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Put very simply, a link is an object
on your web pages (pictures, words, titles, almost anything visible)
that allows a visitor to click on it with a mouse and redirect themselves
to another location. That location may be somewhere on one of your
pages, or to another website. Links are a great way to categorize
your web information, and allow your visitors to navigate through
what otherwise could be a real mess.
Some common examples of links are:
a. separating products, services,
contacts, and other departmental functions that your company
 offers.
b. redirecting selected customers
to pages with specific information that they are looking for.
c. connections to other complimentary
products and services offered by other companies.
Links are one of the most commonly used
methods for categorizing and arranging information on your web pages.
They can be a great way to break up overwhelming amounts of information
down into manageable chunks for your visitors. However, remember
that while several visitors to your website may end up at the same
location, they are not always looking with the same motivation or
from the same perspective. Each visitor may even have completely
different motivations for being at your site. Do not be afraid to
duplicate a particular link in different arrangements. Do not be
afraid to place links both on your home pages and on other internal
pages. It is much easier for a visitor to see another regrouping
of related links on an internal page rather than forcing them back
to your home page. There is nothing worse than making it difficult
or impossible for a visitor to get "there" from "here".
Another concept that rarely seems to
be used is using a hyperlink to open a whole new browser window.
This has some minor drawbacks and some major benefits. One drawback
is that the visitor may become confused and not realize that you
have opened a second browser window for them. This can be partially
overcome by making sure that the secondary new browser is opened
in a smaller window than the current window they selected from.
This will show the visitor that the window they started from is
still there. A second drawback to this process is that the visitor
may lose track of the browser window open to your page. There are
some simple rebuttals to this concern. Not opening a separate browser
window assures that the visitor is going to close your page and
go to another. Even if the visitor loses track of the window open
to your page, and it becomes buried, the user will eventually start
closing windows and miraculously find your page still open on their
desktop. Your page is the last page the visitor sees.
There are several benefits to this method.
One, your page never really gets closed. When the visitor starts
closing windows, they will eventually come across yours again. Essentially,
this at least gives you one more chance that the visitor is going
to return to your open page. In most cases, this is more likely
than the visitor accidentally reopening your window by entering
your address. Second, if your link is opening a new browser window
to somewhere on one of your own pages, this allows your visitor
to view several of your pages simultaneously. Third, if you are
using links to competitor's pages to compare products, leaving your
page open increases the likelihood that your visitor will not go
to your competitor's page and stay there, not returning to yours.
Why should I link to other websites?
Many companies are deathly afraid of
putting links to other company websites. Some are even convinced
that it is just plain wrong. They even have a strong argument against
it that goes something like: "I would not put a page from some
other company in my ad or brochure, so why should I do it on my
website?" This probably sounds like a very valid argument,
and in some cases it may be true. However, for the majority of companies
with websites, this is a mistaken thought process.
If your company is selling a product
online, the odds are that you will NOT be selling everything the
consumer needs to either purchase or use your product. In the vast
majority of cases, your customer needs something else to use or
buy your product that you don't supply. You have two choices. Attempt
to sell them your product as it is and then let them fend for themselves
for the rest of the puzzle, or help your customer with every aspect
of the purchase. Business owners putting up websites need to get
past the thought process of: "I only care about what I sell,
the other stuff is someone else's concern", or "I only
get one shot at a customer, I have to sell them my widget immediately
the first time they see my site, or I don't care about them".
This is a very short sighted view of how to run a website and a
business. There are always going to be those customers that simply
look for the best price and do not care about service. If you want
to dig to the bottom of the barrel and compete for that customer,
simply put your incredible deal on your home page and wait 10 minutes
for the next guy to beat your price. The fact is most of these types
of customers have very little money to spend with your company in
the first place.
For the rest of you who plan to be here
tomorrow, you need to endear your customers to you. Look at companies
like Home Depot. You can go in and ask questions all day long and
not buy a single item. They are glad to help you anyway they can.
They want you to feel good about coming into their store. They know
you may not buy today, but you will tomorrow. If they make you feel
so secure that someone is going to hold your hand, they know you
will buy from them, even if it is not at rock bottom pricing. In
a recently opened Home Depot, I was told that they had a new policy.
If a customer asked where something is, DO NOT TELL THEM, SHOW THEM
TO IT! (yes, I do shop at Home Depot and yes, I do own stock in
that company). I refer to that company not because I own stock in
it, but I purchased stock in that company for the same reasons that
I refer to it, they seem to know something about marketing themselves
to their customers and it is paying off. I assist many of my clients
with their various computer problems (not necessarily web related).
I also advise them on purchasing the proper computer from some other
source (99% of the time, this would be my competition). I almost
NEVER charge for this advice. I also tell them that they could get
a better price from many other sources. Better than 90% of the time,
customers get such a comfortable feeling that I am not attempting
to sell them a bill-of-goods just to make a buck, they insist that
I sell the equipment and/or do the installation and configuration
work for them.
Linking with other companies can
also go two ways. Find complimentary companies that provide services
and/or products that go with yours. CALL THEM ON THE PHONE and talk
to a marketing person. In many cases, they have the same problems
as you. They can not sell their product or service until someone
purchases yours. Make an agreement for mutual links. You may even
want to exchange some website material with each other and put their
information onto your website directly. They will do the same. This
is called a mutual link.
You have to be a little careful about this. There may be several
complementary companies out there. Putting links to just one or
two on your page may alienate others. This usually can be overcome
by adding mutual links to these other companies.
There are a number of companies that
actually go out of their way to get links to both complementary
sites and even competitive sites. While these "link happy sites"
tend to be for consulting type services, they apply equally to product
oriented companies. If you can get enough links to other companies,
you may be able to become known as a resource center that people
looking for a particular product type will always go to first. They
know that they can find information about their particular subject
at your site. Of course, your products and services are always prominently
listed at the top of the links. This can work especially well if
your product or service is one small part of a larger overall product
or service or if you are the "little guy" in the middle
of a big cog. Information and links can make you look like the expert.
There is another huge reason to get
linked to other sites and get them to link to yours. As I discuss
in the section titled: "Search Engines: Good, Bad, 10 or 10,000?",
search engines are a great source of new referrals to your website.
With over 1 billion (and exploding) indexable pages on the Internet,
the demand to get a high ranking or listing in a search engine is
becoming incredible. One thing that the major search engines are
currently looking for is the continued flow of traffic over the
Internet. One of the grading parameters (search engine use a grading
system to rank how websites will be listed in searches) search engines
use is: "how willing are you to link to other pages?'. In essence,
they want to know if you are going to hold people at your site,
or are you willing to share the referral with others via links.
Links to other sites can give you a big boost in the rankings.
© 2001 - Barry
Wroobel - Discovery Data Systems, inc.
(note: Set left and right printer margins
to 0.25" for printing)
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