Link to your competitors?

[DanHaynes]

You should, according to this article:

http://eu.techcrunch.com/2010/07/07/startups-linking-to-your-competition-will-help-you-no-really/

I think I agree

Will it make any difference in terms of SEO?

 

I take it the guys never been in the retail business.

I link to competitors in the USA and other distant lands ,but not the UK my main area of operation.

Earl

 

[Ali-v-8]

I think he is talking twaddle.
Do you think SKY broadcasting service would link to Virgin Media.
There is no deficiency in links at all. Google sources links and decides if they like them or not.
Page rank (the green bar as he describes) is relevant to links. The more authoritative the website the better the link.
But its better to link from a page rank 3 relevant website than a page rank 5 totally irrelevant site.

But a link is a link and that's the long and short of it.

 

[seo next]

Interesting !!!
Earl, Michael Arrington wont hire just any lad to write on tech crunch..
A bad post on TC can make google shares value fall down ..

Although i am myself not fully convinced with the suggestions but if its for mutual benefit why not ?

 

[DanHaynes]

This might vary depending on what your website is doing/selling but I was thinking if I found links to competitors on a website I would think 'these guys are confident enough in their product/service to link to their competitors'. So I think this maybe a plus in the minds of many potential customers.

 

[mobyme]

It's ludicrous; it's like having a sign on your shop door saying "Try the shop next door".

 

[daveashe]

Yeah right, i'm really going to put links to competitors on my website.

Maybe if i'm reviewing all the services in the area and i happen to do the same thing (and mention this fact) but i would never put that on my website.

Maybe links to wikipedia or kiva.org, but not competitors (unless its an affiliate link!)

 

[FunkyBears]

If you have a number of sites that are 'Competitors' ie competing with each other then it must be benificial linking to them? I'm not sure advice needed please.

 

[MASSEY]

But whats wrong with making the links look the same as the rest of your text, and hope the site visitor does not scroll over it?

 

[I, Brian]

The article reads as a bit naive, but there's nothing necessarily wrong with linking to competitors.

In a lot of niche and cottage industries, competitors are happy to set up link exchanges. As these are from established and very on topic sites, it tends to be one of the rare instances of where I'd actually recommend considering a link exchange seriously.

While a number of these small industries will have some stock overlap, there is nothing wrong with recommending another website for anything not being stocked - in fact, the more niche your industry, the more likely a page showing links to different stockists can actually became a useful informational page for book marking in its own right as opposed from being just a link exchange page.

Also, independent shop keepers on the high street will often recommend alternative stockists if they cannot help.

2c .

 

[JElder]

It's an interesting idea - possibly one that is reflected in the clicks and mortar retailing world.

Certainly in the past, you would get certain streets dominated by a trade - jewellers, tailors, etc. The density of that service would draw people from a far greater distance than a single shop would, leading to increased trade and status for all of them (think Harley Street doctor or Savile Row tailor).

No idea how this analogy maps to internet only sales though...

 

[Spock]

I think it depends where you put their link. If it's on a page which isn't one of your main ones then it should be ok because of the age old theory that if a customer has found that link then they haven't found what they want on your site so you have already lost the customer.

People look at your products before looking at a links page or other internal ones.