Link management is a key component of a successful online internet home business. There are many different ways that you can accomplish this not just getting quality links but very relevant links to your work at home business. Getting such links do take time although with the present pace in which new technology has been dishing out more advanced software, people have grown smarter in getting this job done. Learning and mastering SEO, [tag-tec]buying links[/tag-tec], 3-way linking, reciprocal linking, getting [tag-tec]backlinks[/tag-tec] from quality sites like .edu and .gov sites are just some routine jobs in which the average internet marketer goes about doing today. All for the sake of improving their current [tag-tec]search engine ranking[/tag-tec].
However one thing that really puzzles me is that many legitimate home internet business owners do not wish to link to websites which have a lower [tag-tec]page rank[/tag-tec] status. I have personally experienced this myself on a few occasions in the process of completing reciprocal link exchanges with other marketers. I was politely told ‘ we only exchange links with PR3 sites.’ Thankfully I didn’t suffer any disappointment as my site met this requirement for those link exchanges. I have always wanted to find out why people would not want to link to sites with lower page rank and whether their fears were well founded. That led to my mini survey.
I posted this question “Would You Link To A Lower Page Rank Website?” to two of my favorite forums – Warrior Forum and Conquer Your Niche Forum. I wanted to get as many views as I can from internet marketers, veterans as well as newbies to get a sense of how they felt about this topic. Well here is what some of them have to say about this.
I asked ….“Would You Link To A Lower Page Rank Website?”
They answered….
“I would if it was something that was useful and relevant to my visitors. I don’t really exchange links anymore though as I prefer to get one way links e.g. through article writing etc as these are more valuable and in my opinion are easier to get.
The most natural thing is linking to sites in the body of your content rather than in a separate directory, which nobody ever visits unless they want to exchange links anyway.
I wouldn’t personally link to completely unrelated sites though e.g. a site on dog care from my legitimate home internet business site, or a site on work at home business from my wedding site.”
Suzanne Morrison
homebiz-direct.com
“I say stick to sites that are at least somewhat relevant to yours and are quality sites. I know quality is hard to really judge but you can usually tell if a site is complete crap or if it is a good site. If you do that then I wouldn’t worry about PR too much. If it’s a quality site and they are actually trying to grow it then it will eventually have PR.
But after having said that, I usually don’t link to a site unless it has at least a PR1 because that way I know Google at least somewhat likes them, they have been around long enough to get some PR, and they will probably keep going up.One more thing to add…
You have probably heard this a million times before but the PR you see on your toolbar doesn’t mean anything.
To give an example…
I have a website that ranks highly on Google for just about every internet home based business and work at home business related search you can think of. It only has a PR3. It used to have a PR5 a couple years ago but it didn’t have even close to the rankings back then that it has now. It dropped to a PR4 for some reason but the rankings got better. Now it’s only a PR3 but it has not lost any rankings. If anything it has gained them.
That just shows you that a sites quality and rankings can’t be judged simply by looking at the PR.”
Trent Brownrigg
home-business-team.com
“Don’t worry that much on PR. I would look at it at another angle – “would the users of my site benefit from this link?”
This is one good reason why I would certainly link to a lower PR site that has good, useful and unique quality content.”
MrCat
submit.mixcat.com
“There are a lot of myths about SEO. I read the other day at Jonathan Leger’s blog a simple statement: Backlinks are backlinks...period.
I don’t think that backlinks from sites with a lower PR can hurt. Until Google releases an SEO guide for online marketers, we can’t be sure.”
Josip Barbaric
heaven4affiliates.com
“PR is only a number. If you got high PR and traffic is not so good daily, then why have the PR? it’s a showoff number. I’d link to a lower PR site if it was somewhat related to the niche i am in. We can’t stop thousands of folks putting our website links on there site now can’t we?
If the site in question, has a decent design, looks like the owner updates the site weekly then I’ll be happy to link to them. The lower PR site is most likely still newish and still improving. Could be a great idea to link them early.”
Snakeair
freetoadvertise.biz
I like to think I have uncovered some myths of linking to lower [tag-tec]page rank[/tag-tec] work at home business websites. To me these fears are totally unfounded. It is based on hearsay and not factual statements from Google or other reputable sources. If people follow good linking and [tag-tec]seo techniques[/tag-tec], refrain from any [tag-tec]black hat techniques[/tag-tec] and follow good practices of successful marketers, nothing can possibly go wrong. But what do you think. Perhaps there is something some of my forum buddies may have missed out? Or you may have had some experiences which differ from what have been said here. We like to hear them. Do share with us so that we can learn from you too. Your comments are very much appreciated
Related Posts on Link Management:
Do You Want To Get One-Way Links For Free?
