A link to one of my websites is required.  I must be able to navigate to your links page to find my link.  Therefore, your links page must be clearly and easily to recognize on your homepage.  If your website has a lot of external links, I would prefer if they are sorted into categories.  A page with just a list of links that are about everything and are not sorted or groped by category are not going to help your visitors and the search engines, especially Google.  It's my understanding that Google not only ranks websites based on the number of links pointing to that website (link popularity), but also based on the kind of websites the site links to, the number of links on the page, and the Google page rank of the website.

For example, it's best that sites link to other sites with related content and you can certainly expand your view of what's related content (Ex. My first link offers web design services, but I'll accept link exchanges from any website that's computer related from hardware, software, computer repair shops to IT (Information Technology), etc.  Ex2. My second link is my personal site about autism, so I'll accept mental health sites (depression, bipolar, anxiety, ADHD, etc.) and also certain general health and vitamin sites and of course other sites about autism or Asperger Syndrome, including all developmental disorders).

The number of links on a page is also important as fewer links the higher Google would consider that link as value.  It's best not to have more than 50 external links on a page, but in my opinion 50 links is a lot for a visitor to scan down, so I limit my links to 30 per page and they are organized.  And also, links within content carry a higher value of a site by Google than just a list of links on a page.  But I think having unique descriptions for each link helps rather then just having a page of links with no descriptions or worst no title of the websites when you click on the link (sure people might be able to tell have the website is about by the domain for some websites, but I think Google would find a list of links without titles or descriptions as worthless).  Also, using link exchange services or software is never recommended (sure, it's an easy way out, but from what I read Google considers links that are manually added as more important then links that are automatically added).  I manually add my links and I do use www.linkmarket.com just to find link partners and I don't use their automatic link management system even though some sites I exchanged links with do.  Also, I don't like sites who refer to their links page as "link partners" or "link exchanges" or anything that tells the visitor that the page was created for the purpose of exchanging links.  I like links pages referred to as "links" or "resources" or "web links" or anything that suggests the page was created to share resources with their visitors.  Also, I've seen some sites have multiple link directories called for example "links 2" or "More Resources," which these are likely from a link exchange directory.  I don't think using these services helps with a Google page rank and if you use them, only use one service.  Having multiple link directories sorted by category looks weird especially if the categories are similar in each directory.

Of course getting a link on a high Google page rank site would have more value then a link on a low page rank site.  My Google page rank is 4/10 for my web design site, 3/10 for my personal autism site, and 2/10 for my Andy Griffith, dairy, and capital punishment sites.  So, I only make it a habit to exchange links with sites of page rank 2 or above.  I'll consider page rank 1 sites based on their content.  I'll stay away from sites with no page rank because Google may have banned it for doing unethical linking or web design practices and if I link to a website that is banned, that may hurt my own ranking.  Google knows web designers can't control who links to them (so Google won't penalize a website because someone else is linking to them), but Google can penalize a website for linking to a site that is penalized by Google.  So, it's important to take into consideration the sites you link to.

Here's a site about Search Engine Optimization (SEO): consulting seo

But I may make an exception in linking to a site with no page rank in some cases because I know how hard it is to get a page rank from Google.  My website was up for 6 months before I got a page rank or my page rank became 1 (some days I had a page rank and some days I didn't).  So, it takes time for new websites to get a page rank from Google, but having no page rank doesn't mean the site isn't indexed and found by the search engine (for example, I Google my name, Eric Sissom, and still found my site as the number one result when I didn't have a page rank, but if I Google anything else, such as web design, of course I didn't (and still don't) find it because that's too general).

On a side note, Google.com is the only site that I know of that has a 10/10 page rank and I think Google fixed it like that because they're the ones who created the page rank system, which is provided in the Google toolbar.  Yahoo! used to have a 10/10 page rank also, but their page rank went down to 9/10 a few years ago for unknown reasons.  MSN.com, AOL.com, Excite.com, Lycos.com, USAToday.com, MSNBC.com, and ABCNews.com all have a 8/10 page rank.  Surprisingly, CNN.com only has a 5/10 page rank.  As far as the three main TV network websites page rank, ABC.com is 8/10, CBS.com is 9/10, and NBC.com is 7/10.  CBSNews.com also has a 9/10, which beats USAToday, MSNBC, and ABCNews online.  So, that tells me CBS knows how to promote their websites and CNN didn't do a good job (no offense to CNN).  I would think all three main TV networks would have the same page rank, but this shows more people link to CBS then ABC then NBC.

