"It is a sad indictment on a webmaster's ability when he or she is dumped onto a black list because they cannot follow simple rules."

For over 20 years of my working life, I've worked in a situation where my life was governed by rules. The rules were laid down in minute detail and every one of them had to be followed meticulously or terrible things could happen to you.

I suppose I have that rigid work environment to thank for my ability to get my sites listed just about anywhere I care to submit. After all that time, I find it easy to accept that the owners of link lists have rules or guidelines that site builders must adhere to.

Sadly not everyone has the same background and there are many site builders out there who waste countless hours submitting sites and galleries far and wide that will never get accepted by any but a few small link lists and TGPs. Their sites are going to be rejected simply because they are unable to follow the few simple rules that link lists and TGPs impose on submissions.

I often hear site builders complain that there are so many link lists out there with so many differing rules that it is impossible to comply with all of them. The situation will never improve until link list owners can agree on a common set of guidelines. Until that happens it's just not impossible to keep everyone happy.

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with that. While there is no industry body that controls link list and TGP rules and no-one that I have found has ever set out a common set of rules that they should abide by, there is a high degree of commonality between each individual list's rules.

Because there is this common thread that runs through the vast majority of TGP and link list rules, it is entirely possible to build a site that will be accepted just about everywhere. I know because I do it all the time and so do many others.

Building TGP galleries, free sites and AVS sites is a business and it should be approached in that way. Whatever type of business, you need to spend time researching the basics of that business and keeping in touch with any changes that might occur. For us that means researching the link list rules and ensuring that we build sites that comply with them.

If we don't build sites in that way then link lists and TGPs will not accept our submissions which will ensure that our sites don't get listed and we don't get any traffic from the lists. Without traffic we don't get sales. It is as basic as that.

I am not suggesting for one moment that your sites and galleries will be accepted at every TGP and link list. Some do have individual rules that put them outside the common ground that most lists occupy. When you come face to face with one of them, you have to make a decision as to whether or not the cost to you in time and effort is compensated by the amount of traffic they will most likely send.

Complying with link list and TGP rules is not a problem that is just confined to new webmasters in this business. Many people who have been around for years still seem unable to comply with basic common rules. I sometimes help my partner by reviewing for her link list and the number of well-known people in the industry who submit sites that don't comply with her simple rules is just amazing. I even see board advisors from other newbie boards submitting sites that are way out of compliance.

Link lists and TGPs have had so much trouble with people who simply cannot follow the rules that many of them these days use scripts that allow them to instantly reject any submission received from a webmaster who cannot comply. The script – often known as a black list - cuts in as soon as the submission is received to ensure that the list owner doesn't even see it. It is a sad indictment on a webmaster's ability when he or she is dumped onto a black list because they cannot follow simple rules.

Here are just a couple of the common rules that regularly get broken:

No blind links.

If you have links that say “More free pics here” or something similar you are offering a surfer a blind link. Some webmasters who use a title graphic that links to a sponsor – that is a blind link. Some use images that look like thumbnails but point to the sponsor – those are blind links.

No more than three links.

Three links on the one page to sponsors are fine; add a fourth link to your hub and you are outside the rules. Two links to sponsors and a link to your hub puts you well within the rules most of the time. A money bar with sponsor links or links to your sites does not count as one link. Every link inside each cell in that money bar is a separate link.

No illegal or banned terms in your metas.

Many experienced webmasters still insist on filling their meta tags with all sorts of illegal terms or even terms like 'barely legal' or 'school girls'. Those are terms that many lists just won't accept and if you use them you will not get accepted.

No hidden text or links.

For some reason many webmasters who should know better try this one in the hope that it will increase their search engine rankings. It doesn't but it does increase their chances of never getting their sites accepted.

No Javascripts on the site.

This rule is very common for TGP gallery submissions. It even applies to counters. If you can't live without a counter on your gallery then you're going to have to live without much traffic.

There really is no rocket science in building sites and galleries that comply with the rules of 95% of link lists and TGPs out there. It is simply a matter of research and common sense. If you do the research and use common sense, your sites will get accepted and you will start getting the traffic you need to make sales.