Learn These Traffic Exchange Secrets To Generate Unstoppable Traffic
How To Get Top Ranking In Google And Other Search Engines
The Basics Of Good Link Management
Is Page Rank Dead?
If you have a question for me, do send it to me and I will be most happy to answer you. My contact details can be found on the right at ‘peter answers’ or you can also use this link to contact me.
Did you miss any of these?:
- Link Pyramid- Good Backlinks Technique For Home Business
- Social Networking & the Internet Marketer
- You Too Can Get #1 Spot in Google, Yahoo And Other Search Engines
- Backlink Building To Google Top Search Engine Ranking: What I learned
- The Basics of Good Link Management
April 10, 2008 at 5:29 am
I do have a question that I would like to find more information about. I have a free website hosted on a free web hosting server. I don’t use paid for domain name. I use a sub. So I was wondering if it is even possible to get a PR ranking or Alexa ranking if I have a sub domain name from a free web hosting provider. I know that blogpspot does have pr and alexa ranker for its users. But what about other sites? If you have any information regarding this I would be greatfull to hear about it. Thanks
April 10, 2008 at 6:53 am
here i got lot information about home based online job.i hope i can use it.i am gng to share this idea to all of my friends.
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Have you seen this? I wish there were more companies like this out there that were interested in making a difference!
http://www.aboveallopportunities.com/100.html
April 10, 2008 at 9:28 am
Hi Zach,
Thanks for your comment. I really don’t think that the Google algorithm used in calculating PR distinguishes whether a site is a free website or having a free web host. It’s getting lots of quality links and relevant links from similar niche markets that really count. However I do think that not all blog platforms facilitate the same degree of link growth. For example I’m seeing more links in my wordpress blog than my previous blogger. It doesn’t mean that blogger is no good, but ultimately it also means that I would have had to work harder to get the same amount of links which my wordpress blog now gives me.
Peter Lee
Home Business Ideas
April 10, 2008 at 10:47 am
Great work Peter. When it comes to links, it is all about quality, not just quantity. You have written on a very compelling subject that many with lower ranked sites ask questions like this one everyday.
Keep up the good work!
Doug Gorman
April 10, 2008 at 11:22 am
Hi Peter!
Great job with the article!
A lot of quality info here that I think people will be very interested in.
Keep up the good work!
Cheers:-)
Josip Barbaric
April 10, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Peter, very nice topic. I would have to say PR is less important then backlinks from non-related niches.
Anyway, nice post, keep up the great work I’ll see ya later.
Bill Shultz
April 10, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Hi Peter!
Brilliant article, especially for a newbie like me. Quite a bit to digest, so I have bookmarked your blog so that I may go over it again.
Graham
April 11, 2008 at 3:54 am
A very well written piece on a subject many people don’t explore as it is thought not worth the effort
I like the way you used other point of view to make your point
Great Job
Charles
April 11, 2008 at 5:40 am
Hi Peter,
Fantastic article, and yes there are more than 1 way to skin a cat, but I agree that the PR is not that crucial, as long as you link back to a quality site, and back links are backlinks.
As long as you are building them all the time.
Alan
April 11, 2008 at 8:29 am
Thanks for pondering this issue for us, Peter.
I must confess that PR ranking hasn’t been a priority for me yet, as learning other things about internet marketing has come first. I’m also a little suspicious that the rankings aren’t accurate – like Alexa isn’t accurate.
I agree that the quality is more important than the quantity, and the links should we relevant to one’s site.
Thanks,
Peggy
April 12, 2008 at 9:56 am
i think the basis of a site should not be based on google’s page ranking alone. this makes me, a new internet business owner worried, although there are still a lot of SEO companies out there offering their services.
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April 21, 2008 at 5:18 am
Hey Peter
great stuff man!
I also think that the most important thing is getting the links
while the PR is not the top concern.
keep it up!
Guy
April 21, 2008 at 8:45 am
Hi Peter,
Plenty to think about here. It’s a well written article and raises interesting points.
Alan
April 21, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Hi Peter – Excellent article.
In talking to many SEO experts, and based on what they have told me over the years, I would say that I agree with Suzanne and Trent.
