Which five sites would be well suited and willing to link swap with
our site - eMachineShop.com. Link partners must be high quality sites,
not competitive, and have a customer base that would likely be
interested in our service. Some of the links we currently have are NOT
ideal. I am seeking an actual answer - not information on how to
research an answer. This will require emailing or talking to the
relevant sources and getting their OK on the swap. But first, please
propose a few candidate sites to be sure we are on the same
wavelength.

---

Request for Question Clarification by jbf777-ga on 24 Jan 2003 14:00 PST

Hi swisscheese-ga,

Can you give us an idea of what you have in mind in terms of types of companies?

Thanks,

jbf777-ga

---

Clarification of Question by swisscheese-ga on 24 Jan 2003 14:16 PST

Hi jbf777 - Good question. It's a bit hard to say. Common sense should
guide the process. A good example would be onlinemetals.com but they
seem to have declined. Another one I like is efunda.com but they seem
to prefer selling traffic to swapping traffic. Our site should give
some ideas about the type of customers. Sites for inventors and robot
enthusiasts are possible but I would not want to focus only there as
they would probably generate small orders from individuals. Perhaps I
should have first posted a request to research what types of companies
would have the most synergy.

Hello swisscheese-ga,

Thank you for your question. First, some background information. I
feel qualified to answer your question because I am a Web Developer
with website promotion experience.

I think it is very enterprising to be in your business - an online
machine shop - considering the current downturn in the economy. You
are reaching out to a global marketplace, compared to a traditional
machine shop that is very limited geographically. Therefore
positioning your website with the right metatags and link partners is
the right strategy in getting there.

Firstly I visited the WordTracker site at http://www.wordtracker.com
and did a search on "machine shop", which should be your primary
keyword phrase. Your ultimate goal is to rank 1st on Google's search
results for this phrase. I generated a list of related keywords for
you :

Related keywords for machine shop  
1. machine shop  
2. machining  
3. cnc  
4. machine  
5. manufacturing  
6. welding  
7. parts  
8. milling  
9. machinist  
10. precision  
11. turning  
12. metal  
13. drilling  
14. prototype  
15. lathe  

These were real-time generated and accurately represent real related
keywords based on search engine user behavior.

I then proceeded to use the first few keywords, combined with "link
exchange", "link swap" or "swap links", to build the following list :


+------------------------------------------------------+

Google search terms for
"machine shop" link exchange :

Metals DepotŪ - Metal Industry Sources & Link Exchange
http://metallinks.metalsdepot.com/index.phtml

CANLink Directories Display
http://www.canlinks.net/display/display.cgi?IMA1&1&0&0

ArtMetal Village Link Exchange Directory
http://www.artmetal.com/village/links/links.html

Riverside Machine Shop Network
http://www.riversidemachine.net/rmnetwork.html

+----

Google search terms for
"machine shop" "link swap" OR "swap links" :

Meshing With Gears - Gear Manufacturing Information Sources
http://www.communitypc.com/links.htm

CNC Spares - CNC Parts Links Page - Cnc Machine Tool Links -
Maintenance Links
http://www.cncspares.co.uk/links.htm

+------------------------------------------------------+

Google search terms for
machining link exchange :

SiteMatrix.Net Industrial and Electronics Link Exchange
http://www.sitematrix.net/internet-link-exchange/industrialelectronic-links.htm

Steelbars.com Links
http://www.steelbars.com/links/overview.htm

Westminster Technologies Link Page
http://www.westminster-technologies.com/links/

+----

Google search terms for
machining "link swap" OR "swap links" :

[ no good sites found ]

+------------------------------------------------------+

Google search terms for
cnc machine OR machining link exchange :

Cnc Machine Tool Links,Machine Tool Services,Dnc Software,RS232 Coms
Software,C.N.C Parts
http://www.fanuc-spares.co.uk/cnc-machine-tool-links.htm

+----

Google search terms for
cnc machine OR machining "link swap" OR "swap links" :

[ no good sites found ]

+------------------------------------------------------+

Google search terms for
metal manufacturing link exchange :

Metal Buildings, Metal building Industry's most comprehensive listing
of metal building builder and erectors
http://www.metalbuilding.net/links.asp

The American Buff Industrial Web Directory - Manufacturing Portals
http://www.americanbuff.com/links/manufacturingportals.html

American Iron and Steel Institute : Steel Links
http://www.steel.org/hotlinks/

+----

Google search terms for
metal manufacturing "link swap" OR "swap links" :

Franek Laser - Laser Cutting Related Links Page
http://www.franeklaser.com/links.htm

Tooling & Manufacturing Association - Industry Related Links
http://www.tmanet.com/industry/industry.asp

+------------------------------------------------------+


Please have a look at the above sites and tell me what you think. Most
of these are ready to swap links with you. Given that they rank highly
for those specific keywords, your site will benefit tremendously by
exchanging links with them. They do not necessarily have to have a
"large customer base" for this to happen.

