It’s widely known in SEO that gaming links is dangerous, and too many questionable references can cause Google to give you the boot. Still, the power of the link is there, and this leads many SEOs into a reciprocal link network (link to me and I’ll link to you). The question remains though: how many is too many?
Reciprocal Links: What’s Excessive Anyway?
Many assume that reciprocal links are black hat, but that’s not necessarily the case because often they are legitimate and can bolster relevance. But nobody’s been exactly sure of Google’s policy regarding them, and the topic has caused much debate.
Recently, as noted at the WebmasterWorld forum, Google updated the language at the Webmaster Help Center, under the “Link schemes” topic. One word was enough to fire up the debate again: excessive.
The very phrase “link scheme” connotes something not quite on the level, and as an example, Google files reciprocal links this way:
Excessive reciprocal links or excessive link exchanging (“Link to me and I’ll link to you.”)
But the word “excessive” doesn’t exactly carry an exact number and for good reason. It seems to be judged on a case by case basis.
Bob Masa, whose been in SEO for a decade (making him one of the veterans) says it doesn’t matter if you have a million or ten reciprocal links as long as they add value and relevance to your business (he addresses business only, not non-profit):
It is not about reciprocal links or how many is too many. It is about making more money from less visitors with less expense and more profit.
Don’t let your self get sucked into wasting your time judging linking opportunities with a yardstick of whether Google will think it is excessive or not. Approach each reciprocal link deal with a single thought. Will this link exchange bring me enough paying customers that I can justify recommending to my visitors to go to his site instead of staying at mine?
So there you have it, from a certified expert: use some common sense when judging reciprocal links.
