Working on link strategies can be an extremely frustrating process because of the difficulty in getting other people to put the link on their website – let alone to do it without having to give a reciprocal link. I can’t say enough – I believe reciprocal links are increasingly meaningless. But then I get asked – “well how am I supposed to get links if we are not swapping”. It is quite simple – think about your link strategy in terms of being of benefit to your website user.

Let’s look at a real-world situation – say an accommodation provider in the centre of New Zealand. Firstly, they get contacted by a tour operators who is in fact one of their main suppliers of business wanting a link (say for example, Stray Travel stays here) – but the link is not reciprocal. Where should this property get it’s links from?

Simple! What other sites might be of use to their customers or vice versa – or in another way to look at is, what are the potential feeder sites to your business? How about other accommodation providers in towns that might be en-route to your property? Say if you are in Taupo you might look for links in places in Rotorua, Wellington or National Park – sites where your visitors are and will be looking to move on from. How about things to do in town – sites your visitors might come across and then also look for somewhere to stay?

When I start working with clients it is amazing what they come up – regional tourism sites, fellow operators and complementary services. Think about creating a path to your site for your users and focus much less on just a mad rush to get lots of links – quality will always beat quantity!

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