Reciprocal links dead

[inpursuit]

Its pretty clear that recipricol linking is dead and not looked upon good anymore by the search engines..

3 or 4 years ago yes it was good to have a links page on your site and gaterhing a crap load of links but nowdays i find i dont even create a links page as search engines are frowning on the whole pages full of links its not natural

[ExposureTim]

Personally I never believed reciprocal linking was "alive".

Everyone jumped on the bandwagon thinking the reciprocal linking was the way to go because it does bring inbound links, and that/was is an important thing to do. But it always seemed sensible that an inbound link couldn't be as viable if the linked page also linked back to the source.

If it ever was viable, it is dead now.

[projectphp]

Who says it is dead?

I bet that 99.9% of the links online are reciprical in some way or another, and reciprical links are still a pretty viable option. Problem is, that is ALL some people plan to do. That is like only doing pushups and hoping to get fit to run a marathon.

Variety and moderation in all things, even moderation!

[ExposureTim]

Nice analogy projectphp!

I think it's not the benefit it may have once been, if ever, and certainly it's ideal to be aware that you shouldn't be planning your entire link strategy around the concept, as some may have in the past.

[Greatlinks]

Recips are a good starting place in your linking campaign. They aren't going anywhere. Variety is good. My site will have one way links in the future.

[sem4u]

I wouldn't say that recips are dead, but if you do use them make sure that they are only part of your link building strategy. Also only link to relevant, quality sites.

[WebGeek182]

Originally Posted by inpursuit

Its pretty clear that recipricol linking is dead and not looked upon good anymore by the search engines..

3 or 4 years ago yes it was good to have a links page on your site and gaterhing a crap load of links but nowdays i find i dont even create a links page as search engines are frowning on the whole pages full of links its not natural

I agree with you...it's dead.

[BuckfastMonk]

reciprocal linking is not dead in the sense that it still brings traffic.

[ExposureTim]

I agree - if the site you're getting the link from is a legit site with relevant traffic.

For example, if you are a vendor of a certain brands' products it'd be nice to get a link from that brand as well as you could link to their pics, specs or support docs as well.

This could 'reciprocally' drive traffic both ways and is a natural type of link and strategy.

[dayweb]

Amazing thread. Especially since the big 3 give you their requirements for linking and say it is still a part of the web. Think about a big spider web. Whats makes the internet a web is the linking and that is how search engines find you. They follow links from one site to another.
Don
Seopro

[BuckfastMonk]

How patronising was that

[dayweb]

Try building a new site and don't do any linking and see what happens. Better yet remove the links from your sites and see what happens. I will admit the search engines are giving less weight to the links but it is still part of the algos. What they seem to be giving more weitht to is web standards and social networking.
Don
DAy Web

[ExposureTim]

Nobody is saying that linking itself (like a spider web to different places around the sphere) is dead, but reciprocal (direct two-way street) is what we are talking about... and that, again, is long dead.

[ExposureTim]

Clarification: Reciprocal linking is dead in terms of helping you rank better in SEs. But if it provides you good traffic then by all means do it...

Just don't expect a ranking boost from the link addition itself.

[dayweb]

Direct quote from Google webmaster help:
Question: How can I improve my sites ranking?

Answer: In general, webmasters can improve the rank of their sites by increasing the number of high-quality sites that link to their pages.

Personal experience: Normally one of the areas that increases ranking is the amount of links. Also in 7 years as a webmaster I have not seen any traffic from my linking unless it is another webmaster checking his or her link to see if I have added it. I am not saying it does not happen just that I have not seen it.
If one of my customers wants a hosting company in Utah I will go to the search engine and tyype in "web hosting company Utah" and not go to my links and search through a couple of hundred look for one.
Don
Seopro

[BuckfastMonk]

Bottom line : build links with users in mind!
reciprocate if there is value in doing so.

either :

if its useful for your users
if it brings you traffic

In this sense, like we have already said, reciprocal linking is not dead.

To say in your 7 years as a webmaster you have seen no traffic as a direct result from a link is obsurd! I find this comment rather amusing

btw, if your going to google instead of your links page, then the question you have to ask yourself is . . . "If I don't find my links page useful, will my visitors"

[dayweb]

How many people go to your link pages to search? Bet none. And I usually dont use google and get more traffic from the other search engines as far as buyers.
Don

[ExposureTim]

And I usually dont use google and get more traffic from the other search engines as far as buyers.

If you get more traffic from the smaller search engines than from Google, it's probably time to re-think that strategy in general. It seemed you understand that there is no value in your current linking strategy either via regular users or Google, so are you continuing with it in the expectation that it is helping your Yahoo/MSN rankings?

[dayweb]

For some reason I do not believe it is me that has to rethink. A study has shown that MSN has 11% of the traffic but produced 48% more buyers than google. That alone is something for you to think about. My SEO has no problems considering one of my site has over 400 #1 and a company I optimized where the owners split up had over 100 #1 and #2 on google and still does. Check under golf fitness and you will find that it also has over 22,000 top 10 listings. I have not worked on it since november and it is still producing income.
Don
Seopro

[ExposureTim]

I'm not discounting your efforts at all. I do respect MSN for often providing higher converting traffic for my company as well.

I do suggest a wider approach to SEO, considering the guidelines for all of the engines especially those that are strict about links and link quality, is the best way to reach an extra 50+ percent more of your potential audience.