Why are reciprocal links still being used widely?
-
Looking at my competitors backlink profiles they all seem to have lots or reciprocal links and banner exchanges etc... I thought that only one way links really had any value. The reciprocal links they do have appear to be pretty spammy but the sites are still ranking well? Should I be adopting reciprocal links and banner exchanges. I know these strategies worked years ago but surely not in 2012?
-
From what I get out of Rand's comment above, there's no existing penalty in Google's algorithm for reciprocal linking. So it's a great idea, and yes jumping on board with the single goal of beating your competitors will get you fast results.
But those results might be short term if the reciprocal links you're involved with don't make sense logically. What happens if in a month the webspam team rolls out another Panda focused on devaluing any reciprocal links that don't appear natural?
Would you rather watch your competitors get washed off the first page, while you climb? Or join them in the rankings loss (and more importantly, traffic loss)?
-
I totally understand that reciprocal links have their place and it is normal for business to link to each other. What concerns me is that my competitors are reciprocal linking with the ONLY intention of swapping links (I can't see any other value in the backlinks I've examined) and that it appears to be working! These guys are outranking me and I worry that if I don't play the game their way I'll fall behind even further!
-
Exactly! Industry reciprocals are bound to happen. Why wouldn't you and your partners point links at each other?
It becomes a penalizable (new word?) problem when you over-do it or work it as a "strategy." Which worries me for you, Samuel, as you word the final question:
"Should I be adopting reciprocal links and banner exchanges. I know these strategies worked years ago but surely not in 2012?"
My answer would be, "No." You shouldn't be adopting a reciprocal link & banner exchange strategy. You should build a product or service that earns links and banners. And on your own site, you should feature businesses and websites that you respect and/or work with in your own banners and links. Point customers towards resources you're proud to recommend.
-
Great answer!
The Quality Guidelines state that excessive reciprocal linking is a no-no. But it doesn't tell you what qualifies as excessive. If you've got a few recips with some people in your industry that's a good thing!
-
Rand's answer to this question surprised me when I read it in the Monthly Moz-Letter from July. Short version: reciprocal links not working is a widely spread myth that even I believed** until reading this:**
Rand(om) Question**** Want to ask Rand your inbound marketing question? Send it toErica, our newsletter wrangler, and you might see your answer here next month.
Walter Hicks asks, "If a website has a backlink to mine, is it bad to link back to their site? Does Google see that as a reciprocal link and basically nullify them?"
Hi Walter,
This is such a common misconception that we put it on our list of top SEO myths (at #6 in this WB Friday video). Linking to a site that links to you has no negative impacts, and you shouldn't worry about doing so. The only caveat is the intent; Google's webspam team cares a lot about how you acquire links and why sites/pages link to each other. If the only reason you're getting a link is because you've agreed to link to someone, you're in danger and Google is working to stop those links from having an impact. If there's a legitimate reason for both to exist, you're on safe ground.
Wish you luck!
Rand
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Subdomain links vs root domain links? Are the less valuable?
I am determining the value of links we get. Is a link on a subdomain less valuable vs one on the root domain? How less valuable would you consider a subdomain link? For example blog.site.com vs site.com/blog What other metrics would you take into consideration for the value of a subdomain link?
Link Building | | calf0 -
When do i use disallow links in WMT?
Hello, i have in Webmasters Tools 66 links to my website and i see many links of forums and blogs that copied the same post from another blogs, etc.. There are 2-3 always, i am not concerned but i don't know if i should use this tools to eliminate some links. What do you think? When should i use this tool? Thanks so much.
Link Building | | pompero990 -
Deleting links
I've got 280 links on my wordpress blog site, apparently it's recommended to keep under 100 links. How would I know which links to get rid of and which links to keep?
Link Building | | gimes0 -
Link Analysis shows no external sites linking to me?
Hi All, I hope you can help. Link Analysis shows no external sites linking to me? but I know for a fact there are. Why is this? I have submitted my site to a few local directories and can see my site is on their site but when I run a Link Analysis it shows that I have no links. Does anyone know why this is? Many thanks, Aidan My site is http://www.theethicalsilkco.com/
Link Building | | aidanlawlor0 -
Why does my website have 2,000+ links, but only 16 linking root domains?
Why does my website have 2,000+ links, but only 16 linking root domains?
Link Building | | thestudio40 -
Linking articles to each other
I've been using white-hat article marketing to post original content about my niche to credible article directories (yes, I realize many of them were recently devalued). My question is: Is it a good or bad idea to have future articles link to older articles, as a way to increase the chances of having the older articles indexed, or increasing the amount of link juice they pass to my site (since they point to my site)? I get 2 links per article and was thinking of using 1 to point to a prior (related) article, and the other to point to my site.
Link Building | | scanlin0