ut-there link-swapping programs seemed to emit -- how can I put this? -- a distinct odor of Spam.

It's no wonder that people who know about these things are already saying that link swapping is effectively dead as a means of site promotion.

And then I stumbled across the answer that has turned my site around. The E-zine article. Here's how it works. You sign up with an E-zineOnce upon a time, as an absolute beginner to the web game, I thought that building my own site would be the really hard part. I fondly believed that once my site was finished, and out there, discriminating surfers would come to it in droves.

How wrong I was. For several months after launching it I watched my magnificent site lie there like a dead dog, attracting weekly traffic totals that could -- I'm not exaggerating -- be counted on one hand.

It wasn't hard to see what the problem was. My Google ranking was absurdly low. No matter what search terms I pumped into it, Google simply refused to display my site on the first page of results. And let's face it, how many surfers bother looking beyond the top ten? It was time to face some hard facts. If I couldn't locate my site through a Google search, how could I expect Joe Surfer to stumble across it?

Resolving to do something about it, I hit the web in search of answers. Vaguely aware that a site's Google ranking depends on how many other websites link to it, and on how good the rankings of those sites are, I looked into the option of link swapping. But everything I read about it discouraged me. I had no desire to e-mail complete strangers proposing a link swap. Besides, what I really needed was to get my link on a big site -- a site that attracted some really major traffic. And why would such a site want to swap with me, with my abysmal ranking? What would be in it for them? Nor did I really want to invest in one of those software programs that do the job for you. Indeed some of the more out-there link-swapping programs seemed to emit -- how can I put this? -- a distinct odor of Spam.

It's no wonder that people who know about these things are already saying that link swapping is effectively dead as a means of site promotion.

And then I stumbled across the answer that has turned my site around. The E-zine article. Here's how it works. You sign up with an E-zine ld -- I'm not exaggerating -- be counted on one hand.

It wasn't hard to see what the problem was. My Google ranking was absurdly low. No matter what search terms I pumped into it, Google simply refused to display my site on the first page of results. And let's face it, how many surfers bother looking beyond the top ten? It was time to face some hard facts. If I couldn't locate my site through a Google search, how could I expect Joe Surfer to stumble across it?

Resolving to do something about it, I hit the web in search of answers. Vaguely aware that a site's Google ranking depends on how many other websites link to it, and on how good the rankings of those sites are, I looked into the option of link swapping. But everything I read about it discouraged me. I had no desire to e-mail complete strangers proposing a link swap. Besides, what I really needed was to get my link on a big site -- a site that attracted some really major traffic. And why would such a site want to swap with me, with my abysmal ranking? What would be in it for them? Nor did I really want to invest in one of those software programs that do the job for you. Indeed some of the more out-there link-swapping programs seemed to emit -- how can I put this? -- a distinct odor of Spam.

It's no wonder that people who know about these things are already saying that link swapping is effectively dead as a means of site promotion.

And then I stumbled across the answer that has turned my site around. The E-zine article. Here's how it works. You sign up with an E-zinethrough a Google search, how could I expect Joe Surfer to stumble across it?

Resolving to do something about it, I hit the web in search of answers. Vaguely aware that a site's Google ranking depends on how many other websites link to it, and on how good the rankings of those sites are, I looked into the option of link swapping. But everything I read about it discouraged me. I had no desire to e-mail complete strangers proposing a link swap. Besides, what I really needed was to get my link on a big site -- a site that attracted some really major traffic. And why would such a site want to swap with me, with my abysmal ranking? What would be in it for them? Nor did I really want to invest in one of those software programs that do the job for you. Indeed some of the more out-there link-swapping programs seemed to emit -- how can I put this? -- a distinct odor of Spam.

It's no wonder that people who know about these things are already saying that link swapping is effectively dead as a means of site promotion.

And then I stumbled across the answer that has turned my site around. The E-zine article. Here's how it works. You sign up with an E-zine. I had no desire to e-mail complete strangers proposing a link swap. Besides, what I really needed was to get my link on a big site -- a site that attracted some really major traffic. And why would such a site want to swap with me, with my abysmal ranking? What would be in it for them? Nor did I really want to invest in one of those software programs that do the job for you. Indeed some of the more out-there link-swapping programs seemed to emit -- how can I put this? -- a distinct odor of Spam.

It's no wonder that people who know about these things are already saying that link swapping is effectively dead as a means of site promotion.

And then I stumbled across the answer that has turned my site around. The E-zine article. Here's how it works. You sign up with an E-zineut-there link-swapping programs seemed to emit -- how can I put this? -- a distinct odor of Spam.

It's no wonder that people who know about these things are already saying that link swapping is effectively dead as a means of site promotion.

And then I stumbled across the answer that has turned my site around. The E-zine article. Here's how it works. You sign up with an E-zine site, like Ezinearticles.com. It takes about two minutes; it's totally obligation-free; and it costs you nothing. Then you write an article or articles on any subject of your choosing, like the article I'm writing right now. You submit it to them, and provided it meets their terms and conditions they publish it on their site. They don't pay you, of course -- but what they do do is let you put your own web address down at the bottom of your article.

It's a sweet solution, because it boosts your web traffic on several different fronts. For one, the E-zine sites tend to be big, established, high-traffic sites, so getting your URL on one of them will significantly improve your site's ranking in any general Google search. Then there's the more direct route: as long as your article addresses a reasonably oft-Googled topic, lots of people are going to find it and read it, and if it's any good a fair few of them are going to click on your URL and check out your site. There's also the strong chance that your article, if it's any good, will be republished on other E-zine sites, which means that you'll reap the same benefits all over again.

Even if you can't write articles, or don't want to, there are people out there who'll ghost-write your stuff for you, at a price.

Don't take my word for it: go to an E-zine site, sniff around, and you might just find it's the solution to all your web woes.