If you'll like to link to any of my websites below, I'll also add your link on the links page of the other website.  First, add my link(s) that you choose to your website and then e-mail me at info@ericsissom.com (send me the title of your website, a brief description, category (see Link Directory), URL, and which of my websites you're linking to).  If you have a banner you'll like to use and if you'll link to two of my websites below, I'll include your banner on the appropriate links page.

If you send me a link request that I add your link first, I will and if my link is not added on your site within 2 weeks, I will remove your link if I don't hear from you or can't find my link anywhere on your site or links page.

About title and description:  Your website must include an appropriate title and description describing your website without promotional words, such as "good website", "best website ever", etc.  Write your description with the visitor in mind and in the third person.  Don't start your description with "My website is about" or "Our mission is."  For example, I used to have my description for my autism website start as "My experience with autism," but I reworded it (see below) to make it sound better if someone else was reading it.

You're welcome to suggest new categories for my directory.

If you don't want to link to any of these sites, you can use my advertising option.

Titles, descriptions, and URLs are below:

Title:  Eric's Web Design | Website Development | Tennessee

Description:  Web design services upon request. Designed informative websites: Personal (autism), issues (vaccines, dairy, ADHD, capital punishment), Andy Griffith, Nicholas Sparks, computer info (databases, Windows XP). About Eric, college papers, books, horoscopes, daily cartoon, & today in history.

URL:  http://www.ericsissom.com

Title:  Autism | Asperger Syndrome: A Personal Experience

Description:  Eric's experience with autism, the symptoms, what helped his condition, and an overall look of possible causes to autism, ADHD, or related disorders. Includes stories, his college papers, and links.

URL:  http://www.ericsissom.com/autism

Title: Health Issues You Never Thought Of

Description:  Vaccines, flu shot with mercury, cow's milk and dairy, Attention Defect Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), ritalin, anti-depressant use.

URL:  http://www.ericsissom.com/health_alternative

Title:  Is Capital Punishment Justified?

Description:  A research paper about the pros and cons of the death penalty.  Includes facts and statistics.

URL:  http://www.ericsissom.com/capital_punishment.htm

Title:  Cow's Milk and Dairy is Not Healthy as the Dairy Industry Wants You To Believe

Description:  About the harmful affects of dairy and reasons to avoid dairy products.

URL:  http://www.ericsissom.com/health_alternative/dairy.htm

Title:  Do the Drug Companies Have Our Best Interests at Heart?

Description:  Explains potential side effects from vaccinations (including flu shots) and medications. Also includes health news, resources, books, and links.

URL:  http://www.ericsissom.com/health_alternative/vaccines.htm

Title:  ADHD | ADD Truth

Description:  ADHD and Ritalin. Death caused by Ritalin with no overdose. Alternative treatments for ADHD/ADD. Links, books, and resources.

URL:  http://www.ericsissom.com/health_alternative/adhd.htm

Title:  Autism - Asperger's Syndrome Dietary Treatments

Description:  Describes how a change of diet can improve a person's life. Provides personal experience from a person with autism and links to other resources, including information and order special foods online.

URL:  http://www.ericsissom.com/autism/treatments.html

Title:  Andy Griffith Fan Website

Description:  Information about Andy Griffith, his personal life and acting career. Includes a biography and links to other fan websites, resources, and to shop.

URL:  http://andygriffith.atspace.com

Title:  Nicholas Sparks

Description:  Information about Nicholas Sparks, his personal life and writing career. Includes a biography and links.

URL:  http://www.ericsissom.com/sparks

Title: Understanding of Databases and their Purpose

Description: All about database management and administration, Microsoft Access and Excel, data mining, relational database, metadata, data security, and the history of databases. Includes a PowerPoint overview and a video.

URL: http://www.ericsissom.com/database

Link Directory  |  Return to Homepage