Try this and observe your link popularity over the next few weeks and
you'll notice results. You can check this using this link - 
http://www.marketleap.com/publinkpop/

By the way, I noticed that your <META NAME="Keywords"> tag is missing.
This tag is very important, and you should fully utilize it for better
search engine positioning.

Here are the relevant keywords to use, from the www.wordtracker.com
site's analysis on "machine shop". They were real-time generated from
search engine results and accurately tell you the most popular related
keyword phrases, ranked in order :

Keyword    Count  Predict  Dig  
machine shop 210 193  
machine shops 205 188  
machine shop equipment 69  63   
automotive machine shop equipment 68  62   
used machine shop equipment 60  55   
machine shop supply 55  51   
cnc machine shops 54  50   
machine shop projects 54  50   
home machine shop 46  42   
machine shop for sale 46  42   
modern machine shop 43  39   
machine shop massachusetts 35  32   
machine shop safety 35  32   
machine shop tools 35  32   
used automotive machine shop equipment 35  32   

Keyword    Count  Predict  Dig  
machining 455 418  
cnc machining 203 186  
precision machining 150 138  
5 axis machining 53  49   
high speed machining 52  48   
precision cnc machining 50  46   
electrical discharge machining 46  42   
edm machining 42  39   
vertical machining center 40  37   
laser machining 38  35   
chemical machining 37  34   
casting molding machining 35  32   
machining centers 35  32   
water jet machining 34  31   
machining tools 33  30   

Keyword    Count  Predict  Dig  
cnc 736 676  
cnc router 302 277  
cnc machines 230 211  
cnc machining 203 186  
cnc routers 199 183  
cnc software 166 152  
cnc lathe 150 138  
cnc programming 150 138  
cnc programming services 128 118  
cnc machine 127 117  
used cnc machines 106 97   
cnc mill 100 92   
cnc milling 85  78   
cnc free software 82  75   
hobby cnc 78  72   


+------------------------------------------------------+


Since most of the sites listed above are ready to swap links, you
should have no problem doing it with them - it's as simple as filling
out a form. Some sites require you to link their page on your links
page first before they will link you.

Please go through the links above, see which ones are relevant, submit
your link to them, and if there are any that require further
correspondence, please let me know and I will contact them on your
behalf.


I hope this was helpful. I look forward to your feedback!


Regards,

kyrie26-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by swisscheese-ga on 26 Jan 2003 03:10 PST

Hi kyrie26-ga 

Thanks for your reply and effort. Your technique of searching was
clever. Your comment about the missing meta tag was helpful. And I
appreciate your effort to analyze related keywords. However I am
disappointed in the quality or relevance of most of the sites you
found and I specified that we want to link to high quality relevant
sites. Compare efunda.com with the ones you found.

metalsdepot - perhap the only one I plan to pursue
canlinks - seems to be an obscure canadian general directory
artmetal - possible but their link list is so huge it seems unlikely
we would be found often
riversidemachine.net - competitor and probably minimal traffic
communitypc.com - amateur site and weak connection (gears)
cncspares.co.uk - weak connection (spare parts supplier) - and their
customers would more likely be our competitors - and they are UK based
I had similar comments about the others.

Regards,
swisscheese-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by kyrie26-ga on 26 Jan 2003 12:10 PST

Hello swisscheese-ga,

Thanks for your feedback. I have a better idea of your requirements
now, and have compiled a new list. Please have a look and tell me what
you think. As for the previous list, most of these sites are
link-exchange friendly, so it doesn't hurt to list your site there
anyway, not necessarily for user traffic that comes from those sites,
but to boost your popularity with the search engines (the more links
to related high-ranking sites, the better).

