Thread: Are reciprocal links the way to go ???

I came across this snippet !!

Is it actually true ?

When a search engine crawler indexes a website's content, it saves all the links. For every link which points to your website, the search engine gives you some credit. If a reciprocal link is detected then the crawler reduces this credit, otherwise you get the maximum credit out of that link. Hence, if you need even better results it is strongly recommended to build one-way links.

How would one build one-way links ???

Whats in it for the other party ?????

There is supposedly not as MUCH credit for reciprocal linking because the reason linking originally was given credit - was because the se's liked seeing NATURAL linking. Natural linking is when you say - hey I like that and I'm going to tell people about it. Or when someone writes about you in their blog or an article, etc because they like you and want to tell others about you.

Of course, people saw the value of links, so they started doing unnatural linking - some of which still is good, some of which led to link farms which are very bad - those are pages that really have nothing of value to anyone and are only generated to basically "trick" the se's. Believe me, they don't trick easily. They now do look for reciprocal linking and even are working on discovering the people who do 3-way linking to try to hide that it's a reciprocal link.

All this said, it is still good to have the reciprocal links. They are even better if they are highly relevant to your site and if they are well organized. And guess what? About 15-20% of my sales right now come from link partners sites. So, trading with partners who also make their links pages inviting to their customers/users - and make them easy to find things - and where they really do look like these are places you recommend, not just a list of names or banners in any order to help with se's - is still something that will do you good - even if se's quit giving you any credit.

Use it correctly - do your homework when you link - link with good anchor text (the words that actually do the linking) and your links will help you.

Now, for the rest of your question. I'm sure you have lots of links you are unaware of - because there ARE sites out there who look for certain types of sites to link with. I have sites that I add to my stores because I really DO recommend them and I do NOT require a reciprocal link. Guess what - you will get credit for these also if they are relevant and worthy.

Hope I've helped here some.

Thanks beth....as usual you are on the ball.

edit: whats a 3 way link ?

A three way link would be where someone - like me with more than one store - would say to you - I'll link A Child's Palace to mypalma if you would link mypalma to Pinata Palace. Then, in true 3 way fashion, Pinata Palace would place a link to A Child's Palace. Therefore there would be no links coming back to a site directly from the site it's linking to.

Some are actually trying to finagle the system this way. It's just a lot of work - and believe me - the computer systems Google and Yahoo and MSN have are better than anything people have been able to fool them with. They might get away with things for a short time - but it gets found out. And because of HOW people tried to link trade just for the se's, reciprocal linking lost some value - and I'm sure will continue to lose value - but I don't think will ever totally lose value if used correctly.

Thanks beth

Just to Chime in with Beth, who by the way, we know each other from another forum, I would say 50% of my traffic comes from reciprocal linking, but even more than that, I also see links in search engines using the key words used in my link pages text coming back to me. So Keeping a tight rein on the links works.

Another popular linking trend is article writing and getting a link to you from articles you write. Blogging can be used as that kind of resource too. However, blogging is now getting spammed in the same manner as link farms, so its NOT what it used to be either, or for what it was originally intended for. Im working with articles and I do get HITS off those as well, on my stores, especially when they too are tightly themed to the content of my site.

Karen Mac

50% is good indeed, but as you quite rightly point out, you must use with care and content.

Relevancy is THE main word to remember in everything about website design.

Everything from composing unique and dynamic content that is reflected by the apporpriate use of "mirrored" Key Word and Page Titles, to complimentary reference (via text or links) on other web pages (yours or anothers') within the context or theme. Dynamic content is noticed by the uniqueness of the composition and whether or not it is 'static' or evolving. It is also defined by the logical or novel use of hyperlinks, and invalidated by the inapporpriate uses like "peppering" or as commonly attampted via Blogs, Forums, or "articles" injected everywhere.

You have to try to think as linear as possible, almost mathematically, when trying to understand SE methodology and to respond to the established framework rather than try to concoct a scheme to do and end-run around them. It is a perspective that should begin as you plan a website, even to the point of actually drawing out a pencilled flow chart to illustrate navigation, content development, functional fulfillment, etc. It is more than paying attention to continuity: it is simplifying logistics to naturally emphasize relevancy (purpose, even) of a website.

