reciprocal vs one-way links

[wbrook]

Hi,

I've got a site with a number of inbound links. But we are not linking back to all of those sites.

It would make sense for our visitors to link to those sites (same type of business in various locations throughout the world) so I am thinking of adding them. They are all good sites and most have quite a good PR.

My question is: does having a reciprocal link with these sites count more towards link popularity than just having the inbound link? Or is it better to just have the inbound link?

Thanks!

[glengara]

I like to keep the number of "normal" outgoing links higher than reciprocal ones; but then I'm somewhat PaRanoid!

[glengara]

As for the effects of a reciprocal on linkpop/PR, I wouldn't see there'd be much effect.

[Advisor]

It would make sense for our visitors to link to those sites You answered your own question with that statement. The other stuff about link pop, is irrelevant.

Jill

[wbrook]

Thanks Jill. I understand what you are saying. However the site would be fine also without these links (we already provide a number of interesting links for visitors).

So, if adding the reciprocal links will hurt link pop (or even not help), then I won't bother going to all the trouble of searching for these links and adding them along with their description to our site.

[maartenvr]

Those inbound links are there already anyway. Obviously there must be a reson for those webmasters to link to you. I would only link back to them if those sites are usefull to your visitors. Also make sure they look good and don't have too many pop-ups etc.

[dinom]

wbrook

You don't seem to have had your question answered. All the above points are more important than the ones below but I think this is really what you want to know. -

You are talking about your PR


1st by linking out to a page that has a link to you , you could well be increaseing the amount of PR you are receiving!

Let me see if I can explain page A has a link to page B, page A has PR5, page B has PR3. (Your page being page B in this example)

If your site (B) now provides a reciprocal link back to A, it is tranfering an amount of PR increasing the PR of page A. This increase is then fed back to you - because A is now a higher PR (due to your link) it will pass more PR to your Page which in turn will increase your PR and the amount you pass back to A and this will increase the amount A passes to B etc... etc.... this will continue until the dampening factor in the google algo levels it out.

So you could well have gained a good chunk of PR with this method BUT....

because PR is shared between the links on a page you could well have reduced the internal flow of PR - say back to your homepage and this could be very bad!


I see this is getting more indepth and making less sence than I had wanted so I will just give you my advice.

I would only link back, for strictly PR reasons, if the page has a link to my page and my page alone (not all that likely!) otherwise from a PR point of view you will not gain and probably will lose out.

[Sharon & Roy]

Originally posted by wbrook

I've got a site with a number of inbound links. But we are not linking back to all of those sites.

It would make sense for our visitors to link to those sites (same type of business in various locations throughout the world) so I am thinking of adding them. They are all good sites and most have quite a good PR.

My question is: does having a reciprocal link with these sites count more towards link popularity than just having the inbound link?


The short answer is ... NO.


Or is it better to just have the inbound link?


The short answer is ... YES.

Hello wbrook,

If you would like more insight to our advice about the worth of Reciprocal Links versus One-Way Links here is our advice and a couple of our prior posts.

We recommend that you FOCUS on acquiring links TO your page(s) WITHOUT trading links.


Redirect Your Focus From "Link Exchanging" to "One-Way Links"
...
http://www.ihelpyouservices.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=62589#post62589


Any Page Is Worth Getting A Link From
...
http://www.ihelpyouservices.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=62587#post62587

[maartenvr]

Aquiring links without link exchanging is a great idea but is harder to get.
You either want to search the web and get your site listed in directories that don't require reciprocal links or you need to have a site with such valuable content that people want to link to you. You can ask certain sites to link to you but they will most likely only link to you if it benefits them in some way.
If you sell products or services you might want to consider setting up an affiliate program on your own site. Affiliate links like http://www.yoursite.com/referralID will also improve your link popularity.
I do reccomend trading links. There is nothing wrong with setting up a link directory on your website. Just make sure you link to quality and relevant websites. It will give your link popularity a big boost. Avoid trading links with directories generated by Zeus. Google does not rank them.

[Sharon & Roy]

Oh and BTW, just in case you would like more insight, here is what Danny Sullivan had to say back in May 2002 about Google and Reciprocal Links.



Google combats these attempts by identifying what it considers "artificial" link structures and adjusting or eliminating their influence in the rankings. Google has also recently taken action against reciprocal link pages, link "farms," and guest books, downplaying their importance in its link analysis algorithms. And there's no doubt that Google will take action against Weblogs, if those Weblogs are seen as manipulating results in a way that doesn't correspond with user expectations.

Source: http://www.clickz.com/search/opt/article.php/1025331


Oh, and pay particular attention to what Danny said about Google taking action against Weblogs ... "there's no doubt that Google will take action against Weblogs ..."

Well, they sure did do that in a recent algorithm update.

