Will link exchanges really help you? [Archive]

Tubby

10-06-2009, 09:15 PM

I think if your company want to do something. they should do it.
Yes there are mixed views everywhere. The more you look the more you find.

are you expecting blanket advise?
or would you expect advise on the details of each separate link that you might or might not acquire, and where it links from and to.

there is a poll here http://www.webproworld.com/search-engine-optimization-forum/91987-reciprical-links.html

cast a vote - read the results it might help answer some questions.

danlefree

10-06-2009, 10:48 PM

My SEO company wants to start contacting "related" websites who are not competing against us. They then want to create a links page and do link exchanges with them. I have been hearing mixed reviews from this is a great idea to this will hurt your SEO.

What do you truly think?

If you are paying an SEO company to do it, it will be a huge waste of your money. (I've seen enough form e-mails begging links or exchanges to know that very few people are going to give two seconds to yet another piece of spam in their inbox)

If you do it yourself, it will probably be a huge waste of your time.

If you find related non-competitor sites and propose something more valuable than a simple link exchange, you'll be engaging in some potentially-valuable business development (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/09/understanding-business-development.html) - and that is where I would spend my time.

voyage09

10-07-2009, 03:05 AM

Personally, I have done link exchange program for a while and I have stopped doing that. It is because I think that my time has better used on other area. Link exchange program is just too time consuming for me.

dharrison

10-07-2009, 05:05 AM

Hi Younger jedi (cool name BTW)

Reciprocal links don't really hold weight and I am freaked that an SEO company have suggested this. The best way is to attract one way links towards your website and you can do that through great content that benefits your business and customers. It is also time-consuming (in your case expensive) and very thankless.

As I don't know what website you mean I shall provide an example: You are selling coffee makers. In that case you would provide a how to guide on how to get the most out of your coffee maker; demonstrate how to make legendary cappucino; and debate the best sort of coffee to use for frappes. Obviously some of this could be articles, others video and online communities.

Obviously if in the meantime you network and find someone who sells fairtrade coffee at a reasonable price or a fellow who roasts coffee from his kitchen, then by all means reciprocate links as this can benefit your customers/potential customers.

I know there are blanks in this but I hope the initial point is clear. HTH

tonybryan

10-07-2009, 10:34 AM

Can anyone tell me how to see the links from other websites

Canonical

10-07-2009, 01:00 PM

Reciprical links are not always bad. There is nothing wrong with exchanging links with other sites if both sites are relevant to one another. I would NOT recommend implementing a links page, nor would I generally want links from links pages on other sites. Try to get reciprical contextual links from some page on their site that is relevant to the link text you're trying to promote. The fact that you both link to each other has no negative effect as long as the two sites are relevant and there is some perceived benefit to users on both sites for those links being there.

However, if you run a site that sells baby toys and you're reciprocal linking with a porn site or casino site, eventially it could lead to problems if you're found out. Those sites are in no way relevant to one another, and if manually reviewed by a Googler would almost certainly be deemed as links placed for the sole purpose of boosting rankings and/or PR.

zeo

10-07-2009, 03:29 PM

tonybryan: to see the links from other websites that Google "sees", first, log into your Google Webmaster Tools. Then go to > Your site on the web > Links to your site. You need to have an account for that - easy to open and very helpful.

You can also use LinkPopularity website to find out who links to you on Google, Yahoo and Bing. They just make it easy for you to access that information from the engines. Remember though, if you want to see all the links Google "sees", you have to use Google Webmaster Tools.

In our experience, links exchanges with relevant quality sites do not hurt especially when site is new, but the best way is to give people a good reason to link to your website by providing valuable information, service, product.

__________________
Websites that work | Ask Centauria

james113

10-07-2009, 03:38 PM

If your "SEO company" makes a "Links" page, and offers to add my link to it in exchange for me adding a link to your site from my site, I would decline. A link to my site from your "Links' page will not help my site in the SERP's. If I add a link to your site from my sites "Links" page it will not help your rankings either. I wouldn't pay a nickel for this service.

scgalvin

10-07-2009, 04:02 PM

Can anyone tell me how to see the links from other websites

Yahoo Explorer is a great way to find links pointing to a website....
https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/

scgalvin

10-07-2009, 04:13 PM

I'm a little surprised an SEO company would be recommending a link exchange program. Like other people have said quality one way links would benefit you more.

