One of the most popular methods of traffic generation is the link exchange. Not only can they generate fairly targeted traffic from other related web sites, the number of quality links to your site is also a major factor determining your web site's ranking in major search engines like Google.

The problem with link exchanges is that they require you to give a reciprocal link in exchange for linking to your site. This inevitably means that there will be a limit to the number of links you can tastefully place on your site without compromising your layout, content, and credibility. Links to other sites also provide extra temptations for surfers to leave your site. Also, search engines place more importance on the quality than the number of sites linking to your web site. It is of course difficult for small web sites to convince large, successful web sites to exchange links with them.

An incredibly simple, but little used so is to use testimonials to gain a link on large successful web sites, WITHOUT having to place a reciprocal link on our own site! No webmaster, no matter how successful, can resist an honest, glowing compliment to their creation. The trick is to write short, flattering testimonials for the content, design, functions, products, services etc. of many web sites and send it to them as a sincere "feedback".

Many webmasters will feel so flattered and want to publish these "unsolicited" compliments to reinforce the credibility of their web site and products. To make the testimonial credible, they must naturally mention who it came from.

This would be your opportunity to request a link to your web site. At a minimum, you should be able to get a link in the form of "yourname, webmaster, yoursite.com ". This is really a beautifully simple, no cost way of getting links in many high quality web sites.