Loading ...When you’re trying to build your link profile, you really have a limited amount of options. You can buy links, which is risky. You can try to attract links. You can directly seek links out. You can trade for links. This last option is also a risky move, and much of the information on reciprocal linking on the net seems to say not to do it. Yet SEO experts consistently use reciprocal linking as a strategy. This prompts the question: are reciprocal links good or evil?
Reciprocal linking is one of the easier ways to get some good links on your profile. Other site owners are more willing to provide you with a link if there is something in it for them, and a return link is usually one of the best non-financial recompenses you can offer. The trouble is that reciprocal linking isn’t smiled upon by the search engines as it involves some trading on a site’s ranking.
Reciprocal linking overview
A reciprocal link is exactly what it says on the box – a link that is reciprocated. It often comes about through an agreement between site owners. For example, you might say to a colleague that if he links to you, you will link to him. It is an agreement which benefits both of you, as it builds up both link profiles.
Reciprocal linking was once a very popular way of enhancing link profiles. However, like all popular SEO techniques, it has been undermined by the search engines through a tweak of the algorithm. The search algorithms now look for reciprocal links and devalue them because they aren’t as natural as they could be.
Some sites have got around reciprocal linking issues by organising linking triangles, where no direct link between linker and lined is obvious. This can constitute a link scam and can get you into trouble. Talk to us at SEO Consult Australia about penalties.
Is reciprocal linking a good move?
The opinion of the search engine optimisation industry is fairly divided when it comes to reciprocal linking. Although a lot of SEO pros advise against reciprocal links, a lot of them use them. Which way to go?
It’s important to look at things from Google’s point of view. It’s easy to understand where Google’s coming from with reciprocal links. In the eye of the search engines, the best kinds of links are those that are given because the site owner likes another site. When you arrange for a friend to swap links with you, you’re undermining the natural way of things.
Reciprocal links can happen naturally, and the search engines make some allowance for this. This is the loophole that many SEO pros take advantage of. Reciprocal links can get you into trouble, but only when you use too many of them. A simple link swap between a couple of friends looks natural.
Most of the tactics used in search engine optimisation work best when they are used in moderation. Reciprocal linking is one of them. It is more beneficial to your site to have a couple of reciprocal links than to have thousands of them.
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Tags: Search Engine Optimisation, SEO, SEO Consult, seo techniques
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