Getting top rankings on Google is not as impossible as it may seem. It depends, of course, on the keyword phrase you want to get top rankings for. But one factor that often gets overlooked when websites pursue top rankings is the incoming links. Whether it's one way links or reciprocal links, incoming links play a very important part in gaining those precious top Google rankings.
So, with that in mind, let's perform an experiment.
1) In Google, type the phrase "name tags", without the quotes. The first website to come up (at least on my Google search on this particular day) is nametag.com
2) So, what kind of links are coming IN to nametag.com? After all, if I want my website to beat the competition I've got to know what the competition is doing!
3) Using the excellent backlink checker tool by seopro.com - we can find the incoming links TO nametag.com
4) As I scroll down the list I can see incoming links from website directories like Yahoo, freestuffcrazy.com, and Business.com. These are one way links. Meaning that nametag.com is not linking back to these directories. I also see incoming links from home pages of websites, link pages of websites and of course incoming links from blogs and press releases. Some of these links are reciprocal.
5) Nothing out of the ordinary really. But that was just one website. Let's try a few more.
6) A search for "men's rights in florida" (again, without the quotes) brings up troumandwallsh.com in the top position. A backlink check reveals incoming links from legal directories, general directories, reciprocal linking websites, blogs, craigslist and press releases.
7) A search for "free accounting advice" (again, without the quotes) brings up taxhelp-expert.com. Again, a backlink check reveals incoming links from bookmarking services, reciprocal link traffic sites, blogs, and directories.
If you have been reading lately that Reciprocal Linking is dead, that you shouldn't bother getting incoming links from small directories or reciprocal links from other websites, well then, why is it that the top websites in almost every search has a variety of incoming links? Yes, I will agree that one way incoming links will give you "more points" than reciprocal links but does this automatically mean that reciprocal links are dead? Should you automatically stop trying to get these types of incoming links to your website?
That kind of thinking reminds me of a story a friend of mine told me. He told me that his step-father noticed that the McDonalds in his town of 3000 people was not doing well, so he concluded that ALL McDonalds restaurants were doing badly!
That kind of general thinking just doesn't work well in business and especially on the Internet!!
So, go ahead, conduct an experiment yourself. See who is linking TO your online competition. If you're looking for ways of getting top rankings on Google and other search engines, don't forget incoming links and reciprocal linking.