There was a day in yesteryear that you would install a link exchange partner page on your site as an SEO tool as necessary as a sitemap. You would solicit links to your web site and then, in return, link to somebody else.
I won’t deny participating in such an event myself. For years, this was sold as a beneficial way of building links. Such link exchange services like Linkmetro, BRL, Telalinks, and so on (all of which now useless in my opinion) popped up and started automating the link exchange process.
To those SEO companies that get their ethics and strategies from the tubes (GOP synonym for “interwebs”) I invite you to visit the law giver. The knower of all things in the search engine optimization “rightosphere”. I introduce you to Google Webmaster Guidelines.
Google Webmaster Guidelines is where you learn the rights and wrongs of search engine optimization. Don’t know where it is? Well, there is no easy way to get there except Googling “Google Webmaster Guidelines”. Once there, type in “links schemes”.
A couple bullet points down you will see on the list of do nots “Excessive reciprocal links or excessive link exchanging ("Link to me and I'll link to you.")”. Whaaaaat? You mean my link partners page is useless? Those countless hours of spamming link exchange partners done in vein? Those beautiful two way links for nothing?
Yep. Life’s tough, move on.
In spite of Google putting their opinion of solicited link exchanges in clear view, a walk down Search Engine Optimization Company Lane (a sadly unsafe neighborhood) will show that few are listening. They still advertise “reciprocal link management” and similar services. Save your time. Blogging, articles, press releases, in short, content based links are still strong and true. As for your link exchanges, well, cut your time loss and move forward.
Of course, what other search engine optimization companies advertise doesn’t mean their wait in wasted kilobytes to me. But occasionally, these half informed Google Webmaster Guideline illiterates solicit their phony services to one of our clients. So, occasionally conversations just as this appear.
“Jason, why aren’t we doing link exchanges?” Client will ask.
“Waste of time.” I will answer.
“But other SEO’s are saying we need link exchanges.”
“They’re wrong.”
“But I’ve heard it from more than one SEO, I need link exchanges.”
I sigh briefly before replying, “Well, more than one search engine optimization company can be ignorant. It doesn’t strike you as odd that you are on the first page of Google without link exchanges?”
“But why are these other SEO guys saying I need link exchanges?”
The response to that question is of course, “Well, while I’m sure they know how to read, they choose not to read Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.”
The journey to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines always seems to disarm their concerns. Reciprocal links are just another SEO tactic of the past that is better off staying there. Write content, build one way links, and by all means, read the rules.