There are several ways to get traffic to a website. We can buy ads on high-traffic websites. We can purchase pay-per-click traffic through search engines. We can pay to have our sites optimized for good natural search rankings. But there are also some free ways to get traffic.

Some free traffic isn’t worth the time spent to get it. Autosurf programs, for example, may provide traffic, but it’s not quality traffic that will translate into dollars for us. Getting links from other sites can result in more search traffic as well as click-throughs, but only if they are the right kinds of links. Free-for-all pages will post any link you like, but they are frowned upon by the search engines and will spam your inbox like there’s no tomorrow. The link exchange is a much better option.

Just like it sounds, a link exchange involves you placing a link on your site in exchange for that site’s webmaster linking to you. Why would someone want to do that, you ask? Because it’s beneficial for both parties. Here’s what link exchanges can do for you and your link partners:

• A relevant link exchange can bring a significant amount of click-through traffic to both sites. When one site links to another site that appeals to the same audience, there’s a good chance that visitors will click that link for more information.
• Getting links from relevant sites lends credibility. This can help both you and your link partners build your brands.
• Trading links can help you rank better for your targeted keywords. By requesting that your link partner link to your site with a keyword you’re seeking search placement for, you give the search engines more reason to consider your site relevant for it. You can do the same for the site you’re linking to.
• The more links you have coming in, the higher your site will rank for all relevant keywords. Inbound links are very important to most search engines, and they give more weight to pages that have more links. If all other factors are the same between your page and another one for a certain keyword, and your page has more incoming links, your page should rank higher in search results.
• Exchanging links is great for webmasters on a budget. When combined with good search engine optimization, relevant link building can produce results that rival those of expensive advertising and pay-per-click campaigns.

Finding quality link partners may take some time, but it will pay off. And it is actually much easier to obtain link exchanges than you might think. Even if you have a relatively unknown site, many established webmasters appreciate the potential for future benefits and will gladly trade links with you.