Do Link Exchanges Work?
I have just spent the past few hours going through some of the hundreds of links requests I have received over the past few weeks. I would say I reject around 85% as they do not meet my criteria. Even though my requirements are posted on the my websites people still fill in the form with the hopes I might add their link. This is a waste of time for me and the person requesting the link.
So please, if you are requesting a link on someone’s website, read their requirements first. If you can’t meet there requirements move onto the next site. You could always send an email explaining you don’t quite meet the requirements but you still think a link on your site would be advantageous to them.
Link exchanges should be benifical to both parties. When you exchnage links the page your link is add to is critical,
1. It must be relevant.
2. It must be visible to the search engines
3. It must not have hundreds of out going links.
4. Having your keyword in the anchor text is a big advantage
If these conditions are not meet then there is little point exchanging links.
So, some link exchanges can work, but be careful, if you start exchanging links with just anyone you could get your site into a “bad neigbourhood” which will have a negative effect on your website ranking.
Link exchanges can improve your search engine rankings but only if they provide your website with quality incoming links.