Link exchange
Encyclopedia
A link exchange is a confederation of website
s that operates similarly to a web ring. Webmaster
s register their web sites with a central organization, that runs the exchange, and in turn receive from the exchange HTML
code which they insert into their web pages. In contrast to a web ring, where the HTML code simply comprises simple circular ring navigation hyperlink
s, in a link exchange the HTML code causes the display of banner advertisement
s, for the sites of other members of the exchange, on the member web sites, and webmasters have to create such banner advertisements for their own web sites.
The banners are downloaded from the exchange. A monitor on the exchange determines, from referral information
supplied by web browser
s, how many times a member web site has displayed the banner advertisements of other members, and credits that member with a number of displays of its banner on some other member's web site. Link exchanges usually operate on a 2:1 ratio, such that for every two times a member shows a second member's banner advertisement, that second member displays the first member's banner advertisement. This page impressions:credits ratio is the exchange rate.
One of the earliest link exchanges was LinkExchange
, a company that is now owned by Microsoft
.
Link exchanges have advantages and disadvantages from the point of view of those using the World Wide Web
for marketing
. On the one hand, they have the advantages of bringing in a highly targeted readership (for link exchanges where all members of the exchange have similar web sites), of increasing the "link popularity" of a site with Web search engine
s, and of being relatively stable methods of hyperlinking. On the other hand, they have the disadvantages of potentially distracting visitors away to other sites before they have fully explored the site that the original link was on.
Feig notes several aspects of link exchange companies that prospective members take into account:
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s that operates similarly to a web ring. Webmaster
Webmaster
A webmaster , also called a web architect, web developer, site author, or website administrator is a person responsible for maintaining one or many websites...
s register their web sites with a central organization, that runs the exchange, and in turn receive from the exchange HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
code which they insert into their web pages. In contrast to a web ring, where the HTML code simply comprises simple circular ring navigation hyperlink
Hyperlink
In computing, a hyperlink is a reference to data that the reader can directly follow, or that is followed automatically. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text with hyperlinks...
s, in a link exchange the HTML code causes the display of banner advertisement
Web banner
A web banner or banner ad is a form of advertising on the World Wide Web delivered by an ad server. This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking to the website of the advertiser...
s, for the sites of other members of the exchange, on the member web sites, and webmasters have to create such banner advertisements for their own web sites.
The banners are downloaded from the exchange. A monitor on the exchange determines, from referral information
HTTP referer
The referrer, or HTTP referrer — also known by the common misspelling referer that occurs as an HTTP header field — identifies, from the point of view of an Internet webpage or resource, the address of the webpage The referrer, or HTTP referrer — also known by the common misspelling...
supplied by web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
s, how many times a member web site has displayed the banner advertisements of other members, and credits that member with a number of displays of its banner on some other member's web site. Link exchanges usually operate on a 2:1 ratio, such that for every two times a member shows a second member's banner advertisement, that second member displays the first member's banner advertisement. This page impressions:credits ratio is the exchange rate.
One of the earliest link exchanges was LinkExchange
LinkExchange
LinkExchange was a popular internet advertising cooperative, originally known as Internet Link Exchange or ILE.It was founded in March 1996 by 23-year-old Harvard graduates Tony Hsieh and Sanjay Madan. Ali Partovi later joined them as a third partner...
, a company that is now owned by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.
Link exchanges have advantages and disadvantages from the point of view of those using the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
for marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
. On the one hand, they have the advantages of bringing in a highly targeted readership (for link exchanges where all members of the exchange have similar web sites), of increasing the "link popularity" of a site with Web search engine
Web search engine
A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web and FTP servers. The search results are generally presented in a list of results often referred to as SERPS, or "search engine results pages". The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other...
s, and of being relatively stable methods of hyperlinking. On the other hand, they have the disadvantages of potentially distracting visitors away to other sites before they have fully explored the site that the original link was on.
Feig notes several aspects of link exchange companies that prospective members take into account:
- Banners that are animated images result in member web sites taking a long time to load. Some companies impose restrictions on animation lengths.
- The size, in bytes, of a banner is important, affecting both how long it takes to load and how long it takes to render the web site displaying the banner.
- Control over the subjects of advertisements is important. Some companies offer guarantees that advertisements will be restricted to certain subjects, will not include advertisements for pornography, and so forth.
- Companies that provide mechanisms to design banners for webmasters often use automated facilities, where the generated banner design is not reviewed by a human being.