In online business, one of the most effective ways to advertise is to get others to recommend you. If other site owners brag about your Internet business, it's far more powerful and effective than you bragging on yourself.

There's a simple way to monitor how many Internet businesses are recommending your site. This tool's available free at the search engine Alta Vista.

Below are the 3 simple steps that will reveal your Web site's popularity on the Internet:

1. Go to Alta vista at: www.altavista.com

2. Use the search box on the home page and type:

link:www.abc.com/xyz

(Substitute the words abc and xyz for your site's url.)

3. Click the search button and a list of the sites on the Internet that are linked to your Web site will appear.

This knowledge will give you an indication of where your traffic comes from as well as what type of traffic you're receiving.

Secret: You can also find out who's linking to your competitors as well (Shhhh!...).

I hope you'll find this tool very helpful in your online promotions.