The internet is an integrated medium. Your site is not a discrete entity, but part of a global network of sites. Choose any site and keep following links from page to page and from site to site and the chances are you won't ever reach an end (unless you visit this page!).

Your site should reflect this reality and it makes sounds business sense to do so. Having links from as many other related sites as possible provides you with an additional means of generating traffic to your site. In order to attain these links, you should embark on what is commonly know as a "link-building campaign".

The first step is to determine what sites are currently linking to you. You can consult your web-server log files to find this information, but the smarter way is to do a "link search" from a search engine such as Google. Go to the main search page and type "link: " followed by your website address. For example "link: www.mission-systems.com" will bring up a list of all pages which point to our site. This enables you with a clear view of the types of companies that are already linking to you, some of which you may know about, and some you may not.

Using this information you can target sites where it will be valuable for you to have a link to your site. This is a manual process and you should contact the site owner directly (visit the site and look around for contact information). The best way to persuade sites to link to you, is by returning the favour i.e. by offering a reciprocal link from your site.

With certain sites it may be possible to go past just a basic link and actually provide them with content as well. This works where it adds value to their site and is a useful resource for their audience. In turn, this will provide better value for you and increase the likelihood of receiving a visitor from that link.

Reciprocal linking has other benefits too. Some search engines, such as Google, rate your site based on "link popularity". This gives you higher placement in the search engine rankings based upon the popularity of site you link from and are linked by. And the more links you have to and from your site, the higher you will be placed.