In any case, here's the new list :


MachineDesign.com
http://www.machinedesign.com/


Engineering.com : Materials Home
http://www.engineering.com/engineering.htm?vert=d&bhcp=1


Universal Parts Center
http://www.ihsparts.com/


Thomas Register - Industry Answers Results
http://www.thomasregister.com/


PhysicsWeb - Industry
http://physicsweb.org/industry/


Machine shop and cnc job resources online - MfgQuote
http://www.custom-manufacturing-manufacturer.com/mfgq/al_cnc_job_machine_shop.html


MotionNET.com - Engineering Directory
http://www.motionnet.com/


INDUSTRIAL WHO'S WHO -- Americas Manufacturers Directory and Search
Engine on the Internet
http://www.industrialwhoswho.com/


TechSavvy.com
http://www.techsavvy.com/



Google search terms :

metal engineering OR machining resources OR directory OR listing
related:www.efunda.com/
machine shop resources
related:www.ihsparts.com/


Awaiting your feedback. Thanks!


Regards,

kyrie26-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by swisscheese-ga on 26 Jan 2003 14:59 PST

Hi Kyrie26

The new links are definitely much better - they have some real
content, probably have decent traffic, and are quality sites. Good
work. I have commented on each below. Now that we are on the same
wavelength, I look forward to your answer to the original question.

http://www.machinedesign.com/
This is more like it

http://www.engineering.com/engineering.htm?vert=d&bhcp=1
This is also decent although I found it hard to figure out how the
site works and could not find anything about advertising or linking.

http://www.ihsparts.com/
Somewhat relevant but I can't imagine much traffic at a site that
opens with a password form.

http://www.thomasregister.com/
This is good

http://physicsweb.org/industry/
This is good

Machine shop and cnc job resources online - MfgQuote
http://www.custom-manufacturing-manufacturer.com/mfgq/al_cnc_job_machine_shop.html
This is good but they might consider us competitive

http://www.motionnet.com/
Good and has a link submission feature

http://www.industrialwhoswho.com/
Good but I only found paid ads

http://www.techsavvy.com/
Possible but they seem to be aimed at stock parts and we do custom
parts. Customers could be interested in us but seems like a bit of a
long shot.

Regards,
swisscheese

---

Clarification of Answer by kyrie26-ga on 26 Jan 2003 19:23 PST

Hi again Swisscheese,

I've sent emails to MachineDesign.com and Engineering.com. Here's the
email that I sent to www.machinedesign.com . The other message is
somewhat similar.

+----------------------------------------------------------------+

Dear Editor / Webmaster,

I am writing on behalf of eMachineShop.com, an online custom parts
machine shop. This site currently ranks second place on Google's
search results for "machine custom parts".

Here is a brief description of eMachineShop : 
"eMachineShop is the remarkable new way to machine your ideas into
objects of metal, plastic, and other materials via the internet. This
new way to get the custom parts you need is easy, low-cost, and
convenient thanks to a unique combination of the web, software, and
automated machines. You design your parts. We make and deliver them."

The website can be found at http://emachineshop.com/

eMachineShop would like to do a link swap with your site at
http://www.machinedesign.com/ . I am confident that you will benefit
from such an exchange, as they are a high-traffic site, and would
route much traffic to your site. Also, such a collaboration would
enhance your popularity with the search engines.

Please let me know if you are interested in such an opportunity. How
can we place a banner ad on the front page, along with PartServer.com
and Transducerst Direct? Alternatively, you may have other options
available for such partnerships or advertising, which we would like to
hear of. Please let me know what options are available.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

+----------------------------------------------------------------+

As for the other sites :

The Universal Parts Center at http://www.ihsparts.com/ allows you to
register to be included in their database. If you're interested, go
ahead to http://partscenter.ihs.com/disk2/PROGRAMS/PARTCNTR/vpis_register_page.cfm
 to do this. Since I'm not an authorized representative of your
company, only you can do this. As for traffic, I did a link popularity
check using the tool found at http://www.marketleap.com/publinkpop/ ,
and they look quite decent. It definitely wouldn't hurt for you to go
ahead with it, considering they rank quite high in Google results
(they have a page rank of 7/10 which is VERY good).

Ditto for Thomas Register at http://www.thomasregister.com/ . This one
has a page rank of 8/10. Their registration page (free listing) can be
found here : http://www2.thomasregister.com/freelisting.cgi?uuid=THtrguest&sid=&search_type=&search_string=&az=&pn=

As for MfgQuote, you would have to register as a supplier, and monthly
paid subscription is required. You would be able to view RFQs from
buyers. I'm not sure if you're interested? You can register on their
website if so.

For MotionNet.com, go ahead and submit your company to their directory
at https://secure.motionnet.com/cgi-bin/submit.exe?action=submit .
They have an excellent 7/10 ranking, and buyers who search "custom
parts" will find you in there.