There is a place for link exchanges if done correctly, done incorrectly and I think it could really hurt your site.

I don't know what people feel about 3 way link exchanges, but seems to me if done correctly would benefit you more.

What do you truly think?

Depends, have you been working with this company long? Have they improved your ranking so far? If not do they have examples of there work? I would be reluctant to place links on my site to other websites that are trying to game the search engines, this might come back to bite you in the near future.

claybutler

10-07-2009, 04:15 PM

I don't like links pages. They're just tacky. However I will gladly exchange links with quality related non-competing websites from my home or related web page. Trouble is nearly every email I get for link exchanges is just junk.

I don't believe for a moment that link exchanges hurt. Perhaps not weighed too heavily, but that's a lot different than being punished. When I finish a website for a client I immediately put a nice link to them from my home page. This goes a long way in jump starting their rise in the SERP's, especially if it's a brand new site with virtually no inbound links. Why wouldn't I want to help them succeed? When my clients do well, I do well. They are the barometer of my talent.

Their site of course has a credit link in the footer pointing to me. This is just standard industry etiquette.

Is that a "link exchange" or just "smart business". I say the latter.

I've noticed over the years that Google, while incredibly sophisticated, is just a big number crunching machine. All sorts of stuff that they would like to be able to ferret out continues to get rewarded and techniques they generally reward sometimes do nothing.

Sometimes the innocent get crushed and the evil doers get a pat on the back. Sometimes it's the reverse. When you have billions of pages to sort through and hundred's of thousands of people trying to game you, it's pretty amazing just how good a job Google does over all in delivering relevant results.

I've noticed that a bunch of crappy bottom feeder links can help. I've also noticed that a few high quality links helps even more.

Spend your time on the big ticket items and only do the lesser stuff if it's cheap and easy.

webmerlin

10-07-2009, 06:22 PM

I don't like links pages. They're just tacky..................

Spend your time on the big ticket items and only do the lesser stuff if it's cheap and easy.

I am new to this game and need to promote my own website. Six years ago I managed to get a website in Google top twenty for some high profile keywords - sage and excel. To achieve that I invested in a significant amount of link exchange and some attention to alt tags etc. Six years later and with a new site, I am not sure how to start moving my site up the rankings.

There seems now to be reasonably strong opinion that exchanging links is no longer a help - yet a lot of this thread is about links and finding out who links to your site.

Can you share with a neo-newbie the big ticket items you believe really make a difference.

deepsand

10-07-2009, 08:35 PM

First and foremost, design for your users, not for the SEs.

seomagician

10-07-2009, 08:47 PM

tonybryan – easiest way to see many of the backlinks is in yahoo search type: site:www.yoursite.c o m and click on Inlinks then show links “except from this domain” and then either “home” or “all pages”.

Some reciprocals are fine because they are natural. They actually happen in a non-seo world. But, I don’t recommend link pages unless you already had them up for a long time. Be careful where you link to and don’t go overboard.

You can probably do this part yourself except a seo should know how to keep you out of trouble. If you are dealing with one that heavily promotes getting you tons of links in a short time, look elsewhere.

Lorel509

10-07-2009, 09:46 PM

The problem with not doing link exchanges is that it unbalances your link profile, i.e., if you only have one-way links coming in then it's very likely you are gathering links yourself but if you trade links then it's not just you that likes your site.

deepsand

10-07-2009, 10:02 PM

"if you only have one-way links coming in then it's very likely you are gathering links

But, if you have OBLs you're not gathering your IBLs?

"unbalances your link profile"

:confused:

Are we to then conclude that having a large no. of IBLs, with few to no OBLs, or vice versa, is inherently detrimental?

scgalvin

10-07-2009, 11:15 PM

allenhoward

10-08-2009, 01:15 AM

Yea it helps.But all link must be quality links. Exchange link from high pr helps.

deepsand

10-08-2009, 01:23 AM

Yea it helps.But all link must be quality links. Exchange link from high pr helps.
IBLs of any "quality" can be beneficial by virtue of the traffic they bring.

thefandango

10-08-2009, 12:07 PM

Your SEO company wants to build reciprocal links through a mass-links page?

