This has been a conversation on the STATE-COORD mailing list. I never really thought of
this as a problem, but some do . .
DEEP LINKING = When a web page, such as
www.censusfinder.com links to a page on your
website with data, but not to your page in general.
Patricia made some great suggestions here, so I asked her permission to forward it to you
all. Hey! As long as they are linked to our page, might as well try to keep them there!
Denise Woodside
CC Sampson County
-----Forwarded Message-----
From: Patricia Hamp <hamp(a)voyager.net>
Sent: Sep 30, 2003 7:30 PM
To: STATE-COORD-L(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: [STATE-COORD] Fwd: {not a subscriber} Deep Linking our Websites
We can't stop these sites. Censusfinder isn't the only one, there are many,
many more that link to inner pages within USGenWeb county sites. More sites
are developed and taking advantage of it also. Let's face it, we have
something others want, DATA. At least they are coming to the county sites
when clicking on the links. So take advantage of it.
It is called site stickiness. Censusfinder doesn't have it, but the county
sites with data on them do. Enhance what will keep the visitor on the
county site and all Censusfinder like sites become is specialized search
engines and a collection of links. Use them to let visitors find your site.
1. Make sure each and every page with in the county site is clearly marked
as being a XXGenWeb site. This let's people know we are out there and who
has the data on the pages.
2. Make sure each and every page has a link back to the index of the county
site. So many times I have happened across a page from a search engine or a
site such as Censusfinder and bam! there is no link to the county site
anywhere on the page. I know enough to copy and paste and cut the end out
of the link to that page, but a good many visitors do not know about that.
3. Once you get the visitor to your site find ways to keep them there by
letting them know there is more on the county site, that will help them.
This goes back to putting site links on each and every page. Using SSL to
create headers and footers to attach into each page (if your server space
allows it) can help ease the chore of doing this on each page.
Includes a mention of Rootsweb and why they have site stickiness.
http://ecommerce.about.com/library/weekly/aa030300a.htm
Patricia Hamp
ASC MIGenWeb Project
http://www.rootsweb.com/~migenweb/
Michigan FGS Project FM
http://www.rootsweb.com/~migenweb/fgs/
>X-From_: statecoordinator(a)migenweb.com Mon Sep 29 17:17:31 2003
>From: "State Coordinator" <statecoordinator(a)migenweb.com>
>I have just been contacted by one of my County Coordinators who is a bit
>upset over this person deep linking to her webpages. And it appears to
most
>of the MIGenWeb sites. I see my sites, such as Mackinac and
Mecosta have
>been deep linked as well. She has asked this person to stop linking to
her
>sites as she feels that the site appears to be pushing affiliate
links,
such
>as Ancestry, and we are free genealogy sites.
>
>I hesitate to say much as I'm not sure that we can stop anyone from deep
>linking to our sites. I see her concern, yet, I don't see that we can do
>anything, and particularily because Ancestry is one of the affiliates.
>
>Is anyone able to shed some light on this, give me some advice,
>whatever...... The link is below.
>
>http://www.censusfinder.com/michigan.htm
>
>Jan
>MIGenWeb
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