Quid pro quo, or reciprocity, is a concept that has long been used in business. It is much like the old “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” adage. Even competitors can agree to disagree long enough to effect good online promotion and SEO benefits for each other.
The same philosophy holds true for online businesses. Promotion and marketing are much more effective when they are multiplied across a group of partners.
Take these suggestions into account in order to use the power of quid pro quo for marketing your online venture and also to form part of your overall SEO schedule.
Link Sharing
Whether you are into affiliate marketing or marketing your own products, building links is one of the most effective SEO methods a website owner can undertake. While links that connect the pages on your website are crucial to good SEO, building incoming links from other sites is also vital.
One way to do this is by exchanging links with a related site, most often on the “links” page or on the blogroll list. The higher the page ranking and authority of the site you share a link with, the greater the benefit to you. This is a great method to use as a part of your blog linking strategy.
Blog Commenting
Perhaps one of the hardest things about getting a blog to gain high ranking in the search engines – especially for a new blog, is attracting comments to your posts. If you are having difficulty getting readers to leave a comment, consider soliciting other blog owners to do so in exchange for the same. Often just one blog comment gets the ball rolling and induces readers to start an online conversation.
The longer you keep at this, the quicker you will gain more subscribers. If possible, subscribe to the sites you comment on so that you can continue to participate in a discussion that you may start. This could bring people to your site.
Another benefit of blog commenting? If it is a dofollow blog, you get a valuable inbound link to your site. Try using the URL of a particular page you are trying to optimise (if the dofollow parameters will allow the particular URL extension you are utilising).
Testimonials
If you try a product and like it, consider letting the business owner know by posting a testimonial to its quality on your blog. This can be a great SEO boost in several ways. For one thing, it allows you to build an outbound link from your site to the address of the vendor’s site. Forward it to the vendor and you’ll also get a backlink when it is posted on their site.
Finally, the quid pro quo concept of marketing nearly always assures that you will receive the same in return, if at all possible. If it doesn’t occur naturally, go ahead and ask; you will be losing nothing if the other party refuses.
Reciprocity is a very valuable form of marketing. Even your competitors can become strong allies when you agree to cross post comments, testimonials, and share links. Quid pro quo is an excellent way to improve your SEO and to enhance your overall internet marketing strategy.
Sean Rasmussen
Aussie Internet Marketer
Learn Affiliate Marketing with Year Of The Affiliate © 2012
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Sean,
Once I started to learn internet marketing, it became apparent really quickly that this is a team sport. It’s all about building relationships and networking with people with like-minded goals.
Now I just need to find bloggers with high pageranking blogs to exchange links and do some deals with.
.-= Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Learn and Earn – It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint =-.
Hi Sean,
I see. Scratching each others back for promotional benefits. I am learning more about SEO and what the search engines want for high ranking purposes.
I would need to find a site I liked to promote and hope they feel the same about me and my site. I’m learning the most about blog commenting and how good comments can ad value to a blog site and vice versa.
.-= Jill Brown´s last blog ..Couples Marry at Common Law =-.
Your suggestions of quid-pro-quo with supporting each other is great – even so I have to admit that I would be a bit shy to ask the other to do that. Which is strange, as I can imagine to react positive to such a request myself.
Ok, convinced – I will move outside my comfort zone and ask for a return if it doesn’t happen naturally!
.-= Renee´s last blog ..The Best Way To Get Motivated =-.
Hi Renee,
I think it helps if you remember that the other person is going to get something out of it as well. It’s a win win situation for both of you. Besides, the other person is probably also a little worried about approaching you.
So, I think we should both get out of our comfort zones and do something. You first.
.-= Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Finding Your Passion =-.
I guess you are right Jazz, and maybe I can start with the people I know
. So I will go and put some comments you your blog and you can put some onto mine 
Thanks in advance
.-= Renee´s last blog ..Self Improvement Books – What Are Your Favourites =-.
Perhaps for practice a good place to start is with our group in this comp Renee. I would be happy to swap links or consider any other suggestions, such as commenting on a blog
I had already been thinking and asked one ‘business owner’ about trading links but hadn’t thought about maybe trading a comment.
You like mine and I’ll like yours. Having said that of course it has to be a true endorsement. People smell a porky a mile away. (No I’m not getting into the bacon business!)
This is all more food for thought!
This is exactly what is happening in the YOTA forum as we speak and it has really helped my site to gain places in google for particular keywords. I am now more consious about leaving comments on other peoples sites if I like what they have to say as I now no this will help them greatly and they will hopefully return the favour.
.-= Jackie Stenhouse´s last blog ..Types of Child Anxiety Disorder =-.
I am a believer in the do-follow movement. The Internet was setup as a collaborative environment and it is a shame in a way that many websites and blogs implement no-follow.
I also implement do-follow on my blog as I would like people to comment and continue to revisit.