Are reciprocial links still so effective

[intmed]

Hello,

I remember the days when reciprocial links were so effective.What is the situation now?

Can I be penalized for that?

[askloz]

they're not "SO EFFECTIVE" as you put it, but a link is a link and it still counts, one way links will always be better

[theworldwinner]

I think its effective as in one of blog it helped me getting a page rank

[intmed]

Ok, but can I be penalized for reciprocial link exchange?
Theworkdwinner may I see your blog, if you want pm me please?

And what about 3-way links?

Can google recognize them?

[mrichards1984]

You will get penalized if you linking to a site that has a bad image in google. 3waylinks has been effective and beneficial so far for the users that have been using them.

[Brawnydt]

Yes Google recognizes three-way links too. They recognize most everything. You can do that when you have a database of the entire interweb.

No you will not be penalized for a reciprocal link. There is nothing wrong with it. As long as everything appears natural. 1000 reciprocal links in a day is not going to look natural by a long shot.

Reciprocal links are great for getting quick easy and trusted links from decent blogs when you are first starting out. Get a few high pr blogroll exchanges in the beginning and you will have a solid start.

[eshannon]

If you define "recips" as setting up a cheesy "link directory" on your site, forget about it.

When I started my main site 3 years ago, most of the top 10 were being propped up by that kind of linking. Now they're all page 3 or worse.

[dburk]

Hi intmed,

Reciprocal linking was severely devalued in the Jagger series of updates and tweaks to the algorithm since have devalued 3-way links as well. There is no penalty, they just don't pass much value. One way links from highly relevant pages carry the most weight, as far as SERP ranking go.

Reciprocal linking schemes are a violation of Google's Webmaster Guidelines, and you make yourself into a target of the anti-spamdexing teams when you practice such schemes.

Why risk putting years of work at jeopardy? Stay within the guidelines and build rankings that will last a very long time.

[Brawnydt]

Reciprocal link schemes yes, but not a few reciprocal links in general on high value blogrolls.

[intmed]

OK thank you, I know that 1 way links from good sites is the best but how can I get such a links.Any ideas please?

[Solidsnake]

They are still effective... least effective I should say and not worth wasting time..

[bgmacaw]

'Links' pages are out. That's where you have 100 reciprocal links on a page and no other content. If the sites aren't niche related or point to 'bad neighborhoods' then this is a bigger problem.

But, let's say I have a blog on dog training and you have one on how to build a dog house. If, in the context of a blog entry, I link to you and vice-versa this is effective because the linking is contextual and within the same general niche. It is natural linking behavior to support your online friends and associates in this way. Small sidebar blog rolls of about 10 entries also remain effective but less so than contextual linking.

[Kay King]

I agree - massive lists of links are not effective - but doesn't mean reciprocal links are not effective because they are.

Highly targeted, small groups of reciprocal links do well for my sites. When reciprocal links became a game site owners played, they were devalued in favor of one way links.

That doesn't mean they are worthless, but that you should use a combination of link types.

kay

[AlbertF]

The lower outbound links the link your trading links with, the more likely it is going to effect your SERPs.

[artagnan1978]

I would say that they are still effective; maybe not as effective as they were supposed to be; However another link pointing to your website is another link.

There are so many options for one way links too, that you don't need to fill your site with reciprocal links.

I mostly use one way links for my website. I do feel more comfortable with them...

[intelinside]

Yes, they are still effective but if they are from good source and not a link farm.

[LoreCee]

Originally Posted by bgmacaw

'Links' pages are out. That's where you have 100 reciprocal links on a page and no other content. If the sites aren't niche related or point to 'bad neighborhoods' then this is a bigger problem.

But, let's say I have a blog on dog training and you have one on how to build a dog house. If, in the context of a blog entry, I link to you and vice-versa this is effective because the linking is contextual and within the same general niche. It is natural linking behavior to support your online friends and associates in this way. Small sidebar blog rolls of about 10 entries also remain effective but less so than contextual linking.

Does Google consider authority sites like your "product reviews" site niche-related? I'm building a similar authority site and am wondering how G looks at the relevancy of links from such a site, reciprocal or not?

