having visitors click away from your site just as they begin having a interest in your services. Do not pay for a banner ad unless you are convinced that the source will produce a significant flow of traffic to your site. Try to exchange banners with your best link target sources only, and keep the number of links on your site to a minimum. Try to pick link target companies that offer products or services that would enhance the lives of those needing your services. Doing this makes your site sort of a "must visit" place for those suffering from various medical impairments. Concept page: If you are going to use text links, formal ads or banners, use them on a concept page. A concept page is a place where your product or service is brought to life through presentation. An explanation of the business, product or service for the benefit of the potential user. A concept page can be as short as a paragraph or as long as an entire page dedicated to explaining your service. Concept pages work because they provide more information to those who might click over. It often gives a potential customer enough information to know if he or she can use what's being offered. This additional information actually qualifies a customer for you, opening the door to higher sells. A concept page is also an extremely powerful asset for your company. You can offer a concept page on your site to your best link target sources in exchange for a concept page on their site. This type of exchange provides a better quality referral for both you and your link partner. Always keep in mind that most people who visit Websites do so to extract information. Telling a customer about your link partner's products or services is a useful information service. However, the primary goal of your web marketing strategy must be to attract new customers for your advocacy service. Therefore, you must supply as much interesting content about your service on your page as possible without reducing the selling capability of your site. The majority of information on your site should always be about your products and services. We recommend that no more than ten percent of your site contain information about other companies or products.
Today, most major cities have websites. These city websites are used to deliver relevant information about the city and specific services provided by or within the city. City sites are primarily visited by local residence, making these websites an excellent vehicle for exposing your advocacy service. Using a city site is a long term approach. It will take some time for visitors of city websites to actually become your customers. However, there are a number of things you can do to improve your odds for success. 1. Make sure that you already have your website in place before you begin advertising on a city site. This will allow you to create an inexpensive links between the city site and your website. 2. If you do not have a website, you can link your ad to an e-mail account. If your using "Frontpage" software to create your website, you can create an ad link directly to an information sheet. An information sheet is nothing more than an HTML page that allows the customer to input data and submit it back to you. You can create a secure SSL link or use a standard link to your e-mail account. The above approach works well because when the client clicks on your link, he gets your information sheet with a request to provide information. This information is then used by you to contact and assess the client's case. This approach is essentially an electronic customer information gathering tool and that's exactly the way it should be used. 3. Watch what you ask for! Keep the amount of information requested to a minimum. Try to get contact information like the client's name, address and telephone number. This information can then be used to follow-up with the client at a later time. 4. Be patient! Keep you ad running for a period of at least six months. Alternate your add message every four or five weeks to test the effectiveness of the message. Keep in mind that even if you have the right advertising source, you must still determine what ad message works best within your community. The only way to determine this is to test a number of different messages over time. Once you have located the right message, you can then use it on a continuous basis. 5. If you reside in a small community, and you town doesn't have a website, you may want to create one for the city at little or no costs. If approved, the city receives a nice little website and you get access to free advertising for as long as the website exist. You also gain additional credibility because your ad is affiliated with the city.
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