Is 'Back Door Linking' legal?

[clarrisa]

Hi everyone, I hope someone out there can help me.

I am offering to design and create websites (in BV of course, and to be hosted with their individual Vodahost accounts, all that research is done lol!). My first client is an estate agent who wants 3 or 4 sites. He has heard of another agent who uses sites that do not look to be affiliated in any way with the property industry but do, in fact, link back to the main estate agents site, thus increasing his traffic. My client has asked if I can do the same thing. This sounds to me like dodgy business....firstly, is it legal, and if it is, how do I go about it to achieve optimum traffic?

Any advice greatly appreciated

Clare
www.fuerteventurabusinessdirectory.com

[Vasili]

Re: Is 'Back Door Linking' legal?

Sounds like there is some confusion about terms and functions, but I'll give it a go...

Specifically with regard to a Realtor site....if he has his own "main" site and wishes to "clone" additional ones maybe to focus on a different market or even neighborhood, for example, then cross-linking his sites is something he should do, as each website has added Search value when 'relevant' sites provide inbound links/incoming traffic (and real visits are the most desired, natural, core metric there is) - and conversely, in keeping in line with the standards of limiting outbound links, since they are to very, very similar sites that demonstrate a much higher degree of relevancy, this end of the equation proves much more desirable and value-added as a strategy (with respect to a link strategy).

Now.....I really think there is a confusion of terms and functions as others describe their understanding of "Affiliate" marketing/websites/co-branding, for it is not simple "linling" or "back linking" that drives most of what might be a factor as you do something for this guy, but clarifying the use of options: the use of Inline Frames (iFrames), hosted sites, and ASI scripts.

Most realty companies provide agents with the ability to have a website with their own name on it (under the local office header, the "authority" of) because it is simply easier to "clone" off a site that already has all the premium functions that most individual agents cannot qualify to get on their own, like MLS listings/engine, loan applications enigines, etc. These are co-branded websites, hosted on a single server under the auspices of the Company, and is operated and maintained according to their own set of standards.

If your agent is personally in good standing with MLS (for example), they might offer him the opportunity to use a specifically generated ASI script that you can install via an HTML box on the site you build for him, but this may be a longshot -- them handing over the code.
The next best thing would be to have MLS set up a co-branded site that you could use an iFrame onto the site you wish to build for him so visitors see all the listings and can operate throught the whole functions as if it was really on his site, but as a script with his own "affiliate tracking" the iFrame allows you to add this feature/function that is actually hosted elsewhere.
> The key to real ***** use of an iFrame for this type of build is the ability of the 'provider' to let you specify your preference to not use a header or "banner" at all, and thus the "page" would go as close to the top as possible: when you use an iFrame, the top of the frame you draw on your page represents the top of the hosted page, so to eliminate that dead space you need the hosted page to come to the top best possible, right?
> You can use this build technique with BV to tremendous advantage, to include other interactive functions such as calendars, loan engines, appointment books, etc. It's just a matter of getting the scripts and using them either by loading them directly onto the site (pasting into a HTML box) or as a hosted script/site that you can 'present' via an iFrame.


You may wish to "read into" a thread that touches a lot on this with regard to Travel site apps, but the examples and comments may be worthy as you continue your "homework"!
.

[clarrisa]

Re: Is 'Back Door Linking' legal?

Many thanks Vasili, that's given me a lot to research, but I have to get this right....

Clare

[Vasili]

Re: Is 'Back Door Linking' legal?

.... and on we go!