There is some debate within the world of SEO about the wisdom of using link exchanges. While it’s true that one-way links are valued much higher by search engines than are reciprocal links, there’s no need to avoid link exchanges completely. Here are 9 keys to creating quality link exchanges.

1. Has the page been cached by Google? This is the most important criterion for determining whether or not it’s worth exchanging links. If Google doesn’t know it exists, then there’s no sense in exchanging links, because if Google hasn’t cached it then it’s likely completely useless to both humans and search engines. And you don’t want to be associated with that.

2. Relevance. This is another key question. If you discover that it isn’t relevant to your topic, then it had better have a lot of other things going for it before you offer your link. The same goes for relevance to your search phrases. If it’s not, then it had better stand out in every other way.

3. How it is optimized? Believe it or not, some websites out there are actually optimized for the words “reciprocal links” and “link exchanges.” Talk about showing your hand. Don’t bother with these sites.

4. Is it part of an automated script? If so, you might as well just tell the search engines that your site is so bad that you can’t get your own links from other quality websites.

5. Prominence. Let’s say that the website you’d like to exchange links with isn’t guilty of any of the four previous issues. Now it’s time to start looking at the nitty-gritty, like how easy it is to find the page. How many clicks does it take to get there from a directory? If it’s two or more, it’s time to find another page to exchange with.

6. How many clicks deep is it? The further away it is from the homepage, the more you’re losing value from the link.

7. Quality. Overall website quality is definitely a consideration. Does it look like a site that you and potential customers would trust? Does it look professional? How does it rank for keywords that are similar to the ones you hope to rank for? Are the categories contained in the directory at least remotely related or are they completely random?

8. What kind of page is it? A link from a page full of content might compel you to look past many other egregious issues, particularly if the content is well-written, relevant, and helpful to visitors.

9. How many links are on the page? A good rule of thumb is to only use pages with 50 or fewer links. If there are more than 50, at least make sure that your link is close to the top of the page.

If you’re new to SEO and internet marketing, learning your way around inbound link building can be tricky at best. If you’re unclear about the best ways to build inbound links, consult with an SEO expert or internet marketing professional. They can help you determine how and when to go about building your links, and they can help you create an internet marketing plan that will take advantage not only of link building, but of a number of SEO strategies that can increase your search engine ranking and help you turn visitors into loyal customers.

The only real mistake you can make is trying to solve the SEO riddle by yourself. Your competitors are using a whole bag of tricks to optimize their websites. If you’re not, then you’re losing potential customers, potential revenue, and the chance to make your business the best it can possibly be.

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As a small business owner, you know how difficult it can be to determine appropriate prices for your goods and services. Ask too much and you’ll turn customers off to your business. Ask too little and you’ll be shortchanging yourself. The key to pricing all lies within the psychology of the consumer. Here are 8 strategies for playing into consumer psychology and coming out on top of the pricing game.

1. Promoting Satisfaction. If you haven’t done this yourself then you probably at least know someone who has…joining a gym that offers a one-time fee, going for the first few months, and then quitting only a few months after joining, even after paying for a full year! When consumers pay for a service regularly, say once a month, they perceive that service as having more value than a service they pay for only once. And when they perceive that it has value, they will continue to use it. Keep your customers satisfied by implementing monthly charges rather than one-time flat fees.
   
2. Use Nines. Consumers connect the number 0 to quality and the number 9 to value. So stop focusing on having the lowest price and start pricing your products and services according to this inherent rule. Have you ever noticed how many items are assigned a price of $X.99? That’s because people automatically associate products with lots of nines with high value.
   
3. Utilize Anchor Pricing. If a consumer is becoming familiar with a product for the first time, she will look to the model with the highest price to help her determine what to purchase for herself. This high price is called the anchor price. Grocery stores use this to their advantage by placing their generic brands next to name brands. Customers use the name brand prices as anchors and then quickly note that the generic brands run roughly 15% less than the name brands.
   
4. Let Prestige Pricing Work for You. People automatically assume that a higher-priced product is a higher-quality product. Many people are willing to drive out of their way and pay more for a cup of coffee at Starbucks than a cup of coffee at McDonalds, simply because they perceive Starbucks coffee to be of higher value. You can take advantage of prestige pricing by enhancing the packaging and delivery of your products and then charging more.
   
5. Suggest Prices. When you package several items or services together and then suggest an appropriate price, you increase the chances that customers will buy all of those items together. “Value meals” at fast food restaurants are a great example of this. Consider packaging your products together in a complementary way and then pricing them accordingly.
   
6. Play Up Small Losses. How many times have you seen commercials offering products that you can pay for in “just three easy installments of $19.99”? People find a price of $19.99 much more attractive and easy to manage than a one-time price of $59.97. And, as mentioned above, they will perceive the product to have greater value if they pay for it over a longer period of time.
   
7. Stuff the Bundle. If you’ve seen those commercials mentioned in the point above, you also know how popular it is to continue adding other products to the original offer. “If you act now, we’ll also include…” they say. The more products you add while keeping the original price the same, the more your customers will perceive that they’re getting a bargain.
   
8. Play up the Bargain. Everyone loves to feel like they’re getting a good deal, and nothing screams “good deal” like a big old banner reading “Sale” or “Discount.” Always let your customers know how your product compares to the rest of the market, especially if your products are comparable and your prices are lower.

Let these pricing strategies work for you and see how well your business grows!

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