Believe it
or not, back in 2003 the concept of exchanging links was considered a positive internet
marketing tool. Below is a live example of one of my link exchange requests.
For some reason, instead of the email going to the webmaster to be sorted out
and deposited in the appropriate link category, my email was published in its
entirety where it still resides, at The Museum of Menstruation and Women’s Health
(affectionately known as MUM).
Here it is, in its naked vulnerability, exactly how it looks on the MUM website:
News, 24
February 2003, at MUM - Museum of Menstruation
Dear MUM,
I was wondering
if you would take a moment of your time to review the paintings displayed on my
site. The focus of my work is to celebrate, inspire, heal and empower women.
Through my works, I attempt to redefine Western femininity by reinterpreting
and revitalizing aspects of female embodiment to give them new positive
meaning. My philosophical outlook is Humanist/Womanist. I emphasize the
personal worth of the individual through her beauty, intellect, strength,
emotional, instinctual and intuitive qualities, as the central importance of
human values, as opposed to specific religious or cultural beliefs. Through my
images I create a new dialogue about female sexuality, reproduction and self
worth. The figures are iconographic, representing an all inclusive, universal
woman. My work contains a wealth of information about feminism, women's issues,
health, psychology, history, legend, myth and spiritual beliefs, all of which
have been interpreted by and created from the perspective of a female artist in
the 21st century. However, this said, I feel the impact and intention of my art
is reduced by being spoken -- what my art expresses cannot be translated into
mere words. I hope you will stop by for a visit to see for yourself and
hopefully consider adding my site to your Links section. I plan to add a link
to your site as soon as my web tech gets in gear. My site is still a work in
progress - I am adding a lot more written information that I think could be
very inspirational and useful to your viewers. One example of this is the
information I plan to include about Endometriosis in the Hysterikos Gallery
which is a series of paintings based on the Uterus. Thank you for your time and
consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Amy E.
Fraser
E-Mail: Amy@aefraser.com
Website: http://www.aefraser.com
Website
Description: Amy E. Fraser's provocative, colorful images evoke intense
emotion. These powerful paintings boldly express intimate and often painful
views of the female experience. Ancient iconography is re-envisioned to depict
modern womanhood from a fresh feminist perspective. The focus of the work is to
celebrate, inspire and empower women.
 |
| Hysterikos 13 by Amy E. Fraser |
Link Exchange, the activity of exchanging
links with other websites, became popular in the mid 90s, but is now considered
by most to be an outdated online marketing tactic. When Google first
started to explode, the earliest search engine optimizers learned that
exchanging links was a great way to “game” the search results. Today there are
many reasons why you shouldn’t do a link exchange, most importantly because a bad
link exchange can really hurt your website.
However, it is my understanding that there
are still some rare cases in which you really should consider it. For instance,
only exchange links when it makes sense, and it is an exchange that’s logical
and rational. In 2003 I felt the Museum of Menstruation was an ideal partner
for my target audience. I also believed that I had something of relevance to
offer in return. MUM is a quality website with rave reviews from The New York
Times and has been serving the public with helpful women’s health information for
23 years. I am honored to have my words featured on their pages since 2003.
Here are
some Link Exchange guidelines to consider:
Only
exchange links with quality, relevant websites.
Trade links
with a website when you share an audience.
Trade links
with a website that is educational or helpful to your users.
Trade links
with a website that can give you a lot of traffic.
Trade links
with a website that has a good archive of information that is related to your
website topic/niche.
Trade links
with a website that is not in competition with your website.
Trade links
with a website that is a high quality website.
Trade links
with a website that appears in search results with similar keywords.
I do not claim to be an expert on Search Engine
Optimization, but from my research, with a mere “layperson’s” understanding, it
sounds like old school link exchanges can still help, but the one-way links are
the best. Apparently exchanged links carry less weight compared to the one-way
links. Overall it is recommended that one should focus more on improving site
content and user-friendliness in order to attract others to give you the one-way
links, rather than you investing your time working for old school link
exchanges.
According to what I’ve read, the most
effective way to obtain one-way links is by writing smart engaging articles and
submitting them to popular blogs for publication or putting in the effort to
write and publish amazing original content on your own website and blog. While
this process will be horribly painful and time consuming, you will be more
likely to attain higher quality links and long term traffic results. Or at
least this is what I have garnered from my research and what I am working to
accomplish with the Amy E. Fraser Art Blog.
So, that’s what I know so far. I will continue
to share information as I relearn the ins and outs of internet art marketing. You
are welcome to watch as I crash and burn, or, hopefully, wildly succeed! Humble Brag: my former Exalted Beauty blog had amazing stats in its prime, you know, before
I abandoned it and then accidentally deleted all 1,500 posts. However, I must
clarify that at the time I was writing the Exalted Beauty blog, I was doing it
more as a personal update for friends and family and was not interested in the
business of online sales. I was more focused on working with my real world Art
Galleries, High End Retail stores and the private in person jewelry exhibitions.
Keep in mind that if you are just beginning,
the statistics on blog visibility are all about the long game. If you are starting
fresh, like I am, be fair warned that what you write today may not receive traffic
for many months to come. Some say it will be 12-18 months before your blog becomes
visible. I recommend doing some serious planning and research before you invest
too much of your time on blog designs or the “look”. Content is Queen as they say. Creating a successful blog is
about commitment, consistency and time investment. It will not be easy, but
nothing worthwhile ever is. Don’t worry; I plan to compile a basic list of blog
tips to help simplify things for us soon. In the meantime, I wish you the best
of luck in all of your art marketing endeavors!
For more Amy E. Fraser art and information go to Aefraser.com.
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