Many sites have a “partners” or “friends” or “affiliates” page. It was conventional web design practice not that long ago to include those pages to add credibility and to, in some cases, create reciprocal links. (“I’ll put a link to your site, if you put a link to mine on your site.”)

The website analytics chart below is from an active site that we host that is a little more than two years old. You can see in the highlighted area that the “Friends” page was visited 39 times in the last month and 25 of those times (64%) the visitor left the site directly from that page. That page has logos that are links to other companies this business is affiliated with.

The point is that if you give your site visitors a back door, they will use it. By giving your site visitors multiple places to leave, you substantially decrease the chances that your site visitor has read or seen what you what them to read or see. They are then less likely to do what you want them to do.

Picture two sales people. One is giving a sales presentation in a comfortable room with people sitting in chairs staring at him with the doors closed and the other is giving the same presentation in the middle of the Altamonte Mall. Who will do better? The guy in the mall is going to lose a lot of prospects to those other stores.

It’s important to note that the value of reciprocal links has diminished. The search engines have figured out if a link is the result of a trade; it is not the same as a separate site linking to you solely because of the quality of your content. So what are you gaining if you have a conventional “partners” or “affiliates” page? Probably very little. In fact if you look closely, it is probably costing you quite a bit. Check your analytics; with a “friends” or “partners” page you’ve probably just created big holes that your site visitors are leaking through. If you feel strongly that you have to tell the rest of the world about the quality companies your business is connected with, show their logos or names, but don’t make them links.

Following my advice won’t make your partners happy, but it will help you get more value out of your website.