Most industries have major associations and user groups whose recommendation carry a lot of weight. These are excellent Web sites from which to obtain links for gaining both targeted traffic and for increasing link popularity. However, they sometimes are the most difficult links to obtain. Saying, "I'll link to you if you link to me" often does not cut it if you're a smaller company.

One excellent link building strategy is to offer an affiliate program that pays the company a percentage of any sales resulting from the link. There are numerous affiliate programs and services on the market to help you do this. However, some of the most respected publications and associations shy away from joining affiliate programs. They fear that collecting money from their recommendation might taint their reputation for unbiased reporting.

However, many of these groups are also looking for ways to add value to their services. Some charge yearly membership dues, and therefore are always trying to find new ways to offer benefits that justify those dues.

One excellent industry example is the non-profit AAA automobile club. Starting out as a way to offer automobile discounts and services to its members, AAA now offers discounts on everything from shoes and eyeglass prescriptions, to discounted theme park tickets. Other industries have their own associations that also offer member discounts from time to time.

You'd be wise to approach these types of organizations and show them the products and services you could offer their members or readers. Propose setting up a Web page to offer their members a special discount of 10-20% off your products or services. Tell them if they'll agree to link to your site, or mention you in their newsletter, you'll provide this discount for free. They can then pass along special savings to their customers and the organization looks like a "hero" for negotiating such a great discount for their members.

If that doesn't peak their interest, try offering them a cut of the profits too. Tell them you'll provide a 10% discount to their customers and a 10% commission to them. That way everyone benefits. If the organization is particularly large or important, offer them some kind of "exclusive" bonus or benefit that they can pass on to their customers. Every company likes to offer something exclusively that no one else can offer.

This article is copyrighted and has been reprinted with permission from FirstPlace Software, the makers of WebPosition Gold. FirstPlace Software helped define the SEO industry with the introduction of the first product to track your rankings on the major search engines and to help you improve those rankings. A free trial of WebPosition Gold is available from their Web site.

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