the good...the bad...and the link exchange

[volkoman]

First a proper Thanks to ronniethedodger for serving up a darn good answer for a newbie and providing great tools at

http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=15810

which is where this is comin' from...

As importance goes in SEO... I was told to go link myself. Im pretty sure it was "link" :)

Is "link exchange" the way to go... is there better? Where do you start??? Any success story to it working...

I didnt want banners on my home page...does it matter if I put the link banner on the home page, custom made link page or 50 other pages.

If I do single links with another site how careful should I be...

I can research the other sites link potential from the tools Ron enlightened me with but is there a "bad" link that can hurt ya..

Say I want to link with holidayhappiness.com (made this up). How was I to know they celebrate "porn-day" and have more xxx links than Google changes your placement.

Could a link with a good site that has a bad background get ugly.

[volkoman]

Do outbound "nonsence" links help???

I noticed on one of the link tools that it picked up some websites I "recommended" that had no link back.

What if I add outbound links on some pages to .com's with unbelievable presence. IE,

Microsoft, Amazon, Google....

I could reference AT&T with a link as my long distance carrier. AT&T needs a link from me like they need another operator but does the link help my site.

Without me getting over complicated, AGAIN...

Does the link out without a link or "paid" link back help???

[adore]

Does the link out without a link or "paid" link back help???

No at all. Moreover, it can hurt if it points to a spam site like link farm, site with cloaking, hidden text, etc.

[janeth]

Link exchange is one of many ways to go but not the best way to go.
All links, with and without targeted link text, raise the PR of the page
they link to, which means that they raise the PR within the site that they
link to.

Link with keywords in the link text is another ranking factor - the most
powerful one and it also raises the pr for the site.

I would not do any exchanging with the home page unless there wanting to do the same on there home page and have the same pr as you.
Text links are better then banner links. As long as the site is showing a pr exchanging links with them should not hurt you. But you do need to be carefull when exchanging links.

[volkoman]

Thanks, adore, janeth...

OK... so a link to a site only benifits the site pointed to, unless there is a link back. Got it.

I am sure many have or have considered tossing their site in the link pool at webpro...

If I "partner" with other sites and have links with descriptions on a dedicated link page, good for all involved? (if its reciprocated).

Whats a good link format. Im not gonna hang adds all over my site, will "1" link page work well?

What would too many be? I would certainly be particular to relevant "honorable" sites, but do I stop at 10,20 ???

Would other than .coms links have a different effect.

What if I link with .nets or .orgs?

What about a long distance relationship. I have no interest in being a global site but would a link exchange with say a .de or .ca weigh differently??