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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Trying to get three kids to smile and cooperate for a picture is impossible…this is the best I could do!

Trying to get three kids to smile and cooperate for a picture is impossible…this is the best I could do!

(Spanish Dancer, Tulip Fairy, Luigi…and my made-up Charger/hippie look)

…I wish I had that much hair!

halloween2009

(For those looking for a treat, check out some free chapters of Worldwide Brands The Whole$ale!)


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9 Responses to “Boo! Happy Halloween!”

  1. Matt,

    That is one intense “comb over”. Who says this Holiday is just for kids?

    “… a little laughter goes a long way…”

    Ron


  2. Actually, I found all of the hair kind of irritating…Maybe bald is a blessing! Happy Halloween, Ron! cheers…matt

  3. Hi Matthew! Your kids are sooo cute, now what are u dressed as? -a cast off from the 70’s?!!!! lol

    I didn’t realize u use to be an electrical engineer and worked for a defense company to boot….now that’s not too shabby…for u to quit and go into IM’ing full time and make it…there’s hope for me yet!

    BTW, I love this blog set-up, nice and clean looking, easy on the eyes.

  4. Kim - I’m not exactly sure what the heck I am…this is the kind of cr*p that I have sitting in my closet. Next year, I’ll be more creative.

    And just to let you know…even though I quit my electrical engineering defense job well over 2 years ago, old co-workers still think that I am “nuts” for chasing “internet riches”…(I think I made a good choice!)

    thanks for the blog comment, too…I’ve been fiddling with it a lot lately!

    Happy halloween…cheers…matt

  5. Hi Matt,

    Great picture of you and your beautiful kids. Hope you guys have a blast tonight. Costume Recommendation: If you want to go as someone really scary, dress up as a Raider fan next year.

    Have fun,
    Michael

  6. Your kids are toooo cute! And, you too….I think..

  7. A Raider Fan? What do you want me to do - scar my kids for life???

  8. Good on you Matt,

    We have a therapy fund for our kids so when they grow up they can just see whoever they need to get over those embarrassing moments !!!

  9. LOL…I think I need my own therapy fund!!

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