On the next two pages we discuss reciprocal linking and one-way inbound linking. There is also intersite linking and then there is external linking, where you link off to other sites.

Initially all business owners get in a huff and say they don't, or won't, link to another website. They figure they are trying so blasted hard to get traffic to their site that the last thing they are going to do is provide that hard earned visitor a link to another site.

Problem with this philosophy is that, if you don't have any links out to other sites, you probably aren't listed on any search engines. The fact is that. Exactly that.

If you have no external, outbound links, you are what is called an internet dead end. Oh my goodness. A dead what did you say? You're a dead end. There is no where else to go. Get it? No, I'm not kidding, and I'm not going to get fancy and call is a Cul de Sac, it's a web breaker, a spider masher, a ... dead end.

The term was coined, I think perhaps by Google, for a site that leads no where. The basic fact of the Internet, and the WWW, is that it's all intertwined together, sites linking to sites, linking to sites. That is why they call it the web. That is why the search engines call their indexing software spiders.

So, the very basic nature of the WWW is to have sites link to other sites. You need to be part of the web, or you won't be part of the web.

Inter-site linking is basically nothing more than navigation from page to page at your site. You really want to provide easy to follow navigation, for people, but also for the engines to find your site. As well, keep in mind the value of the text used in the link. You will define your site by the keywords used in the anchor text. Don't use "click here" or other phrases that don't help to define the target page. Use a key phrase that is exactly what the page is about. Hint: Use different key phrases as anchor text throughout the site to help define the particular pages with differing keywords and phrases. Be sure to keep the anchor text relevant to the particular page.