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10 Mistakes to Avoid When Setting Up a Link Directory
by Tony Simpson
When adding a link directory to a web site there are important
mistakes to avoid, or else you'll be storing up big problems for
later on. I know, because I made some of these mistakes and didn't
have anyone to offer any advice or tell me what I'm about to tell
you.
Don't create a directory page with all your links on one page. You
should have no more than 30 - 40 links to a page. The reason is that
some sites will not link to you if a page you put their link on has
too many links, because it dilutes the value of the link to them. To
understand why, you need to know about Google Page Rank and how it's
passed to another site from your link page. That's a subject too
lengthy for this topic.
Plan your link directory on paper first and decide what names you
are going to give each category in your link directory. Make the
names fit with the theme of your site and try to avoid adding
categories which are nothing to do with what your site is about.
For example if your site is about Making Candles and Candle
Accessories, don't have link categories for Computers & Games, or
Search Engine Optimization etc. The reason is that if you want your
site to achieve a good ranking with the search engines your site
should be built tightly around your theme, in this example Candles.
Only link to web sites that relate to your site theme and have
something to offer your visitors. This refers to item 2. If you
don't have categories for unrelated topics, you'll be less tempted
to link to them because you don't have a category to put them in.
Choose names for link categories that you want to use now and in the
future, because you can't easily change them later on. Once the
pages are created by your link manager software, it will use the
category names you give it. So if you have a category called "Candle
Power" it will create an html page called Candle-Power.html or
something similar, using your category name. Once this page is found
and indexed by the search engines, in time it will gain Page Rank.
If later, you change the category name to "Candle Lights" the link
manager software will create a new page called Candle-Lights.html
and you will lose the page rank you had gained for the earlier page.
If your link partners linked to you because the page you put them on
had a good page rank, renaming the page will cause this page rank to
fall to zero. As a result your link partners may drop the link they
have back to you, which is not what you ever want to happen.
Avoid having sub-categories or sub sub-categories in your directory
from your main category pages. The reason for this is again to do
with how search engines will rank your directory pages. If your
directory pages are more than two levels or two clicks away from
your main index or home page they will either not be indexed by some
search engines, or if they are indexed they will achieve a lower
ranking. Some web sites will not link to you if the page you are to
put the link on is more than 2 clicks away from your home page
because these webmasters know what I've just told you.
Ensure each page of your link directory has a link back to your home
page.
Once again the reason for this is to do with how search engines will
rank your directory pages, so make sure these links are in place.
Don't be obsessed at linking only to web sites that have a good
ranking with the search engines. Look first at whether the site has
anything to offer your visitors. If it has poor or unrelated content
don't link to it. If it has good related content that compliments
your own content but has zero or low page rank, consider linking to
it. Later on you may be glad you provided a link, when it's page
rank improves.
Don't use link directory software that doesn't automatically check
links to your web site are still present on the other sites. Doing
link checking manually can be tedious and you have to remember to do
it. Software that you can set a schedule to check links and
automatically send out emails to webmasters when links are not found
will save you a lot of time. Link management software that will
automatically suspend links and delete them if they are repeatedly
not found is an added bonus.
Don't use standard templates that come with any link manager, link
directory management software. You need to modify these templates to
match the look and design of your own web site. This requires you
know something about editing a web page using an HTML editor. Also
don't use the standard email templates, personalize them in some
way, even if it's only to add your name.
Don't assume you're finished once you've set up your link directory
and done all the things I've said. You must test and retest every
aspect to ensure everything is working properly, before visitors
arrive.
This means making an add a link request, as if you were a visitor to
your own web site. Setting up test links and making sure these links
are being checked by the software so it detects when links are
removed or defective. Making sure it sends out email notices
correctly and check the formatting is correct when they are
received. You should also check you can make backups of your link
directory database and be able to restore it in the event of a
problem.
About the Author
Tony Simpson, Has been doing Web Site Design, Promotion and
Optimization for 5 years. He provides advice, product reviews and
products at Web Page Add Ons to Make Automation of Your Web Site
Work for You.
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