Link Reciprocation is quite a popular model for building link popularity for a website.
There are many different forms of acquiring reciprocal links. Link reciprocation in general is acceptable by the search engines. Unfortunately many link reciprocation strategies are not search engine friendly.
The worst form of link reciprocation involves website service companies that offer subscription-based networking with mass numbers of other Webmasters, all of who are communicating around one and one topic only….link reciprocation.
These fee based subscription models lead to network and farm based link reciprocation….Yes, that right, this is the notorious “link farm” you’ve heard about. This model of reciprocation embodies the very epitome of “link farm.” And here’s another thing; The search engines hate this model. Having witnessed over 1,000 projects come through our door over the last 9 years I can tell you without a doubt that next to “duplicate content,” link farm reciprocation is the #1 reason why websites are filtered, penalized, or even banned.
We’ve never actually used a service like this for any website we’ve ever worked with, but many site owners come to us with these networks in place. When we find that our clients are using these services we immediately pressure them to cease these practices. Sometimes, however, we are simply to late…the damage has already been done. Fortunately we have developed best practices to help clients who have incurred problems in the search engines get their problems corrected. In speaking with many new companies each day I have found that many websites that are penalized incurred these penalties through these link networks (we get a lot of sites asking for our help after they receive a penalty in the search engines).
There are other non-friendly types of link building….we can talk about these at a later date. The thing to know is that link reciprocation in its natural form is totally search engine friendly. There is nothing wrong with linking to your partners, and with having them link back to you. You can also initiate link reciprocation campaigns if you choose your audience wisely and take every precaution to ensure your campaign remains search engine friendly. Most link reciprocation campaigns that involve mass emailing websites are not SE friendly.
Here’s the point – STAY AWAY from link scheme networks!
Joe Griffin is the President of SubmitAWebsite.com. Founded in 1997, Submitawebsite, Inc., “The Industrys Original Submission Company,” is a leading provider of search engine marketing services including natural search engine optimization, xml feed syndication, contextual advertising, and search engine advertising/pay-per click management. Submitawebsite, Inc. also offers web design and development, credit card processing, and web hosting.
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