Just Ask Matt - Answers

Do Link Exchanges Still Work?

QUESTION: (Gerald) I have a number of people asking me to exchange links. I have read that this is good, but can’t find anywhere how to do it. Any suggestions, or is there an article you have that would help me. Appreciate it.

Good question, Gerald, because we really don’t hear as much about link exchanges as we did in the past.  I think the big reason for it is it’s effectiveness (or lack thereof).  Search engine spiders are much smarter than they were 2 or 3 years agos.  And most will recognize a “link exchange” rather easily.

For those who don’t know what a link exchange is, it is when you approach another website (usually with similar content to yours) and ask them to place a nice, keyword-rich anchor text link back to your website.  In exchange, you will do the same for them.  Remember that an important part of SEO is backlinks (i.e., receiving links from other websites pointing back to you).  A few years ago, a lot of this “linking power” was represented by a Page Rank.  Getting high Page Rank websites to point back to you effectively will increase your own page rank.

Personally, I think Page Rank is a bit of a farce these days (at least the public one).  I do think the major search engines (like Google) have there own ranking system based on popularity, but it would not be public.  Still, getting links from “authority sites” with relevance (to your niche) is always key. 

Now getting back to the question…I think link exchanges (or “reciprocal linking”) is really not going to help or hurt you.  Any backlink (in most cases) usually will help you.  But if there is a reciprocal link, the spiders will usually recognize this and probably not give you proper popularity for it. 

Again, like everything SEO, this is speculation, but I know there has been a lot of abuse of link exchanges over the years (like link farms, paid text links, etc.) to draw a lot of attention to it.  I used to do it quite a bit.  I don’t really do it any more (unless I am quite friendly with the website and we exchange primarily for the traffic, not the SEO).  I think your efforts would be better suited to article writing/submission, press releases, even directory submissions. 

You can also consider n-way link exchanges.  For a 3-way link exchange example: Site A links to Site B, Site B links to Site C, and Site C links to Site A.  You can do this rather deeply, too.  But still, the search engine spiders are smart and may start recognizing the linking footprints.  The larger the “n”, the better off you are…but of course, this is a hell of a lot more work and requires some skillful coordination.

Personally, I have become somewhat of an a-hole about link exchange requests.  I don’t get as many as I used to, but when I do I usually ignore them. 

cheers…matt

P.S. If you want to know more about Getting Backlinks, check out SEOExciter.com.  (There are 10 free videos over there that shows you how!)

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Matthew BredelMy name is Matthew Bredel and as of March, 2007, I am a full-time, work-at-home internet marketer. For close to 10 years, I worked for a defense company which was an OK job, but I was so uninspired in life and frankly, I needed some more money. That is when I first discovered internet marketing! Now I admit that I didn't start making thousands in my first couple of months (in fact, I lost my shirt!), but I finally saw the "internet light"...

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To Coach Deb: “QuanSite, Says What?”

October 9th, 2009 . by Matthew Bredel . Tweet This!
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Coach Deb and I sit down to discuss the next revolution of her original Blogi360 system, called QuanSite. Is this Wordpress-like content management system the solution to your website development and marketing needs? We discuss this, the Secret Society of Quan, and a few laughs…

At Monday’s mastermind meeting (held at the secret headquarters of Dr. Mike Woo Ming), Deb Micek (known as “Coach Deb” or @CoachDeb on Twitter) and I sat down and tried to hold our composure while talking about the launch of QuanSite, her upgraded and renamed version of the ever-popular Blogi360 website system.

Blogi360 was a leader in online marketing software, website building and new media.

QuanSite is the next Generation of Blogi360!

The video goes into the details of what QuanSite is and how it can help you build, or even re-invent your current websites and blogs.

This more more than just a blogging system (like Wordpress).  The is the complete, installed solution for website development & marketing.

No technical experience required.

The QuanSite system goes on-sale October 13 for a limited release.  Right now, get on her list for up-to-date news and exclusive webinars to grow (or even start) your online business.

I’m planning on moving some of my own Wordpress blogs onto QuanSite.  The build-in tools and plug-ins are more powerful than anything on the market.  And remember, Coach Deb is the queen of social media (she also created Tribal Seduction).  Many of her own personal strategies are integrated within QuanSite.

If creating or even managing your websites is becoming a chore or wasting your time, you must at least check this out!

“What Would You Do with an Extra 40 Hours???”

Click here to learn more about QuanSite

Read the full QuanSite Review

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4 Responses to “To Coach Deb: “QuanSite, Says What?””

  1. I looked at Quansite but I’m skeptical. They charge $1200 a year for their cheapest product - not a small amount of money - and they offer services costing hundreds of dollars to set up and configure the website.

    Well, much of their marketing material is all about how easy it is to setup and use the website. That’s why you’re paying $1200 a year, because it is powerful yet point and click simple to set up and administer. So why do they have to offer so many “Ambassador” services costing hundreds of dollars to set up and configure the website?

    Something doesn’t add up, and the website does not appear to be as easy to set up and configure as they make it sound in the marketing literature. My guess is most people will need to spend $1200 a year plus several hundred dollars more to get help with setting the thing up.

    Posted by: Dan
    October 15th, 2009 at 5:49 am

  2. Hey Dan,

    I think Deb has the pricing right for this…and let me explain. The QuanSite product is really targeted towards the person who really doesn’t know how to set up a website. There are definitely cheaper methods (like getting your own hosting and installing a Wordpress blog), but many people don’t have the time, patience, or expertise to do this. Also, if you split the cost up across the 4 sites you get (at least for the starter pack), you are roughly talking about $25/site…that is the same for other fully integrated content management systems (like SiteBuildIt, for example). And remember that all of the plug-ins are installed for you, plus many added features like video file conversions and those social media tools that bookmark in a collective. I spend about $200/mo just on bookmarking and social media syndication tools and services on my own stuff. For the hobbiest, this may be a bit of an investment, but for your business (whether it is currently offline wanting to go online or you are looking to develop your first online one), this should be a rather justifiable business expense. Just my opinion!

    Posted by: Matthew Bredel
    October 15th, 2009 at 6:16 am

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