Reciprocate Links. A Cheaper Alternative to One Way BackLinks but Just as Effective

Reciprocal links - Prohibited or Encouraged?

Reciprocal linking is without doubt one of the most disputed subjects in the SEO community. The reason for this is because they simultaneously can greatly contribute to your link network and also damage it pretty seriously.

Out of all this uncertainty, one thing is for sure - Google is more and more intransigent with irrelevant, automated link exchanges.

As a matter of fact, reciprocation in link building is encouraged by major search engines as long as its sole purpose is promoting relevant content among niche related sites.

There are 2 directions to follow

1. Seeking to build reciprocal links with no regard to the relevancy of your partner websites. Although positive changes in your rankings will start to show early on, in the long run, Google will retract some of the trust appointed to your website.

2. Staying in your field; although it takes more time to find and initiate quality link exchanges opportunities, keeping the relevancy level high will empower your sites position in that niche's organic listings.

Still, keep in mind that it takes time to build a presence online and brand yourself. The good news is you build a solid foundation for selling your product or service.

SEO is 97% about backlinks and reciprocal links come in handy when you're exclusively after the numbers.

Maybe the biggest benefit from using link reciprocation is that it builds relevancy for your own site by systematically using your keywords as anchor texts.

Junky back links are found on high rated websites, also. As long as you don't reciprocate the link, your site won't be affected.

A white hat method for link exchange is reciprocal promotions, where each linking partner promotes content referencing the other party on their own website.

From a marketing perspective reciprocal links are especially valued for being an efficient medium for brand promotion. Still, if you can obtain a one way back link the better.

Then again, this statement is contradicted by our incorrigible human nature that constantly cries the "what's in it for me" exception.

To make this human behavior work for you, you must gratify them with some top-notch content that they feel they must reference and discuss and debate around it, on social platforms, with blog posts, etc.

Address your potential linking partner with trustworthy references to other related content before you mention your linking intentions. Become a good info provider not just self promoter.

Unfortunately most of the links requests out there are turned down. In order for your proposition to even be considered you have to feel, look, and sound like a human.

Discounting Reciprocal Linking

Once you start getting involved with the reciprocal linking networks, consider this:

1. Sites part of linking networks are there for the same reason you're considering joining - Poor Rankings. There is no point in building links with lower ranking websites, all the more so if they're unrelated to your niche.
2. Generally these candidates consist of simple one-page sales letters and at best reach 10 pages, with no chance of positioning in the SERP - top 10.
3. Not only does their copy sounds as hype from a mile away but they're also built in the spam religion with keyword stuffing in the title and description tags, etc.
4. Good judgment implies that if you seek better organic rankings you should build it in the real market and not waste time in isolated communities.

The remainder of this article deals reciprocal linking blackhat techniques. The information is published on my blog, TrafficCpanel. I also recommend a quick scan through some tips for creating back links with submission sites.