Reciprocal link building has a name for being bad in the eyes of Google. That is due to the years of people doing it the wrong way. Learn the right and wrong way to build reciprocal links. Early in the 2000’s reciprocal link building was a popular method to build your search traffic and backlinks. This SEO hack was technically against Google’s guidelines.
Today Google still is not a fan of it. However, the internet is still full of them. They way that they appear on sites now a days is much different than how they looked 20 years ago. Today they are byproducts of owning a website. This happens when you create relationships with other sites or even when you link sources and they reciprocate it back.
What Are Reciprocal Links?
A link exchange occurs when two brands agree to trade links to boost SEO by essentially saying ” you link to me and, I will link to you. ” Is it shady? It can be, it all depends on the manner of how you go about doing it. However, there are natural organic ways for these links to form.
Are Reciprocal Links Good For SEO?
If you are looking to build your ranking The key is to be focusing on less risky strategies. Above all your link building method should be offering users a better experience when they arrive to your site. Focusing on having high quality content for users to interact with once they get to your site is a great way to provide that positive experience. Even offering external links can better your SEO, but they are not the only driving force for your rankings.
How To Use Reciprocal Links
Linking to quality of sites helps your users experience on your site. Content is king and having quality content for will earn your site respect and ranking deservingly. When you link your site to high quality content it can establish your site as a trusted source of information. After all if you are going to request reciprocation go check the sites SEO metric to ensure that it is a trusted site. Some things to consider before link exchanging with a different site is: Could the potential site improve your sites traffic, does the site share information and content with your niche, and is the brand a direct competitor?
How Links Can Hurt Your SEO
Exchanging links can have a bad impact on your SEO just as much as it can be a benefit. Here are some examples of how bad link exchanging can hurt your site.
- Site penalization: Reciprocal links are against Google Webmaster Guidelines.
- Decrease in site rankings: If you decide to link a site that isn’t relevant to your sites content your page could experience a SERP ranking drop.
- Boosting SEO for direct competition
- Loss of trust
Providing Value Are Key to Reciprocal Linking:
Seeking out reciprocal links for the sole purpose of getting more site traffic or even building your backlink portfolio is a bad idea. It often times will hurt you more than helping you and you can face penalties from Google. Instead, aiming to be useful and helpful with your on site linking will natural invite reciprocal links. You will also provide your users with trusted quality content.
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