Linking off your site?
 

Well, in the never ending saga that is internet marketing, I come across sites that I can post my info for free, as long as I link them on my site.

I have 'both sides on the fence' opinions about linking to sites that would take someone off my site.

So, if anyone wants to chime in, and since I woke up this morning still not the smartest cookie in the bunch, I'd love to hear.

There are a bunch of sites out there that you can post on without having to post their info as well... Obviously craigslist, but there is also Party-Pop and Gathering Guide. We have gotten a decent amount of calls from just having a standard free listing. I'm not completely sure of what you are asking, if anything. Are you just looking for more ways to get exposure for your site?

I was wondering what your, anyones, opinion is about linking to portal sites off of your site.

yep
 

I have heard of, and use, several of these portal sites. it seems like every month or so, someone is starting another portal site and spams the youtube / myspace areas. so I signed up for all of them.

i haven't seen much traffic (if any) as a result. And, it clutters up my main page. I did add a redirect from my main page and a bunch of returns to push the text down lower.... but more than likely I will just delete those references because they look cheap.

jason

Personally, I don't like them and think they look unprofessional. It says "We're so cheap, we can only afford free advertising."

There's one of those wedding listing sites (OneWed, I think) that has a form on their site for the Bride to fill out requesting info about your services. You then get an email from OneWed saying they'll release the bride's contact info only if you pay a fee.

I think that's pretty crappy for them to represent themselves to the bride as the preferred method to contact you, then turn around and hold her email and phone number "hostage" until you pay up.