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A Traffic-Generating, Reciprocal Link RobotTeacher: June Campbell I recently downloaded and installed Zeus. He's a powerful robot that builds a directory of themed, reciprocal links. Zeus searches the web for sites that match the keywords that you have taught him. If you accept the site that Zeus finds, you assign that site to a category of your choice. Zeus also allows you the option of sending personalized emails to webmasters asking for reciprocal links. When a link is reciprocated, you elevate that web site to the status of Link Partner. Zeus creates your directory automatically and uploads it to your web site using his built-in FTP capabilities. Why bother? Because with a Zeus directory, your site traffic will increase dramatically. Search engine ranking depends partially on link popularity. While being listed in FFA sites won't do you much good, the engines love themed, reciprocal links. More importantly, the traffic you generate will be targeted visitors with an interest in your content. If you sell health care products, your themes could include vitamins, nutritional supplements and herbal products. You would attract visitors with this interest, rather than those looking for sports pages or video games or dating services. Since my directory has only been up a week, I can't personally testify to a traffic increase. Zeus' web page contains testimonials from satisfied users, but I've been around long enough to know that not all testimonials are genuine. Instead, I went looking for a webmaster who uses who uses a professional version of Zeus. I located Gene Schallert, Founder of A Better Server.com (http://www.abetterserver.com/). Schallert is a web designer specializing in web positioning. Since he began using Zeus in late January, his web traffic has seen a 4000% increase. "I have been in the web positioning business for four years. When I discovered Zeus I started Praising God. It has saved me so much time over the conventional methods used to acquire links," he wrote. "… in comparison with old methods, Zeus cuts that processing time by 80%." Effective directory building is important to Schallert. He builds his corporate clients enormous directories containing as many as 5000 reciprocal links. Zeus' web site shows server logs from 2-3 Zeus enabled sites. The traffic increase is phenomenal. Again, I was a little skeptical. However, Schallert reassured me on that point as well. "I really liked the server logs. I know how to read that boring data, since I run a web server for my customers. That information sold me on the reality of what Zeus could or could not do. I plan on writing a CGI program that is similar to the Zeus site which will show my site's server logs to the public, too. You can not fake those logs, if they did it would take 30 people working day and night to produce data for 1000's of hits. Who has that kind of time?" Zeus is not for everybody. You need a good understanding of Internet and computer skills. And time is a factor. After the Zeus bot is "trained" and the automatic features are enabled, Zeus can find 1000's of compatible sites for you very quickly. However, when you're starting, expect to spend some serious hours getting Zeus up and running. You will also experience a bit of a learning curve at first, but Zeus comes with a good Help File and tech support is awesome. Zeus' demo version is free, provided you launch your first directory within 14 days of the download. Fail that test, and Zeus dies. However, if you pass the 14-day test, you can use the demo version permanently and you can build as many different directories as you want. Although the free version works adequately, the Pro Version eliminates the built in banner and allows complete customization of the link directory using templates. It will seamlessly integrate into your site's design. You also receive fast answers from tech support should you need it. Well worth the price of $195.00 I'm enthusiastic about this product. I'll keep you informed about traffic generation as time goes by. About the teacher: |