The answer is really, really simple.

Sack your SEO company.

deepsand

10-08-2009, 04:36 PM

Which is the more important : where, on the originating site, the OBLs reside; or, where, on the target site, the target pages are located?

And, for what reason(s) your answer?

claybutler

10-08-2009, 06:59 PM

For Webmerlin what I mean by big ticket item are ones that require some sophistication and work but have a big payoff.

An example of this would be writing a really great article (with appropriate anchor text) that gets published on a high profile site.

Or creating something with strong viral potential.

Or getting your product or service reviewed in an authority review website.

Or creating great niche content that's worth linking to and then promoting is on social networking sites.

Or personally contacting other high quality, non competing sites and fining out if there is a way you can help each other out. For instance, by giving them a natural anchor text link in your website's body copy in exchange for yours. So a mortgage broker in your town may link to you (a real estate agent) as an agent of choice and you to them as a broker of choice. This not only helps ranking but helps generate leads.

Lesser stuff is submitting to the hundred of little directories that no one really visits, blog posts, and the basic easy stuff.

Nothing wrong with the basic easy stuff, just don't pay a lot for it or spend too much time on it. And the way to do that is to work with an individual, not an SEO company.

You can find these freelancers all over the place. Find a good one a get a good working relationship going.

Deepsand is correct about designing for users but there's no reason not to do both. For example, a photographers portfolio that just had ten great images linking to each other in a simple slide show, with no page text, would be great for users because people can see and make all kinds of judgments based upon the quality of the images. A search engine just sees a bunch of jpgs linked together.

Good SEO is the technique of explaining art to a robot.

TechEvangelist

10-08-2009, 07:57 PM

A link exchange will probably not do very much good. Reciprocal links have long been believed by many in the SEO industry to cancel each other out. One-way links from an industry-related site are always the best.

I agree with the comments about link pages. It would be very difficult for you to find a link page with a significant number of links that has not been penalized by Google with a gray-barred PageRank. They do this to discourage link pages. Take a look at what Google did to the inner pages in directories.

deepsand

10-08-2009, 11:42 PM

A link exchange will probably not do very much good. Reciprocal links have long been believed by many in the SEO industry to cancel each other out. One-way links from an industry-related site are always the best.
Consider that reciprocal links are no more than two one-way links.

I agree with the comments about link pages. It would be very difficult for you to find a link page with a significant number of links that has not been penalized by Google with a gray-barred PageRank. They do this to discourage link pages. Take a look at what Google did to the inner pages in directories.
A gray ToolBar PR is not a penalty.

Next, consider that the purpose of a link page is not to gain a high PR for such, but for user convenience; and, that the purpose of links is to gain traffic.

Now, think about the question raised at http://www.webproworld.com/search-engine-optimization-forum/92140-will-link-exchanges-really-help-you.html#post470481

robdale

10-09-2009, 04:07 AM

Link exchange is a good way to build backlinks, but it is known as a blackhat technique. If you are able to get one way link then i think it will be worth, as will be able to save your valuable traffic. Also, do exchange with the sites which are relevant to your niche. Non-relevant sites can't give you any benefit they are just not worth of.

webmarketinggroup

10-09-2009, 12:13 PM

My experience is that reciprocal linking (what I have understood as your exchanges) does not really work. Finding genuine relevance and shared interests is hard and time consuming with little rub back to you.

Quality beats quantity, cherry pick sites that you would like to link to you. Be specific in what you want, get good quality inbound links.

deepsand

10-09-2009, 05:16 PM

Link exchange is a good way to build backlinks, but it is known as a blackhat technique.
Blackhat? :confused:

Please explain.

Non-relevant sites can't give you any benefit they are just not worth of.
Increased traffic is not beneficial? :confused: :confused: :confused:

deepsand

10-09-2009, 05:20 PM

My experience is that reciprocal linking (what I have understood as your exchanges) does not really work.
Might not that be an effect of the links in question, as opposed to the reciprocity?

Finding genuine relevance and shared interests is hard and time consuming ...
As is the case with all things of value.

