Reciprocal Links: Are They Really So Bad? - Sorting Out the Links: The Good
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There are many good and valid reasons to consider reciprocal links. Under the right circumstances, they can help your site in the search engines, and provide benefit to your visitors as well. Good old fashioned link trading works well, provided it's done correctly, and with the right goals in mind.
Trading links adds to a site's total of incoming links. They provide additional inflow of Google PageRank. The problem is one of degree. Not all incoming links provide equal benefit. To ensure that your reciprocal links generate the maximum value for your site and its visitors, you have to understand how links work in the search engines. In particular, the requirements of link obsessed Google must be taken into consideration.
When considering a reciprocal link arrangement, use the following rule of thumb, and it will create the best results. Think of the interests of your visitors first and ignore the search engines. While that concept might not seem logical at first glance, it's the one that works best. What is best for the visitors to your site is also what the search engines want to see from your site as well. It's all about relevance.
Relevant links are simply more valuable to a Website's visitors than links that have little or nothing in common with the themes and topics found on the site's pages. At the same time, Google's search algorithm in particular gives much more weight to an on theme link than to one that is not related to the site.
Reciprocal links to and from sites that share the same themes and topics are more valuable. Swapped links from sites that share little in common are given much less search engine value.
When link exchanges are made between sites that share common themes and topics, visitors are helped as well. Providing outgoing links, to other useful and informative sites, raises a Website's value as a resource. Visitors will regard the site as a source of useful links.
The search engines will view the site as remaining entirely within its overall themes. Higher visitor traffic and sales result, on the one hand, and higher Google PageRank and better results in the search engine results pages (SERPs), appear on the other.
As a site develops a more powerful group of theme related incoming and outgoing links, it has the beginnings of a Hub Site or an Authority Site. The important point is relevance of links. A Hub Site is like a link airport with theme relevant incoming and outgoing links. An Authority Site is a large site that is considered to most important for its keywords.
A well planned relevant linking strategy can start a site on the road to that status, which is highly rewarded by the search engines.
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