For instance, it would not be natural relevancy for a **** seller to comment on automobile generators, or to post a link to the grocery store, would it? But, mentioning leather manufacture and types, fashion trends, and posting a link to a stocking store would demonstrate not only relevancy but uniqueness of content that might be naturally ranked higher, and there is more than the commonly found brief descriptions of simply proffered products.....the SE's might even rank this site in a more important role of a resource until another more comparable site is found and then matrixed for "relevancy"! There is no single element of website design that can be manipulated successfully without immediate detriment to the whole.

There are a number of wonderful posts throughout the VH Forums that discuss tidbits of this large topic, and are worthy of careful consideration, even for established websites. My recurring point (which I seem to be very apt to re-color to offer another perspective for understanding) is that webdesign is a real process that requires focused planning and forethought in addition to precise and detailed implementation, and is a foundational effort I personally do not see being demonstrated nearly as much as it used to be......having grand expectations from poorly planned or non-maintained websites is the root cause for disappointment!

I highly suggest VodaHits as the way to affordably begin to optimize websites while participating in the process, learning by doing, if you will. This initial and effective program will widen the overall familiarity and *****en individual perspectives, allowing one to hone their efforts to perform the mechanics of SEO.

(In my opinion, of course!)

Part 2

Effective website promotion includes (but is not entirely dependent on) a solid SEO program, which is often misunderstood completely, but should also be properly supported by effective uses of traditional marketing methods to achieve the best overall results. More often than not, today's websites are "promoted" solely via non-participatory methods and lack the vitality and profitability (if applicable) possible due to simple oversight and less than poor planning.

One of the hot-terms floating about nowadays is "cross-channel" marketing and how it is essential to any real qualified marketing plan. As if this is a new idea! Think of cross-channel marketing as saturation....direct mail, billboards, postcards, handing out business cards, newspaper ads - when used in concert for a single drive or promotion this IS cross-channel marketing. As part of a "plan" the continuity (and validity) of your marketing plan will emerge and be moldable to perfection.

It's what explains why you see GoDaddy's commercial at SuperBowl Halftime and enticing Buy.com ads on TV. It's why HSN spends millions each year promoting their online shopping, almost to the point of overkill with regard to their highly successful TV programming. It is also why you can recall your favorite eBay TV ad......

Of course, the simplest method of marketing is personal invitation or referral, and it is common sense to list your website on anything you can: from business cards to shopping bags, decals you give away to signs on windows, posting a blurb on the City Community Bulletin Board (online) to a listing in the school directory.....preponderance of opportunity creates conversion (visits, traffic) proportionately!

Search Engine Optimization, once fully understood and implemented with genuine commitment, should not be your single focus to developing online prominence. More likely, it is your "invited" visitors that will initiate your rise in natural ranking and actually support your website..... the rest is up to you to attract new visits via unique composition (the very purpose of SEARCH engines) within the parameters you are given.

Are you collecting email addresses to send out announcements, newsletters, and "specials"?
Do you regularly update your customer lists? Verify the info? HOW?
Ever think about how a Contest or Special online-only offer can do to increase not only traffic but awareness of your site?
Do you have a means to collect customer feedback, "thank yous'," suggestions, wish lists, or even complaints? Do you post them? Why not?
Have you thought about writing a regular "column" published online and for a local paper (paid for or not), possibly even for the "throw away" types to project a wider community exposure, and refer to your site?
Have you thought of sponsoring an event (any event...some only require very little money or even a simple prize) where you can display your banner with your website address prominently promoted?

There are countless ways to spur traffic to your website. New, unique, natural traffic is extremely important when considering overall initial ranking.

**Remember! Once you get people to your site, don't disappoint them with the quality of it's design or vitality, or they won't bother to return......

Just some more personal perspectives to benefit you as you elect.....

vasili where is part 3?

i like the stuff about the online contest thing i'm gonna use it on my website

A lot of good advice. If I can add anything it would be that, if you want to get the utmost out of a link, make sure that the link to you on someones site is your company name, and not your URL.
Another word, my url is http://www.displaycasej.com, I always ask that the actual hyperlink be my company name "J-Display Case"
This increases the "credit" you get for the link.

