Website Help: Should I include any and all links? - Personal Trainer Community - Forum

[muscletrainerdh-NSCA CPT]

Okay So I'm not a website newbie by any stretch of the imagination, but I am considering linking with several local businesses that will compliment my personal training. (Hair salons, Day Spas, Nutrition stores, Exercise Equipment Stores, etc.)

Should I be super selective with who I link with or should I link with as many people/complimentary businesses as I can?

How "thorough" does my co-linking agreement need to be? Or should I link with no agreeement necessary?

Okay, okay this post is directed towards Margie :respect: , but anyone can weigh in with their two cents!

Look & Feel Great in 08!,

Dave :superman:

P.S. And for all the up and coming trainers, you definitely need a web presence. Wether it is a basic site like mine, or an expansive one like Margie's. Don't neglect the internet as a way to market yourself and inform people of your service. :duh:

[Christina]

Hey Dave,

Are you linking to these businesses for the purposes of search engine optimization (e.g., Google searches) or for local referrals? Let me know your ultimate goal and I may be able to give you some advice.

Christina

[muscletrainerdh-NSCA CPT]

I am linking to them to increase referrals and local recognition. But if it will negatively affect my SEO, then I probably won't.

I'm pretty high ranked if you google:
"Personal Trainer New Castle PA"
"Dave Herber"
or
"Exercise2u"

What are your thoughts/Ideas?

[Christina]

No, you will not do anything to your Google ranking so don't worry. I thought you were already positioned well in search engines so that is why I wanted to know your goals.

Go for it! Just make sure you link to reputable business owners in the community. And of course, make sure they link back to you.

Christina

[standAPART]

Just want to echo Christina's comments:
I turn down about a dozen link requests a month because the business is not reputable or doesn't mirror my position. I think it is important to maintain integrity, especially on the Internet where you see so many websites popping up with the intent of using "Google Adwords" and hidden keywords to simply make a small passive income at the expense of integrity.
I think as far as gaining additional exposure to your business, I think link exchanges with google-strong website is important so long you follow the above recommendation. Also, writing articles and passing those articles along to other pro's always works wonders. I have been happy to had my articles exposed and accepted by PTontheNet.com and StrengthCoach.com, which has helped me gain more traffic to my website.
Hope that helps.

[megfit]

Hi Dave!

First I'll address your question about an agreement. Something like cross-referrals through links can be totally verbal. Consider written agreements for the things you want very clear understanding and protection for. If one of these companies goes out of business, say, all you would do is remove their link from your site. You don't want to have to create a written agreement with all/any of these sites and then have to 'enforce' something in that agreement.

The second thing to keep in mind is ask where YOUR link will show up on their site. What I have found with some sites who ask to link with me (and, yea, you don't want to just link with anyone - it IS also your reputation you want to keep in tact!), is they have this general, boring listing of sites. Very generic, and just for the purpose of showing up on other sites. You know; you look at their links and it's just a name and a link. You want more than that.

And, to go along with that, yea, as standAPART said, you do want to check out whoever asks you to share links. I just have no reason to link with real estate companies, yet those and others who have NOTHING to do with either of my sites are constantly contacting me. Now, what I WILL do with some of these sites who contact me (such as the Cowboy.com site and the bride.com site) is I won't share links but I will write articles for them. As standAPART said, this is a great way to draw traffic to your site!

Third, definitely make sure this is a company you want to align with. Since these are local companies, I'm sure you know who you would do business with or who you want your clients doing business with. If they don't fit that categorization, you don't want them on your site. Think of it as who's site do YOU want to be on? There's no question that being on their site can help increase your traffic, but again consider what you stand for and who you want to be 'seen with', so to speak.

As for negatively affecting your SEO, the only thing that will do that is to NOT increase your presence or not update your keywords on a regular basis. Oh, and also be sure to update your website in some way on a regular basis, too. I used to do a LOT of research on SEO, but today I'd say Christina is more up-to-date on this than I am. (too much to do, not enough time to do and learn it all!)

A final comment, since you brought it up, Dave: Yes, everyone who is in business or considering starting up their own business should have their own website! They should have three things: A simple, clear business card, their audio logo (elevator speech) down pat, and a website where potential clients can go to to learn more.

Today the website has really replaced the 'traditional' brochure. Whether the potential client lives next door or across the country (for online/distance training/coaching), they will all instantly look for you online. If you do NOT have a website and know you should have one, it really isn't as hard as you think to set it up by yourself. Last quarter I created an ebook to help people do just that. Check out my website http://www.websitesmade-easy.com for more info.

Margie