Link Cheating On The Rise

Website owners and webmasters who are trying to improve their search engine ranking by trading links with other sites should beware of being cheated. Beware of link cheating. What is link cheating?

Link cheating is when the other party in a link exchange does not live up to the bargain and does not add your link to his site. Link cheating can happen when you add someone else's link on your site first, then submit your link info, and assume that they will reciprocate and add your link to their site. What often happens is they don't add your link. And you end up with a one-way link, giving a link and getting none in return, improving someone else's search engine ranking and not yours. Link cheating. Even worse, you end up wasting a lot of your valuable webmaster time and energy for nothing. And, often, you won't even know it. You may not know you are the victim of link cheating or may not find out your link was never added to the other site until weeks or months later! Because link cheaters don't email you telling you your link has been added to their site and they don't email you telling you they have decided not to add your link (for whatever reason). They will just take advantage of the one-way benefit of you linking to them. Link cheating.

How can you protect yourself from link cheating? As a webmaster, protecting yourself from link cheating is very time consuming and frustrating. Of course, you can check every site you linked to and see if your link has been added to that site. This is very time consuming, even with a "link checker" tool, and you may not find your link even if it is there! Or, if you don't find your link you can follow up with a polite email. And, if you don't get a response within a week or two, you can remove their link from your website. Unfortunately, by then you've been promoting the other site(s) for a month or more and getting zero in return. Link cheating.

Link cheating costs trusting webmasters, trying to build their website ranking, a lot of time and a lot of irritation. A lot of time adding links, submitting links, checking links and, ultimately, a lot of irritation removing links which don't reciprocate. One website owner became so fed up with link cheating (20 times in 2 weeks) that he changed his reciprocal link policy. DestinyFinders.com no longer will add a link to their site unless their link is added first, and confirmed to them by email. They promise to then add your link provided it is deemed suitable and acceptable. And they will no longer be a victim of link cheating, by avoiding sites who force you to use those automated you-go-first-but-we-don't-have-to-reciprocate link management programs. Many of these are good programs but they are being abused by bad webmasters.

As for the link cheaters, in the interest of internet honesty and fair play, webmasters who offer a reciprocal link exchange should abide by the agreement. If someone links to you you should honor the link exchange and reciprocate. That means adding the other party's link to your site. Or, if you have decided not to reciprocate at least have the professional courtesy to email the other party stating that their link has not been accepted.

Link cheating is reaching epidemic proportions and appears to be on the rise. And there appears to be no easy cure. But here's some good advice for website owners and webmasters who wish to trade links ... beware ... be aware ... and don't cheat.

Maya Pinion is a freelance writer and contributing editor for News4Net. DestinyFinders.com is credited with coining the term "link cheating".

---

Web Site Promotion: 10 Reasons Why Your Web Site Is Not Making Money

Do you know why your website is not making money... Read More

Rich Media - Exploring New Territory

Until recently, audio, video, Flash, and static graphics were all... Read More

How To Increase Your Page Rank And Web Traffic FREE

Google is the most popular and most used search engine... Read More

Is Your Websites Link Directory Even Worth Having?

Let's face it, getting (and keeping) a good Google... Read More

How to Test a Keyword for Success!

Finding the successful keywords is crucial in order to get... Read More

Seecrets on Website Promotion: Results of Open Source Marketing Plan after 2 Months

This author's open-source marketing plan, as announced on June 29,... Read More

Benefits of Website Localization

Benefits of Website Localization Maximising profit today... Read More

Banners You Cant Ignore

Some "experts" say they don't exist. Apparently we have become... Read More

Joint Venture 101 - The Quickest Way To Build Your eBusiness (PART 1)

This article reveal the same techniques that many Internet marketing... Read More

Whats Wrong With Your Promotions?

How many times have you been frustrated with your promotion... Read More

Reciprocal Link Exchanges - A Foolproof Technique That Will Never Die

On the Internet, links are very important for websites to... Read More

DIY SEO Part 3, Advertising

We have dealt with the tags so the search engines... Read More

Free Advertising and Traffic Exchanges

Reading the postings in different Newsgroups it becomes clear that... Read More

Signatures -- The Long and Short of It

What is the accepted standard for signatures? Who sets these... Read More

The Top Ten Ways To Promote Your Site And Increase Traffic

Website promotion is a vital area in internet marketing that... Read More

3 Super-tips To Build, Promote And Profit More From Your Website!

Are you happy with your website? (Does your business even... Read More

Internet Directory Submission, Sure Way To Link Popularity

Most website owners fail to differentiate between a directory and... Read More

Easy Content Building for the Lazy Webmaster

Free content builder. Articles are the best way to add... Read More

Unique Selling Propositions - USPs

Got one? Two? Three?If you have competitors, then you should... Read More

(3) Three Traffic Boosting Strategies for Your Website!

Every day, on line marketers are dreaming up new ways... Read More

What?s in a Name?

Behind every good web page are codes only the search... Read More

Local Business Website Promotion - How to Skyrocket Your Business with Area Specific Traffic

If you are a local business that gets most of... Read More

Web Advertising: 5 Uncommon Ways To Generate Online Business Ideas

Success in business thrives on ideas.The more creative you're the... Read More

Planning and Evaluating Marketing Programs

Measuring and understanding your Website's success is a critical process... Read More

Are You A Winner Or A Loser?

What do you do next! you have been working so... Read More

Drive People to Your Site to Buy Your Products

Bring those visitors back for more, applauding you and saying... Read More

The Reality of Linking

On a regular basis I receive e-mail through all my... Read More

The Power of Testimonials - Unleash the Marketing Prowess of Credibility

Creating a sense of credibility for your product and website... Read More

Online Promotion: Five Extraordinary Online Promotion Secrets To Sky-rocket Your Sales

Do you want to achieve extra-ordinary success in your online... Read More

Build Your Own Online Network

Many online business owners and marketers use a variety of... Read More

Promoting Your Site Off-Line

The internet is a wonderful source of information and full... Read More

Power Training for your website

You have permission to publish this article electronically or... Read More

How are Directories Different from Search Engines?

Directories are important to your ranking and success with Search... Read More