You can read about it here ...

http://www.ihelpyouservices.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=56964#post56964



Some Food For Thought: While we know and understand that "common sense" and "logical thinking" are NOT necessarily connected with SEO and the search engine algorithms don't necessarily conform to this thinking, but we would like of offer up something for you to ponder.

If you were a member of the committee that decides how Google's algorithm should/will work and the current focus was about giving a certain amount of "ranking consideration" or "ranking points" to a Reciprocal Link and to a One-Way Link, what would you decide?

Would you give a ...

1.) Reciprocal Link the SAME "Point Value" as a One-Way Link?

2.) Reciprocal Link MORE "Point Value" than a One-Way Link?

3.) One-Way Link MORE "Point Value" than a Reciprocal Link?


If you choose either 2.) or 3.) then how much more "Point Value" would you assign?

1.) 10% more "Point Value?"

2.) 50% more "Point Value?"

3.) 100% more "Point Value?"

4.) Twice the "Point Value?"

5.) Ten times the "Point Value?"


As an example, we'll give you a scenario to reply to with your answers.

• PageA and PageB target the same keyword term ... search engine optimization

• The "On The Page" ranking criteria is the same for both pages and thus they have the exact same "Point Value" so in theory they would actually be ranked in a tie for the same position.

• Now, since Google uses "Off The Page" ranking criteria in its algorithm, let's say that BOTH pages currently have the EXACT same Backward Links from the EXACT same pages and the EXACT same Anchor Tag Text which is ... search engine optimization ... and let's say that there are 100 links.

• Again, in theory they would actually still be ranked in a tie for the same position.

• Now here is where differences come into play. PageA links back to (Reciprocal Links) 70 of the 100 links and PageB doesn't link back to any of them.


Our question is ...

1.) What page would YOU want to rank higher?

2.) What page would YOU think ranks higher right now according to Google's current algorithm?


------------


Here is an other scenario to reply to with your answers.

• PageA, PageB and PageC all target the same keyword term ... search engine optimization

• The "On The Page" ranking criteria is the same for all 3 pages and thus they have the exact same "Point Value" so in theory they would all actually be ranked in a tie for the same position.

• Now, since Google uses "Off The Page" ranking criteria in its algorithm, let's say that All 3 pages currently have NO Backward Links at all.

• Again, in theory they would actually still be ranked in a tie for the same position.

• Now here is where differences come into play. PageA sends out 500 eMails to complimentary sites asking for a link exchange (Reciprocal Links) and 100 sites agree to exchange links with PageA.

• PageB sends out 500 eMails to complimentary sites asking for them to link (One-Way Links) to his site and 100 sites agree to link to PageA.

• PageC never even sends out any eMails to any sites asking for them to link to (One-Way Links) his site or for a link exchange (Reciprocal Links) to his site, but 100 site owners have decided to link to his site on their own and without ever having asked permission to do so.

• Now, let's say that all the 100 links start off with the same "Point Values" but that will change based upon the way we have explained how these 100 Backward Links originated and came to link to PageA, PageB and PageC.

Our question is ...

1.) Which page, (A, B, or C) would YOU want to rank higher?

2.) What page would YOU think ranks higher right now according to Google's current algorithm?

[dinom]

Sharon and Roy, another great in-depth post.

Let me give my opinons on a few of the points you raised.

• Now here is where differences come into play. PageA links back to (Reciprocal Links) 70 of the 100 links and PageB doesn't link back to any of them.


Our question is ...

1.) What page would YOU want to rank higher?

2.) What page would YOU think ranks higher right now according to Google's current algorithm?

1. umm not sure probably the one with links so I could access other relevant info.

2. I don’t believe this reciprocal link idea, is being taken into account in the google algo, but is dealt with as part of the page rank model.

If the 70 links are from pages with just one link out to page A, then if page A was to reciprocate the link, then page A would get a large PR boost and could well increase up the rankings.


As for your second question –

1. I would want the site that people took upon themselves to link to. but there is no way for google to spot this!

2. Same answer as above, as in I don’t believe it is part of the algo but a part of page rank.

[excell]

Forget about search engines for a moment and consider your question from your site audiences point of view.. do you have the opportunity to provide them with more valuable content and resources? If yes, then do it.

Check the sites you link to to ensure they are above board and not themselves linking badly.

When linking out, always describe the site you are linking to in light of the common ties between your site and theirs, using the common key phrases.

You will do very well on google (dispite what our PR gurus might say) and also well on other search engines.. by using this basis & logic approach.

Don't get hung up on *stuff* you see & hear,, but do what you know is *good*.

[maartenvr]

Another way of improving your link popularity without exchanging links is write articles. This way you can get other webmasters to display a usefull article on their site that links to your website! To improve this a little bit, make sure that you optimize the keywords for your article. Many webmasters will have no problem displaying your article if it is usefull and related to their content.