We recently rolled out a few major upgrades to LavaLinx that we’re really excited about. Here’s a few of the things that were added.

1.    External trade process

• Sending Domain: At the beginning of the external trade wizard we ask for the domain of the site that will be sending you a link. We also check to make sure the domain name is valid. The reasons why this is the first step in the external trade process is because
  1. if we already have that domain in our external trade database most of the link information for that domain will be populated in the link wizard automatically
  2. if you have already made a trade with that site, you can be made aware of this fact before you go through half of the linkwizard
• Form URL: Now when making an external trade you’ve probably noticed that we’ve added a few steps. We found that 30-40% of external link trades are made through an online form, so now you can store the form URL. This will make it easier to follow up on trades made through a form.
• Email Checker: Each email address added is checked to make sure it is a valid working email address.
• Tagging: At the end of the external trade wizard we’ve added tagging functionality for sending and receiving site pages. Tagging pages will help LavaLinx users to find the most relevant web pages in link trade scenarios.

2.    External sites – Every time an external trade is made, the site will be stored in a way that will allow you to use it in trades with your other sites more easily.

3.    External Trade Directory – Now has search functionality for finding the most relevant sites to trade with.

Here are other major projects that we have in the works

1.    Automated Trade Suggestions – Lavalinx itself will be able to propose trades to you that match the themes of sites and/or pages.  This functionality will serve a two-fold purpose:  1) it will allow link traders with no time to still be able to take advantage of the system, and 2) it will allow less savvy link traders to make the right types of trades without the struggle of learning all of the SEO rules before trading.

2.    Social Bookmark Management and Exchange – You will soon be able to do much more than simply bookmark your own pages or articles in a couple of your favorite social bookmarking sites. Cross your fingers, we may just revolutionize the SMO (social media optimization) industry.