If you've been following the paid links debate and related linking news, you're probably wondering what to do next. A webmaster says that he's ruled out reciprocal linkings for two reasons: he's seen people get penalized and he's also aware that many smarter webmasters don't like the idea of reciprocal linking. It's also very difficult to reach webmasters nowadays. And of course, the paid links debate just makes it more problematic to get any links at all.
All hope is not lost, though. One member says that reciprocal links are not all penalized. It depends on the relevancy of the sites, of course. Use caution when doing a link exchange. As a suggestion:
Natural / low volume link exchange is alive and well and will not be penalized as long as you:- Maintain edtorial discretion always (avoid full duplex software and services that force you to link without your explicit approval) - Link with quality sites relavant to your site that will benefit your end users experience. - Keep your volume slow and natural. That means do not use full duplex software or services that force you to link with many sites in a short period of time. "Natural" means you obtain three links today, none tomorrow, one the next day, none for the next four days, three the next day, none for the next week, two the next day and so on. The search engines are trending how often you obtain links. Show an unnatural trend and you may be penalized. Show a natural trend and your site will thrive.
Just avoid the excess and you should be fine. However, you need to be committed to the task. Link building is not easy.
Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.
