Attract more of your kind of most valued visitors to your site more effortlessly and credibly by cross-promoting with other sites you respect that attract similar people.

   Links are still the most credible and efficient way for people to learn about your web site. Cross-promote by carrying articles, tips, offers of value to your kind of visitor, credited to the other site, with a reciprocal link with them. Ask them to do the same.

   List your "Favourite Sites" or "Related Links," and include as many as you can that you genuinely respect; ask those on your list to provide a similar feature, including your site on their list.

   Cautionary note: I have been offered a reciprocal link on a page in a web site that a person could never find. Before you comply to a reciprocal link, visit the web site to see if their links page is easily accessible. When you visit a site and do not find what you are looking for this helpful page should be a click away.

   Some people use reciprocal links pages for the sole purpose of gaining a higher placement in search engines. However, others use it to offer visitors ways to learn more about the topic that first drew them to your site.

Looking for complimentary web sites

   Go to your favorite search engine and use words that would reflect what a potential partner's target audience would use to find their web site. For example, I would use these words in searching for cross-promoting partners: "small business software" or "home office magazines."

   Visit the first 20 sites to see if you like what they offer, and how they offer it. If you like what you see and think this would be a mutual beneficial relationship, write them an e-mail, suggesting how you think you are reaching similar kinds of visitors and could leverage your outreach by a reciprocal link. Not everyone will accept your offer. Find out others who have linked with them for additional options.

   Consider the rule of the weakest link: people will not trust your site if they find one of the sites with which you linked to be sub-standard in some way. As a cross-promoting partner, Kare Anderson (at www.sayitbetter.com) would say, "Go slow to go fast" by taking your time to make sure that you really respect each and every website team you approach to cross-promote.

   To increase your credibility and evidence of goodwill, add your potential reciprocal link partner to your site before contacting them. Then contact them stating why you liked their web site, how you think your visitors have similar interests, where and what you suggest as a place on their site for their link, plus any additional information that shows the value of your site, before requesting they link back to you.

   Be forewarned. Some people using this technique use a program that extracts e-mail addresses from web sites and then sends one generic note to every e-mail found asking to swap links. It is best to familiarize yourself with the intended partner's web site before asking to swap links.

Before you start - Imagine you are running a reciprocal linking campaign for INTEL, EBAY or UBID. I guarantee that's an easy task? Compare that to a site that lacks content, poor navigation, and reciprocal links located in the twilight zone. Make sure that last sentence doesn't describe your website or else if would be increasingly difficult to find a cross-promotion partner on the internet.