TechEvangelist

10-10-2009, 12:27 PM

Consider that reciprocal links are no more than two one-way links.

By simple definition, two one-way links are not one-way links at all. :)

A gray ToolBar PR is not a penalty.

A gray Toolbar PageRank is not a penalty for a new page, but when Google assigns "less than zero" PageRank to a mature page so that it cannot be used to pass PageRank, it is indeed a penalty. That did not happen to directory pages until AFTER Google announced their program to penalize sites that sell links. A gray toolbar returns a PageRank value of -1. For a mature page, either the page is being penalized or it is not inheriting any value from other links to the page.

Next, consider that the purpose of a link page is not to gain a high PR for such, but for user convenience; and, that the purpose of links is to gain traffic.

You might gain some traffic from a good directory with good traffic, but you are not likely to gain much traffic from a link page in most sites. Most people put link pages in their sites and exchange reciprocal links because they are operating under the misconception that they are good for their search engine rankings.

deepsand

10-10-2009, 01:10 PM

By simple definition, two one-way links are not one-way links at all.
They are functionally wholly separate; take away one, and the other still functions!

A gray Toolbar PageRank is not a penalty for a new page, but when Google assigns "less than zero" PageRank ...
There is no such thing as a "less that zero" PR value. PR is a probability value, which, by definition, lies within the range of 0 to 1. PR is never negative.

... you are not likely to gain much traffic from a link page in most sites.
Proof, please.

TechEvangelist

10-10-2009, 01:24 PM

They are functionally wholly separate; take away one, and the other still functions!
Of course it still functions. If you take one away, it is no longer a reciprocal link. It is then a genuine one-way link. Links will still function any way you look at it. The question is, "Will link exchanges really help you?" They will not likely hurt a site as long as the sites are in the same industry, but they probably will not help.

There is no such thing as a "less that zero" PR value. PR is a probability value, which, by definition, lies within the range of 0 to 1. PR is never negative.
Show me some proof of that. PR is an inheritance factor. A toolbar PR that is registering a value is in the range of 0 to 10 has an inheritance value assigned to it that can be passed. Remove the value and it becomes a gray PR. Just view the actual value returned by a PR checker. A gray bar toolbar PR comes back as -1, not as a zero. That includes mature directory pages that once had a toolbar PR of 3 or 4 and now are gray-barred. You could look at it as the absence of any PR value or a null value. There is a difference between the numeric value returned by a gray PR and a PR value of zero. Interpret it any way that you wish.

Proof, please.
Just check your server logs. You will probably never see a link page listed as one of your most visited pages. We have done extensive studies regarding web user behavior and link pages rank near the bottom for user popularity. Unless your site is LinkedIn, Facebook or MySpace, or you are providing reference links to important industry-related authority sites, users do not care who you are linked-to on a link page.

crankydave

10-10-2009, 01:52 PM

Show me some proof of that. PR is an inheritance factor. A toolbar PR that is registering a value is in the range of 0 to 10 has an inheritance value assigned to it that can be passed. Remove the value and it becomes a gray PR. Just view the actual value returned by a PR checker. A gray bar toolbar PR comes back as -1, not as a zero. That includes mature directory pages that once had a toolbar PR of 3 or 4. You could look at it as the absence of any PR value. There is a difference between the numeric value returned by a gray PR and a PR value of zero. Interpret it any way that you wish.

Personally, I wish more folks would learn to ignore the 'foolbar'. It is not a ranking metric. It tells you literally nothing.

Any 'PR Checker' relies solely on the 'pixels' of the 'foolbar'. Any 'checker' that returns a negative value (or any value other than that of the 'foolbar') is making up their own numbers. Any of them tell you the same thing the 'foolbar' does... literally nothing.

A page can only have a PR value (actual value) of 'zero' if it is not included in the index. The probability of reaching such a page would then be 'zero' as far as Google is concerned. Any probability can never be less than zero.

Yes, there is a difference between a grey 'foolbar' and all others. All a grey 'foolbar' tells you is that page does not exist as far as Google is concerned.

Dave

TechEvangelist

10-10-2009, 02:47 PM

Personally, I wish more folks would learn to ignore the 'foolbar'. It is not a ranking metric. It tells you literally nothing.

