Linking Strategies: Be Prepared.

Okay. You've paid attention, and you've made a conscious decision not to obsess over your site's PageRank, (see PageRank Obsession.). You've submitted to Yahoo, signed up for Google AdWords, created a Resource/links page, and made the commitment to add several incoming links each week, (see Open For Business... Now What?.).

Before you start requesting links from other sites, however, it can be very helpful to create a text file of site descriptions. Sites vary on the number of words and/or characters they allow for descriptions. Spending the time to create a "swipe file" of descriptions will make the task of submitting your site go a lot smoother.

Because you will usually need to know the word count, character count, or both, it helps to put these above the description, like this:

words: 19 characters: 143
Private collection of Royalty Free Stock Photography for web or print applications. Featuring Oregon, outdoor, scenics, and floral photography.

Be sure and create a description for as few as 80 characters and as many as 300, with at least one just under 255. Vary the use of your primary key phrases. If you have separate areas of interest on your site, for example, you sell stock photography and have a forum for photographers, you will want descriptions specific to each area:

words: 30 characters: 242
Collection of exclusive Royalty Free Photos available for either design professionals or consumers. Specializing in Oregon, scenic, and floral photography. Secure online ordering with electronic delivery. Featuring Newton's Photography Forum.

words: 38 characters: 229
Experienced photographers share their techniques and insights into the exciting world of photography. From Film to digital, get the inside scoop on what to do, and what not to do, to get great photos. Newbies encouraged to join.

Titles are important too. However, many sites require the official name of the site. If you have a choice, be sure to use a variety of your key phrases: "Royalty Free Stock Photography", "Stock Photography", "Photography for Web Design", "Affordable Stock Photos", etc. You'll get the most return for your hard work if you do.

While your efforts should be to bring in traffic from the sites you're listed on, remember, the search engines look at your anchor text to determine the focus of your web site. The search engines are getting smarter, too. If the anchor text for all of your incoming links is identical, the weight of the link may be devalued to some extent.

Once you have your "swipe file", you're ready to roll.