When it comes to writing down to earth, practical advice about links, one of my favorite blogs is Todd Malicoat's "Stuntdubl" site. Todd does a fantastic job of coming up with examples and allegories that everyone can understand and his insight is always valuable for the small business market. His latest entry talks about how the people that you link to can be seen as a reflection of your own site.

A quick collection of gems from the post:

  • Your online credibility is only as good as who you link to. Your ‘hood..your peeps, and even your advertisers.
  • One of the dumbest things you can do is take your readers’ intelligence for granted. If you cater to dumb people…you will ALWAYS be surrounded by dumb people.
  • Think sexy within your niche. If you sell life insurance (among the least sexy things on the planet)…figure out how to be the ipod of your industry.
  • Don’t try to hoard your links, and don’t try to pimp your site out to people. Surround yourself with good people and learn from people smarter, sexier, funnier, and more trusted than yourself.

Todd's right of course...and what he has to say is on par with what I've always said about linking. Links aren't just about increasing your search engine ranking. Links serve as content when they are on your site and as traffic drivers when they are on other people's sites. Presenting the right content and driving traffic from the right sources is an essential part of running a successful online business.






About the Author

Jennifer Laycock is the Editor of Search Engine Guide, an educational web site aimed at translating the search marketing world into something that small business owners can understand. Jennifer specializes in common sense search engine marketing, viral marketing and customer outreach via social media and blogs. A former search marketing consultant and in-house trainer, Jennifer’s clients have included companies like Verizon, American Greetings and Highlights for Children. Her primary clients now are a little girl named Elnora and a little boy named Emmitt.

Jennifer Laycock is the Editor of Search Engine Guide, an educational web site aimed at translating the search marketing world into something that small business owners can understand. Jennifer specializes in common sense search engine marketing, viral marketing and customer outreach via social media and blogs. A former search marketing consultant and in-house trainer, Jennifer’s clients have included companies like Verizon, American Greetings and Highlights for Children. Her primary clients now are a little girl named Elnora and a little boy named Emmitt.