Originally Posted by tenhats

A lot of good advice. If I can add anything it would be that, if you want to get the utmost out of a link, make sure that the link to you on someones site is your company name, and not your URL.
Another word, my url is http://www.displaycasej.com, I always ask that the actual hyperlink be my company name "J-Display Case"
This increases the "credit" you get for the link.

Not true.

This may be applicable in some Affiliate programs, but the concept of reciprocal linking is based upon two distinctly ranked sites sharing relevancy, thereby elevating that relevancy to greater search dynamics to the search engines proper.

There is no "credit" awarded, especially based on Company Name vs. a URL. If anything, indexed content (Company name) in a URL may be granted greater recognition from elevated hard-links on relevancy that becomes more viable to the engines!!!

Example: Joe's Bagels links up with Julie's Jelly. Both sites have distinct rank, and agree to share links (based on complimentary products/Content). Both may share the key word "breakfast" somewhere in their combinations, and as more peole use the search engine for "breakfast" items, both sites will appear before non-reciprocally linked sites, if they both pay attention to the real SEO construct elements, as this delivery of "breakfast" sites becomes more popular solution for searchers, therefore SE's rank these sites are more "relevant" beyond their original construct. Understand?

PS: Just so you don't think I'm hammering you above, there is one tidbit of info I must acknowledge to make something clearer:

Search Engines "read" hyperlinks in only one manner - just as they are entered in http strings. It doesn't matter if it is an image, text link, straight string, or object. SE's "see" the link and immediately "compare" it to cached information, starting first at the URL it points to for validation (SE's may actually abort ranking scours if links are invalid....that's why you see "broken links" error messages in some reports). Thus, the foundation of my explanation above.

The suggestion that links be textual based (company name) or need be "one way" (in original post) for extra "credit" is baseless. It does, however, allude to another aspect of relevancy pertaining to reciprocal links: a valid link on Site A pointing to a relevant Site B's indexed/ranked page that is of high relevant Content will result in favorable positioning for subsequent Searches by web visitors....the SE's see this as a mathematical predictability of greater value search results, all based on relevancy. THAT'S what they are all about: providing the best sources and perponderance of "esteemed" information upon demand to their clients, and your "Rank" is only an indication of how you fare in constructing your relevancy!!

Sure, a visitor finds it easier to "read" your company name in text, but the SE's don't value that more or less than a banner or an image that has a valid link embedded.

The SE's would think twice about Joe's Bagels being linked to Sam's *****, however, valid links and content notwithstanding. The SE's would probably flag both sites as "non-conforming," and possibly even counterfeit construct..."It's not nice to fool Mother Nature, and worse to try fooling Grandpa Google!"
This brings up another chapter dealing with "Link-Seeding" as is so currently mis-understood with regard to Blogs, Forums, and Journals.....Stay Tuned!

Hmm, I guess its what being read, a report generated by a bot or a visit by a human editor, another url to look at by a visitor or a company name.
A report dosent show a text link or a url link, it shows a link, which generates the same credit for a link. A company name seen by a human editor shows not only as a link, but as a popularity link.
There is a differance, and it does count. You have many pages on your site all of which have a url, the internet is clogged with url's. A url link is just that another url link.
But a company name link , a text link generates popularity for that name increasing its popularity on the net more than a url link and counting as a more substantial listing on someone elses website than just another url.
This brings us to the point of relavancy, a company name link is more relavant to 'Popularity" than a url link.
(I dont know why you would go negative on this Vasil since you say you think they both are the same anyway. Yea if someone has a broken link its a broken link, what's that got to do with it?)

Maybe I'm one to see beyond "methods" to create traffic or true relevancy that are not entirely "genuine." And, if you are confident that this technobabble between "Company name" and actual hard-links generate "credit" is a real discussion you are free to postulate as much as you desire.

I maintain that in answering Dave's original question accurately, I emphatically respond "No."

