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They say no man is a mountain and the same can be said of any business large or small. In today’s unstable and dynamic markets no business can ever hope to be a success without forming a large quantity of contacts and alliances across a range of sources. Alliances can be formed with other businesses on several levels and for several different end goals all centered on mutual benefits. An example of a major business alliance is the PowerPC alliance which consists of Apple, IBM and Motorola (AIM). This was designed to take on the microprocessor monopoly and they successfully produce some of the staple products for the computing industry. Of course not all business alliances have to be of such a long lasting and industry wide levels. Some business alliances can be a small as placing a link on each others site.

One of the most prominent reasons for businesses forming alliances is that the two companies will reflect each others qualities and values. This can help improve the visibility of the brand across the market and can help reduce the risk that surrounds making a purchase or using the brands services. Some of the most widespread examples of this are companies that utilise PayPal as a payment method. A large percentage of consumers are still very skeptical about using unknown websites to pay for items and do not trust their payment security systems. Therefore by companies using a worldwide, trusted company like PayPal visitors will be more inclined to use their services as the level of trust is increased as the consumer believe that PayPal would not align with a company that is disreputable.

When looking at online marketing of companies, many aspects of off page search engine optimisation is just a method of building alliances at a very basic level. When placing a link on a directory or a forum you are essentially allowing your site to be exposed on their site and in turn reflect all of your brand values and traits on their site. It is for this reason that any search engine optimisation companies activities must not think of it as purely a method of building links, increasing relevant traffic and appearing at the top of the search engines. Companies must use SEO as a tool to interact with other sites and expand their network of contacts across the whole of the web. It is important that anyone carrying out SEO does not consider the search engines merely as spiders and results pages that are seen as mountains to climb to the top of. However this is not the case; Search Engines are to be considered as being a interactive and dynamic entity that can create a triangle of mutual value. If you optimise your site that so it is extremely relevant to a subject it will reach the top of the search engines and receive large amounts relevant traffic. This creates value for the site as being top of the rankings will bring more traffic and leads. The search engines gain value in the sense that by having an extremely relevant site at the top of the rankings will for a certain terms means that the searcher will be satisfied with the results and return to the site. The searcher is left satisfied by being able to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. Therefore to summarize SEO is not simply a linear method of reaching the top of the search engines but an interactive and effective method of creating mutual value for every party concerned.