The confusion lies in part to the fact that Google changes the criteria they are looking for frequently, to circumvent ‘results’ that come from gimmicks and black hatters. (e.g., used to be ‘number’ of links ws key, until people started ‘magically’ getting 1000 in a week)
There are various degrees to which some SEO experts feel we should go to maintain a pristine environment – one I know feels you should almost personally know your link exchange partners – at least to write them an email and say you will feature an article about them and ask them to do the same.
Sounds like too much work, but basically the thinking here is that the link exchange directory is not only meaningless, but may be harmful to your health if you don’t know all about who you are associating yourself with as in the ‘birds of a feather’ theory.
April 21, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Hi Peter!
I put a lot of effort into link exchanging when my PIPs site was new and did see a boost in traffic, but it was short-lived and very time-consuming.
You are such a terrific writer, I’d stick with blogging and article writer. Much higher quality, more long-lasting, and a step in the right direction in branding yourself!
Much success!
Melissa
April 22, 2008 at 3:49 am
Great Work! I do some of my linking by commenting on other peoples blogs that are related to mine.It seems to work.I don´see to much on the pagerank or alexa ranking.
April 22, 2008 at 3:23 pm
I would swap links with any relevant site. . .
but then, I’m easy.
I still grapple with SEO–it’s amazing all the hoops we have to jump through, when the search engines may just change the formula again tomorrow.
Jeremy
April 24, 2008 at 10:43 pm
I have wondered for a while now whether or not page rank matters when it comes to submitting to directories. My guess is that any one-way link to a relevant site can be potentially beneficial when it comes to traffic. In any case, what is there to lose?
April 29, 2008 at 3:50 am
Hi Peter – Good article, well composed and good content. Thanks
Arthur
April 30, 2008 at 5:12 pm
As long as it is relevent to your site I would link to a lower page ranked website, they may grow and become a much larger presence in time.
Lorelie Held
April 30, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I don’t do link exchange very much. I think one way link from submitting articles to directories are much better. But I will do link exchange as long as it relates to my niche even with lower PR sites.
May 7, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I feel a little more motivated after reading your post and some of the comments. I am new to the internet and websites and became a bit discouraged after several attempts at linking to relevant sites and being rejected with “no thank you’s”.
October 9, 2008 at 12:15 pm
I don’t do link exchanges (except as they occur organically in the normal blogging process), but PR is not that important to me in making the decision to link to someone. What’s more important is the strategic value of networking with a particular site, and that has a lot to do with being in the same niche as mine.
Also, do not forget that even though the site may not have much PR now, in a few weeks or months that may change, so take a long-term view. Remember, we have all been newbies at one time, and as a newbie I remembered those who gave me a leg-up later on…
Rodney Smiths last blog post..Strategic commenting, part 2
October 9, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Hi Rodney,
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts. I agree with you that networking with a particular site with a similar niche is important.
Peter
Legitimate Internet Home Business
April 24, 2009 at 11:32 am
yeah i was a little puzzled myself about this particular reason because it does seem that way
April 24, 2009 at 11:34 am
i agree with your insight because its true we have all been there before and its a learning process we all go through with
April 24, 2009 at 11:37 am
i don't do any link exchanges because they make a site look congested and isn't that much of quality than any form of backlinks the one way backlink is the only method i prefer to use
April 24, 2009 at 11:40 am
jo its okay to feel a little discouraged you just need to keep your head up high and continue on forward but one word of advice “article marketing” thats all you need to know
April 24, 2009 at 11:51 am
i agree as long as you keep on building backlinks from high quality website during the process you will notice an increase in page rank
April 24, 2009 at 1:15 pm
i agree with you 100 percent because thats exactly what i was going to say
April 24, 2009 at 3:32 pm
yeah i was a little puzzled myself about this particular reason because it does seem that way
April 24, 2009 at 3:34 pm
i agree with your insight because its true we have all been there before and its a learning process we all go through with
April 24, 2009 at 3:37 pm
i don't do any link exchanges because they make a site look congested and isn't that much of quality than any form of backlinks the one way backlink is the only method i prefer to use
April 24, 2009 at 3:40 pm
jo its okay to feel a little discouraged you just need to keep your head up high and continue on forward but one word of advice “article marketing” thats all you need to know
April 24, 2009 at 3:51 pm
i agree as long as you keep on building backlinks from high quality website during the process you will notice an increase in page rank
April 24, 2009 at 5:15 pm
i agree with you 100 percent because thats exactly what i was going to say