Flipping the coin once more, I can see where I missed an element that may be my personal "methodology" was not even explained to the benefit of other readers of this thread: I have been very careful to obtain domains that in full normative language are the exact name of the companies they represent, and are always presented online as "hard." My companies names, their links, and 100% of all the volumuous precisely crafted deep Content provides a rich relevancy that easily provides the means for dominance via Hard-Rank Searches alone.

This whole discussion (despite the erroneous premise) is like trying to catch an elephant with a snare trap built with silk cord and ivory chopsticks.......and your last post (#15) is so self-conflicting without any furtherance, it appears to be more confused and confusing than contributory.


IMO

So you agree with me. Just not that a text link exchange should be a company name, but as a site url ? There are many articles that do agree in whole with what Iam saying. Not only as a company name, but even as a one line advertisment link as the reciprocal link. It's done millions of times on the net. In all of your own post you link with a photo, at the top of this page Voda links with their company name, a text link, tons of us have the voda link on our sites as a text link. You could not be more wrong.

Originally Posted by tenhats

So you agree with me. Just not that a text link exchange should be a company name, but as a site url ? There are many articles that do agree in whole with what Iam saying. Not only as a company name, but even as a one line advertisment link as the reciprocal link. It's done millions of times on the net. In all of your own post you link with a photo, at the top of this page Voda links with their company name, a text link, tons of us have the voda link on our sites as a text link. You could not be more wrong.

Frankly, the tecnobabble that has been tossed around in this thread and the micro-vascillation you continue to present puzzles me.

You obviously did not comprehend the concept I, and, sticking to your guns, conclude that I am wrong. Again, I fall victim of providing too much information than can be digested properly.
Your point of whether to list a link (textually) as Company Name vs. www. CompanyName.com will create greater rank or metric credibility has been fully answered with regard to supporting content development. FULLY.
Your last statement that "it's done all the time" and that I am therefore incorrect is baseless, as I completely described the relationship of SEI and true continuity, and, like you pointed out my signature image actually helps to build "rank" since it is the same image (file name and URL) that is in hundreds of thousands of indexed locations throuhout the WWW. This, in fact, does not prove anything other than I have paid attention to all the concepts I have described and maintained continuity of Content and relevancy even for my "signatures", again demonstrating the truthfulness of my labored posts.

What is your point? What is it exactly that you cannot understand about content development/relevancy and how SEI (Search Engine Indexing) works? If you can see how linking is commonly displayed, and can understand how to embed an image, hyperlink a "Company Name" in a sentence, and compose content at least at a minimally acceptable level, what are you struggling with? I have taken the time to spell out elemental construct to no avail, apparently. Your parting shot reveals much, and I hope that you will re-read this entire thread to fully comprehend the material discussed before you again take such a position here in VodaTalk, my friend. There is a lot more for all of us to learn about "webbing" and I tried to provide pertinent information for more advanced perpective regarding the issue mentioned. Unfortunately, the understanding curve did not pace the posts, and the resultant errant personalizations have indicated this thread has crossed the line of being of contributory value.

how does one aquire a link exchange? go to every site simmilar to your and ask?

Originally Posted by lawnman777

how does one aquire a link exchange? go to every site simmilar to your and ask?

Basically, that has been the foremost way to collect the links that prove to be most beneficial, and allow you the maximum control.

You could enroll in one of the gazillion link exchanges, but often you can narrow only as far down as your category, and then have little to say one way or the other. But still, some allow you final say over who you allow single exchanges with.

In your case, I would suggest looking into some of the affiliate programs with the manufacturers of supplies, equipment, and the like. Not only could you make some decent change by referral sales, but it would prove to be "high-value rank" if your links were so "relevant".....

>>> Did you see the post somewhere else about an actual "Classifieds" utility being available via Fantastico! in your VodaHost Account Control Panel??
I know you at one time were looking for the easiest and most professional means to get that going on your site...it's called Noah's Classifieds, and you'll find in under Fantastico! in your VH account Control Panel.

Good to see you again!

A one way link is better than a recip link, but a recip link is better than no link at all.

This thread just woke me right up!!! I feel like I'm in college again. Thanks for all your knowledge people. I'm taking this one to the bank. kenb

If you want links, I highly suggest you check out seo elite. Click the below...

http://www.vodahost.com/seo-elite.htm