Industrial Who's Who - oops, you are right, only paid listing
available.

TechSavvy.com : may not be too much of a long shot. I did a search on
"custom" and here are the results :  found in the Category description
of 51 categories; found in 4550 Company names. There may be instances
in which customers do a search for "custom", so it's still a good idea
to register with them. Their registration page is at
http://www.techsavvy.com/user_profile_form.php .


+----------------------------------------------------------------+

I did some more lookups for you too. Consider this link :

http://dmoz.org/Business/Industrial_Goods_and_Services/Casting,_Molding,_Machining/

Your site is not yet listed there. Please go ahead and submit your
site using this link :

http://dmoz.org/cgi-bin/add.cgi?where=Business/Industrial_Goods_and_Services/Casting,_Molding,_Machining

This is a powerful way to boost traffic to your site, and for buyers
to find you using the DMOZ Open Directoriy. Also, since this directory
is shared with Google, it is a double bonus for you to submit your
site.

+-----

Here's another innovative idea. I found an excellent website,
ManufacturingTalk.com (7/10 page rank).

How to submit your news releases to Manufacturingtalk
http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/indexes/submissiondetails.html

"Manufacturingtalk will publish every news release from your company
relevant to the sector, on this web site, completely free of charge.
The most interesting news releases of the week will also be considered
for our free weekly newsletter. To have your news release included,
just email us your latest news release! You'll need to fill in the
form below to accompany your first release."

You can issue a press release from your company saying that it is the
first cyber machine shop, etc. etc., make it creative and relevant to
the sector, and it will definitely boost traffic to your site, since
this is definitely a high-traffic and high-quality site.

+-----

I also found another excellent site that is open to link exchanges :

Widget Junction : Meeting Place for Custom Manufacturing
http://www.widgetjunction.com

Widget Junction Partner Program
http://www.widgetjunction.com/partners.htm

I have emailed them on your behalf to request a link swap.

+-----

Yet another one :

The Metalworking Resource Group
http://www.metalworkingshops.com

The Metalworking Resource Group - Links to Other Items of Interest
http://www.metalworkingshops.com/news/interest.htm

I have also emailed them.

+----------------------------------------------------------------+


While I am awaiting responses from those email requests, feel free to
give me your feedback on how I'm doing so far.


Thanks,

kyrie26-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by swisscheese-ga on 27 Jan 2003 11:30 PST

Hi kyrie26,

Your letters are good but the recipient might think it's bulk mail.
Better to personalize. For example "Since your site is involved in
machining parts for airplanes <whatever they do>, I think it would be
in our mutual interest to... I would remove the request for
advertising info - your task is to do link swaps.

Based on your message I signed up on thomasregister (free),
motionnet.com ($25+), dmoz.org (free).

http://www.ihsparts.com/ not appropriate due to classification scheme.
MfgQuote - paid and not our model.
http://www.metalworkingshops.com - Indianna regional
And we are not ready for a news release (currently beta).

You are making progress. I've signed up on three sites. I did not have
directories in mind but I suppose they could be as useful so I'll
count them towards the 5. One had a cost but it was resonable. If you
can get widgetjunction that would make 4. machinedesign.com would be
good too.

Regards, Jim

---

Clarification of Answer by kyrie26-ga on 29 Jan 2003 17:28 PST

Hi again Swisscheese,

I received an email from Machine Design and saying that they do not do
link swaps. "All of the advertising locations on both the Machine
Design and American Machinist web sites are paid positions". I've
requested more info on advertising options, and who knows, they may be
reasonable.

As for WidgetJunction, I have still not heard from them, so I have
sent another email that incorporates the suggestions you mentioned
(being more specific as to why they should partner with us).

Meanwhile I found you a listing that you can add your site to (your
contact info is required) :

Ornamental Metal Directories at the BuildFind Building Industry
Exchange
http://www.building.org/texis/db/bix/+zwwrmwrelqiwrVwxeAdpwxeAJowxeA0qwxezEDwxeo9qwxerWpwxemWowxemuqwxeqAtwxexiZw7mwwwA/community.html

Also, here's another relevant directory :

Modern Machine Shop Online - Find Suppliers
http://www.mmsonline.com/suppliers/

I have written to Modern Machine Shop Online requesting information on
how you can be added to their directory, and other advertising
options.