[intmed]

Originally Posted by klaxxon

Reciprocial links are very, very, VERRRYYY EFFECTIVE if they are used correctly.

What do you mean? Any tips please?

[bgmacaw]

Originally Posted by LoreCee

Does Google consider authority sites like your "product reviews" site niche-related? I'm building a similar authority site and am wondering how G looks at the relevancy of links from such a site, reciprocal or not?

On a site like mine it's on a post-by-post basis with some generalized authority as best I can dettermine. My observation is that a single, in post, contextual link from a post on a niche topic would be more valuable than a site-wide blogroll or top commentator link.

[tomah]

It totally depends who's linking back, and the 'weight' or 'authority' the site has.

If it's from a bad neighbourhood, avoid.

AT

[aboutalhah]

I don't bother with these now. Plus with Hubpages, squidoo and other web 20 sites, you have all the one way links you would ever need.

If I link to a website, it has to be really good.

Look at my site for example (top 3-5 for the keyword affiliate marketing, I have less than 20 reciprocal links and that was at the beginning)

Franck

[Kay King]

The problem with using only one type of link - social sites or one way from articles, etc - is that Google can and will devalue these links at some time.
A variety of link types should be the goal as you develop your site.

kay

[dburk]

Originally Posted by klaxxon

To have a high organic search result you need reciprocial links from sites that have high Page RANK.

This will tell google that your site is important, and relevant and it will sky-rocket it in the front of the search results.

So you actually think that links from "sites that have high Page RANK" tell Google your site is "relevant", relevant to what? SO, if you have a site about "Yeast Infection" and you get a link from a high PR "Tire Store" website, Google now knows that "Yeast Infection" is relevant to "Tire Stores"?

It's nice that you then add this qualifier:

Originally Posted by klaxxon

VERY IMPORTANT!

The links have to be from a site that is in the same niche as you are.

Which really means that high PR is not an indication of "relevance", relevance is what it is, and Google knows how to detect relevance. If your link is not relevant, it carries no weight in SERP, but it will increase your PR. I believe this is why so many people get confused about the value of these type of links. If you see your PR increase with these links, you're given a false sense of accomplishment. Higher PR doesn't necessarily mean higher SERP ranking.

If you want to increase your PR, but don't care how you rank in SERP, then go for these links and you'll get what you seek. However, if you are after higher SERP ranking, then your time is better spent going after relevant links from relevant pages on relevant websites.

Relevance always trumps authority, and authority always trumps PR. PR carries the least importance of these 3 factors. Reciprocal links lack authority and irrelevant links dilute your page's relevance.

[alexjo]

Wow, Don Burk, great explanation.
Sometimes people ask about apart of SEO and forget about the whole plan. What is the purpose of doing SEO, traffic? higher SERP? PR? or Money/Profit?

alexjo

[jharwv]

nowhere near as effective as they used to be- the same is now getting true for blog links. Best links are contextual form a good PR sub page on a relevant site

[FredJones]

Resiprocal links don't work too well unless they match in the right context. Whether Google can detect it or not is secondary - the answer is that yes they can, obviously they can, they can detect cycles (meaning, k-way reciprocal links, k=3 for a triangle) let alone simple reciprocal links. That is child's play for a company of the ranks of Google.

The core question is elsewhere. Do they VALUE reciprocal links?

In my mind and experience, yes, if the context makes sense. No, if it does not.

For example, a page on Dracula analysis links on a page to Einstein's relativity and back, may not be contextual. On the other hand a page on Dracula analysis linking to a site providing the full text of Dracula and back is contextual. In my mind, Google detects this very well and mostly does a good job of handling it.

Hope that clarifies.

[Hafsoh]

Its should be done at a minimal and selectively and of course with a relevant of the site(s)...

[fortony]

Some good info but of course different opinions.

What about services like Textlinkbrokers. Are they effective (I know they are pricey)?

[squinter]

I would not advise you to buy links. Search engines do not like it and might punish you.

As far as recip links try to only exchange links related to your niche. Large link schemes run the risk of penalty.