The Myth of FFA Links

    I wanted to write a little something about FFA links and the mistake most webmaster make in using them.  FFA stands for Free For All, meaning that anyone can drop a link on these pages and most of the time auto submitting them to pages using some sort of submission software or website.  The attractive chant of having you page submitted to, "3,000 FFA links" sound impressive, but does it actually generate any real traffic to your web site?  Honestly, no, they don't!

     So, what good are FFA links?  Whenever you submit to ffa links they ask for an email address to confirm your entry.  When you're first starting out, you might be tempted just to put in your email address.  Then the next morning you wake up to an email full of junk mail that came off the ffa's autoresponders and it isn't a one time only thing, you'll be regaled with a steady stream of junk mail every few days.  Soon, you'll find yourself giving up on your email account and wishing some divine being would smite the person that created these ffa links.  So, what should you do?

1. Don't use FFA links...they don't help your pages and they fill your email with junk
2. If you have to use ffa links, because, umm, well, you say, "what does this person know!"  Then at least create a "dummy" email account for yourself at yahoo or hotmail and use that address when you submit to ffa links.  At least then you can go once and awhile and delete all 1000 or so junk emails.

      Is there no benefit to FFA links?  Well, I did stumble across one possible benefit to ffa links.  If your page stays on a ffa link for a bit, then when you submit to search engines you page looks a little more popular.  Ranking on search engines are determined by a great many things, one of which is how many pages you have linked to your page.  So you might and I underline might get some small benefit from ffa links.