I do not think anyone here is claiming that is is a ranking metric. With respect to ranking, it is useless. I see it as rating the inheritance values being passed to a page. It does still tell you something about how inheritance is passed to and throughout a web site and frequently indicates a problem with internal linking structures. If a page gets buried too deeply in a site or becomes a floater with no inbound links, it eventually becomes gray-barred.

Yes, there is a difference between a grey 'foolbar' and all others. All a grey 'foolbar' tells you is that page does not exist as far as Google is concerned.

I fully agree. This goes back to my original claim. When a page has a PR of 3 and then drops to gray, it is very likely being penalized. However, the page usually still exists in Google's index. It may be getting dumped into the old Supplemental Results index that used to haunt a lot of people. This happened to almost every web directory out there. This also happens to most link pages in sites, especially when they link to unrelated sites.

When Google slapped the directories and gray barred the inner pages, the PR on sites that previously relied heavily on directory links also dropped, which indicates that the ability of the directory pages to pass PR or "link juice" was eliminated. It is all part of G's vendetta against sites that it thinks are selling links.

scgalvin

10-10-2009, 03:05 PM

I have a site I started a few years back. It's a local travel guide, this makes for an ideal site for link exchanges with local travel related businesses. In fact most of the link I have are link exchanges. This site now gets around 15,000 visitor a month and does pretty well in the search engines. So I would say link exchanges can work...If done correctly.

Another benefit regardless of the PR value, is exposed to your site which can lead to one ways links.

scgalvin

10-10-2009, 03:07 PM

What is everyone's feelings on a 3 way link exchange? To me they seems like a the perfect link exchange. Am I missing something?

crankydave

10-10-2009, 03:35 PM

I do not think anyone here is claiming that is is a ranking metric. With respect to ranking, it is useless. I see it as rating the inheritance values being passed to a page. It does still tell you something about how inheritance is passed to and throughout a web site and frequently indicates a problem with internal linking structures. If a page gets buried too deeply in a site or becomes a floater with no inbound links, it eventually becomes gray-barred.

With all due respect, no. The 'foolbar' tells you nothing. You need to go back and look for the 'why'. And no, a page orphaned internally can have plenty 'pixels'. The only way apage can have a "grey foolbar' is if it no longer 'exists' in Googly eyes. And the grey tells you nothing other than that.

I fully agree. This goes back to my original claim. When a page has a PR of 3 and then drops to gray, it is very likely being penalized. However, the page usually still exists in Google's index. It may be getting dumped into the old Supplemental Results index that used to haunt a lot of people. This happened to almost every web directory out there. This also happens to most link pages in sites, especially when they link to unrelated sites.

Again, no. A page in the index cannot be grey (does not exist) unless there is a lag between DC's or an error. They may have the URL, show the URL, but have yet to fetch the page or include it in their calculations. Ergo... the page does not exist for that purpose.

A page that is in the index can be reached. Whether that be by a link or direct URL... it can be reached. Probability cannot be zero. A 'penaty' is no more than speculation because the 'foolbar' never tells you 'why'.

When Google slapped the directories and gray barred the inner pages, the PR on sites that previously relied heavily on directory links also dropped, which indicates that the ability of the directory pages to pass PR or "link juice" was eliminated. It is all part of G's vendetta against sites that it thinks are selling links.

Again, all a 'grey bar' indicates is removal/not yet included from/in the index. No more, no less. There's not a single tool out there that tells you why. Not the 'foolbar', not a 'foolbar' tool.

If folks would turn off the 'foolbar', ignore 'foolbar' tools, and look at a page or site and evalute it for things that matter, they'd learn a whole lot more.

Dave

crankydave

10-10-2009, 03:38 PM

What is everyone's feelings on a 3 way link exchange? To me they seems like a the perfect link exchange. Am I missing something?

It's a 'scheme' to try and make links 'count' in the eyes of a SE.

Other than that, what purpose do you believe it serves?

Dave

deepsand

10-10-2009, 04:12 PM

Of course it still functions. If you take one away, it is no longer a reciprocal link. It is then a genuine one-way link.
The fact remains that each is still a "genuine one-way link." That 2 or more "reciprocal" links exist is an externality that has nothing to do with their functionality, the purpose of which is to gain traffic. Said externality has absolutely no bearing on either the "quality" of any of the links, or any resulting traffic.

