Is anyone an expert in exchanging links? Or can you just answer a couple of questions?

I have been told that it is better to exchange links only with sites that are related to mine. For example I sell wedding favors and wedding related products and some baby stuff so is it best for me to link to wedding related sites (bakers photographers florists dj's and so on) or does it matter? Does any one know?



And



Is it true that text links are better than banners, for the simple fact that search engines can't read/see images and a banner is an image?

Any other advice on trading links would be great too! Thank you!

Is anyone an expert in exchanging links? Or can you just answer a couple of questions?
It is far better to exchange links with sites whose audience is similar to yours. However, you can't know whether someone browsing a site for a toy for their nephew isn't also planning wedding. The more links you have the better, but they need to be quality links. Download the Google toolbar and check that those sites you are interested in have a high Page Rank - 4 or above is best.



You can also find out which sites get a lot of traffic using the Alexa toolbar.



Always look for complementary not competitive sites when trying to find links in your niche, so your list is a good start.



Banners come under advertising rather than links, and as such you usually need to pay for them. The code behind the banner, which the search engine sees, will include (usually) a link to your website URL. However, many times it goes through the ad agency/banner exchange URL and therefore the search engine may not see your URL on that page. Therefore, a text link is better.



Another reason why a text link is better is that many people screen out banners and don't even notice them. A text link can be incorporated into an article or within the page content where it is most relevant.



If you want to trade links, take a good look at the website first, find the place where a link would be best for their audience, and contact them with an email showing you have actually visited their site and thought about the mutual benefits of linking, and offer them a link on your site. It is often good to have put their link on to your site first so they can see you are serious. And you never know what may come of contacting them and persuading them to look at what you offer, or they could offer you and your customers.



Good luck!

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