Reciprocal Linking - Is it Worth It?
Reciprocal linking consists of a link trade. But there are many ways to do it, some which work, some which do not.
Search engines are reputedly onto the sites that trade with anybody and everybody. So to be effective, reciprocal linking needs to follow some rules.
It CAN help your pagerank, if you have links on high quality sites which are related to yours in topic. But even that gets tricky, because we simply cannot tell what a search engine will count as being related.
The basic rules for Link Exchanges are:
1. Trade with sites that have related content. If a competitor asks for a trade, go ahead and give it - it WILL help them, but it will help you too.
2. Check to insure that the other site has not been banned. A banned site listed on your site will hurt you.
3. Check to insure that the site is high quality. A low quality trashy site will eventually hurt you if you have a link to it on your site.
4. Pagerank is not important. Higher pagerank of the linking site can help you, but low pagerank won't hurt you. Today's brand new pagerank 0 can be tomorrow's pagerank 4, so getting in early can help you.
5. You know those sites that say you have to link to them first, and which have an automatic link verification system to see that you have? Don't bother, most of them don't work, and you end up wasting your time.
6. You can place a Link Exchange page on your site, where you offer to trade links with others. You can clearly specify your policies, and request emailed links or have a form for people to submit them. Do NOT place a system on your site that automatically trades links with anyone and everyone! It will kill your site because scammers will latch onto it and flood your site with trashy links.
7. Finding high quality sites who WILL link to you is hard. Emailing strangers about a link is usually a waste of time, they don't trust you, and they delete your email. It is better to join some forums and keep an eye out there for people who have sites with similar themes, and request link trades after you have some basis for knowing the person, and after you have reviewed their site.
8. Don't make link trades a primary focus of your marketing campaign. Keep it as a secondary one, and just take the opportunity when it presents itself, rather than aggressively pursuing link trades. Go look for niche directories to list in instead, it will be more productive.
Link exchanges are worth doing, and can help your pagerank, but only if you link to the right sites - good quality, and relevant. Otherwise you are wasting your time at best, courting disaster at worst.
Written by Laura Wheeler
Owner of Skinny Shoestring http://www.skinnyshoestring.com/ – Laura writes instructional materials, produces infosites, and builds affordable websites for her business startup clients. Her varied experience allows her to give exceptional service, and to produce instructions on a surprising range of topics. Laura is a busy mom of eight, homeschooler, and home business owner.
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