I.e., each and every link stands or falls on its own merits alone.

Just check your server logs. You will probably never see a link page listed as one of your most visited pages. We have done extensive studies regarding web user behavior and link pages rank near the bottom for user popularity. Unless your site is LinkedIn, Facebook or MySpace, or you are providing reference links to important industry-related authority sites, users do not care who you are linked-to on a link page.
Absence of proof does not constitute proof of absence.

Furthermore, it is not here my burden to prove or disprove; that is yours to bear, as the claim is yours.

scgalvin

10-10-2009, 04:35 PM

Regarding 3 way link exchange...

It's a 'scheme' to try and make links 'count' in the eyes of a SE.

Other than that, what purpose do you believe it serves?

The same can be said of your standard link exchange. It goes more to your intent rather then the act itself. Just as a standard link exchange can benefit the end user. So could a 3 way link exchange.

For example:
You have a home improvement website, from this site you link to a website that sells paint. The person that owns that website also own another website that sells tools. They decided that your home improvement website has information that would benefit the visitors to their tools website, so they add a link to your site. That is a 3 way link exchange that would benefit all parties.

My question is how do search engines look at 3 way link exchanges. Would they carry more 'juice' than a standard link exchange?

crankydave

10-10-2009, 05:50 PM

Doc

10-10-2009, 07:18 PM

Regarding 3 way link exchange...

The same can be said of your standard link exchange. It goes more to your intent rather then the act itself. Just as a standard link exchange can benefit the end user. So could a 3 way link exchange.

For example:
You have a home improvement website, from this site you link to a website that sells paint. The person that owns that website also own another website that sells tools. They decided that your home improvement website has information that would benefit the visitors to their tools website, so they add a link to your site. That is a 3 way link exchange that would benefit all parties.

My question is how do search engines look at 3 way link exchanges. Would they carry more 'juice' than a standard link exchange?

The SE has no reason to see any relationship between those three links. Could the algorithm be structured so as to detect an AB, BC and CA link chain? Certainly. But I think Google's announcements have been abundantly clear regarding their concerns in that area. They're more concerned with the nature of a site, its history of "infractions" and the quality of the link. I really can't imagine them going to the trouble of trying to find an excuse to discredit a link that was of sufficient relevance to make it valuable.

As a second consequence, I can't see such a link chain having any more value than the sum of the values of the individual links.

deepsand

10-10-2009, 08:44 PM

One need only study the published algorithm for PR to understand that each link stands alone at time of evaluation; that, for example, any cumulative effects that A & B, of A --> B --> C --> D, might have on D are already incorporated in C, so that only the link from C --> D need be evaluated.

TechEvangelist

10-11-2009, 08:29 AM

Again, no. A page in the index cannot be grey (does not exist) unless there is a lag between DC's or an error. They may have the URL, show the URL, but have yet to fetch the page or include it in their calculations. Ergo... the page does not exist for that purpose.

Sorry, Dave. You are incorrect about this. Do a site query on any of the thousands of directories that were slapped by G. All or almost all of the inner pages are gray-barred, yet there are typically hundreds or thousands of pages in G's index, including the gray-barred pages.

I know. I owned a directory that was hit when G went after paid links. The toolbar PR on all of the inner pages in my directory went gray and the home page PR dropped from 4 to zero, but the page count in the index never dropped and the site was never de-indexed. I just recently closed the directory and used the domain for another site. When I closed the directory, there were still over 300 pages in G's index, just like there was during the heyday of directories a few years ago.

As I said, it may be that the pages have been tossed into the Supplemental Results index, and therefore will not show up very often in searches. But gray-bar pages do show up in G's index.

Just keep in mind that all published information about how PR and inheritance and ranking algorithms work is speculation. None is bonafide fact because G never acknowledges how it works. Some people point to patents as proof to explain how something works. They frequently write a brilliant analysis. But patents do not necessarily mean anything, because a patent is used to protect a concept. It does not mean that the way the concept is presented in the patent is the way it is implemented in reality.

crankydave

10-11-2009, 09:55 AM

techevangelist... show me a single grey barred page that is indexed and is not grey barred due to lag between DC's, error, or hand job.

