Appendix B - Linking Do’s and Don’ts DO

•   Do submit your site to the Open Directory Project (ODP or DMOZ). A listing in
         the ODP is considered golden as the ODP feeds so many other directories.

     •   Do exchange links all sites that offer similar or complementary services to
         yours, with specialized directories, and with industry associations.

     •   Do include a link to your site in your “signature” line when you post in forums,
         blogs, or newsgroups. This also applies when submitting articles or sending
         out newsletters.

     •   Do link to each page on your site from your home page or sitemap page and
         back again. This will help funnel PageRank to your most important pages.

     •   Do include inline links on your site. Inline links appear in the body of a
         paragraph rather than in a navigation menu. Google likes the neighboring text
         that surrounds inline links.

     •   Do use simple A HREF format links rather than JavaScript to generate the
         link. Google may have a harder time deciphering your link otherwise.

     •   Do actively monitor who links to you. You need to track this on a regular basis
         to make sure your link is added on sites you have agreed to trade links with.


DON’T

     •   Don’t use “click here” as the text for your links. Otherwise, Google may
         decide your page is about “click here.”

     •   Don’t exchange links with link farms, link free-for-alls (FFAs), or other sites
         that are obvious spam.

     •   Don’t exchange links with unrelated sites simply to boost the number of links.
         Your customers won’t be on these sites and it won’t help with Google.
     •
     •   Don’t have your Links page automatically generated by a program. Google
         has been known to penalize sites that generate Links pages using “cookie-
         cutter” template pages.