Will keep you informed...


kyrie26-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by kyrie26-ga on 30 Jan 2003 09:22 PST

Hi Jim,

MachineDesign has responded, and I know you weren't interested in paid
advertising, but I've posted their pricing options here just for your
information :


+-----------------------+

Site/Section Sponsorships

Logo banner appears on each page within the section sponsored.
Sections available for sponsorship include the Home Page, Technology
Zones, Industry Zones, and Departments.The banner links to an INCLUDED
Storefront Package that tells our manufacturing users about your
company and it's products, as well as linking directly to articles,
literature and the products themselves. All activity on your
storefront is tracked by our system, allowing us to report this
activity to you on a monthly basis. Can be purchased for 6 or 12
months.

Cost: (gross) 	6 mos. 	12 mos.
Home Page 	$4,000 	$7,000
Technology Zones $3,500 $6,000
Industry Zones 	$3,500 	$6,000
Other Sections 	$2,400 	$4,000


Standard Banners

Appears on the top of each page viewed on machinedesign.com Purchased
by section and includes sub-pages within that section. Rotates evenly
with up to 4 other ads for a total of 5 maximum ads in rotation. JPG,
GIF or animated GIF files accepted with a maximum size of 20k.

Cost: (gross) 	6 mos. 	12 mos.
Home Page 	$3,500 	$6,000
Technology Zones $3,000 $5,000
Industry Zones 	$3,000 	$5,000
Other Sections 	$2,400 	$4,000


Skyscraper Ads (120w X 600h pixels)

Skyscraper Ads appear on the right side of content pages (articles &
departments).

Pricing starts at $110/thousand ad impressions and depends on
locations and number of impressions purchased.

+-----------------------+

I'm still waiting on WidgetJunction. I'll keep on looking for other
suitable sites to swap links with.


Thanks,

kyrie26-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by swisscheese-ga on 30 Jan 2003 12:33 PST

Hi Kyrie

Thanks for the udpdate and added info. Per your info I submitted to
building.com although it seems a bit of a long shot.

Regards, swisscheese

---

Clarification of Answer by kyrie26-ga on 04 Feb 2003 08:14 PST

Hi again Swisscheese,

I checked WidgetJunction.com and found their website offline. Since I
hadn't heard from them, I then gave them a call (their number is
available on Google's cached results for WidgetJunction). The
gentleman I spoke to said that they are moving to a new server and
that it is only a temporary outage. He also gave me the direct email
address of the webmaster, whom I have emailed with the link exchange
request.

Working on finding the 5th site right now...

kyrie26-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by kyrie26-ga on 04 Feb 2003 08:23 PST

I found another excellent site :

http://www.cnc-machining.biz/

Go ahead and submit your site at
http://www.industrialquicksearch.com/suggest.htm (your info is
required). It looks like a free high-quality listing, and you pay if
you want the "premium" listing where there is a picture and write-up.
Let me know how this works out for you.

kyrie26-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by swisscheese-ga on 04 Feb 2003 09:54 PST

Hi Kyrie26 - I just did the form on industrialquicksearch.com per your
suggestion. Thanks. - swisscheese

---

Clarification of Answer by kyrie26-ga on 08 Feb 2003 06:05 PST

Swisscheese,

Thanks for the five stars! Here are some other links you may find
useful :

+----

Plastic Fabricators (submit your info)
http://www.plasticfabricator.com/

"A plastic fabrication and fabricator directory including plastic
fabricators, plastic parts, plastic washers, machined plastic part,
machined plastics, acrylic fabricators, plastic machine work, plastic
fabricating and plastic cnc machining."

+----

Links Directory
http://www.polysort.com/linksdirectory/category_results_free.aspx?category=64

Free listing. Search for "custom" gives a handful so you'll be comfy
in there.

+----

Prototyping Information at Business_com
http://www.business.com/directory/industrial_goods_and_services/manufacturing_and_process_technologies/industrial_design/prototyping/

$99 annual fee for listing; Google page rank of 6/10

+----


Thanks again,

kyrie26-ga

Thanks for your excellent assistance!

Great thinking and implementation process by kyrie26-ga. Kyrie, is
there a way to request your services when a question is posted?

Thank you jsimmons-ga. I would be glad to help you on your question.
Just add my username to your question title (ie. "What is the meaning
of life - for kyrie26-ga only"). I usually filter for questions above
$20, so if your question is priced accordingly, I will catch it (of
course, the higher priced ones just jump out at me!). You can also
post a comment here again and I will see it, because my list of
completed questions also updates for comments, moving a newly
commented question right to the top. Look forward to helping you.