Dave

deepsand

10-11-2009, 06:57 PM

Do a site query on any of the thousands of directories that were slapped by G. All or almost all of the inner pages are gray-barred, yet there are typically hundreds or thousands of pages in G's index, including the gray-barred pages.

Just keep in mind that all published information about how PR and inheritance and ranking algorithms work is speculation. None is bonafide fact because G never acknowledges how it works.
The definition of PR is not speculative; it is a measure of Probability, value 0 to 1.

What is here speculative is your interpretation of TBPR; Google has not divulged the transfomation used to map PR to TBPR.

PaulSymonds

10-11-2009, 07:02 PM

It all comes down to theming in my view.
I have seen several sites which nly use two way exchanges and they get good PR including on their links page. The consistent thing I have noticed is that the theme is a very clear match in terms of keywords. When solid theming if used, I think link exchanges can have value.

tushar123

10-12-2009, 02:57 AM

Can anyone tell me how to see the links from other websites

You can go to Yahoo site explorer and type the website URL there.

It will display you with the 1000 backlinks for that website.

deepsand

10-12-2009, 12:54 PM

You can both view the no. of IBLs from multiple SEs, as well as circumvent the limit on no. displayed (with the exception of Google) by using a free IBL checker such as Free link popularity check (http://www.axandra.com/free-link-popularity-check.htm)

TechEvangelist

10-12-2009, 10:49 PM

techevangelist... show me a single grey barred page that is indexed and is not grey barred due to lag between DC's, error, or hand job.

Dave, this is so commonplace that I cannot believe that you have not seen it or do not think it is even possible. I see it with almost every web site that is in trouble when people come to me.

I cannot give you my directory, because that is gone. Google's index held over 300 gray-bar pages for that directory for two years.

I also do not want to give you new clients' sites or someone else's directory, because pointing things like this out to the general public kind of pisses off directory owners. So instead, I will show you pages you may be familiar with.

I pulled these right out of Google's index and they were not hard to find. There are at least thousands of gray-bar URLs for pages in this forum that are several years old.

http://www.webproworld.com/link-exchange/57100-sitewide-link.html

http://www.webproworld.com/discussion-forum/66946-email-deliverability.html

Google AdWords/Google AdSense - Page 11 - WebProWorld (http://www.webproworld.com/google-adwords-google-adsense/index11.html)

http://www.webproworld.com/discussion-forum/56372-ie7-win2k.html

crankydave

10-13-2009, 09:21 AM

I haven't used the toolbar in a very long time so I just now installed it.

None of those pages are grey barred.

Dave

Fiveonline

10-13-2009, 11:17 AM

Hi
It gives very little for much hard work.

TechEvangelist

10-13-2009, 01:29 PM

I haven't used the toolbar in a very long time so I just now installed it.

None of those pages are grey barred.

Dave

All of those pages are gray-barred for me. They were gray-barred last night and they are still gray-barred this morning. I wonder if we are seeing differences among data centers.

deepsand

10-14-2009, 08:02 PM

I wonder if we are seeing differences among data centers.

Hm-mm.

techevangelist... show me a single grey barred page that is indexed and is not grey barred due to lag between DC's, error, or hand job.

"The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 11 characters.

:confused:

midnightshow22

10-15-2009, 09:26 AM

Absolutely they will help you. I have only built a few sites but I have always used reciprocal with anchor text and I've always managed to get to page one with it. Just watch for dirty tricks like no follow tags on your links.

spodan

10-17-2009, 08:09 PM

is link exchanges realy good for seo?

Doc

10-17-2009, 08:19 PM

is link exchanges realy good for seo?

spodan, this is one of those questions that we will probably always see some disagreement about. In my opinion, the quality of the link, and the site from which it originates, establish the real value of any link. Obvious link exchange may be partially discredited, but cautious, prudent use will probably cause you no problem. "All things in moderation" might be a good mantra to follow, when looking at link exchanges.

I think you might find some enlightenment here: http://www.webproworld.com/search-engine-optimization-forum/91987-reciprical-links.html