Sometimes companies get a little crazy about who links to their stuff, but linking is really the power of the web and without it, we’d just have boring text on a page. When someone links to your site, they’re a referrer in analytics terms – they’re referring people to your site. Sometimes this is done as a way of using your content or services for their own benefit, but if people have to get to your site to see that content or use the service, the referrer is sending people to your site. That’s a good thing right?
Not Always Such a Good Thing
In the cases where another site takes your content and displays it in full on their site, whether or not they give you credit, is probably a bit out of line. It’s considered ok to quote from someone’s content and link back to the original, but it’s usually not ok to completely copy content without permission (unless they’ve given you that right with some type of creative commons or copyright license).
Endorsement & SEO Juice
When someone links to your site or service (like if you have an online product), they’re recommending that information or service to their readers. This is a good way to build reputation online and get additional traffic. If you see someone linking to you, it may be a good idea to reach out to them to say hi and learn more about them (maybe build a relationship). Any links to your site also help your search engine rankings, so while Google frowns upon trading links (and certainly upon buying them), linking to content that is helpful to your visitors is considered good practice.
Not Necessarily Competitors
So, someone who links to your site or online products or services isn’t necessarily your competitor (there’s a good chance they’re not), but even if they are, there may be the opportunity to work together to help each other. There are very few markets and industries where there isn’t room for everyone and sometimes a good partnership can build both companies.
How do you build relationships with your referrers?
(photo by ChrisL AK @ Flickr CC)
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