Link exchange is a mechanism that all website owners have heard of. It is almost as if it is an expectation. You have been approached by brokers of all forms, requesting link exchanges. Every one out there believes that getting links is the be-all and end-all of search engine optimization.
On the one hand I have to agree that backlinks seem to influence search engine ranking, on the other, I am not comfortable with some of the methods used. And to add to the already grey area of buying links for the purpose of altering your search engine ranking is a directive from a major search engine, the most major one actually, that they will be ignoring links that are purchased for SERPs value!
So, let us look at some of the basics of purchasing links that will, quite likely, be the smart way to get links.
First of all, I think that it is not natural to have many sites giving you sitewides. Why would a normal site want to give you a link from all of its pages? Ok, for a coupe of sites there might be some reason, but for the most part it is unnatural. So, if you buy links, buy them on a specific page, probably the homepage, and not on all pages of a site.
Second, make sure that the sites linking to you are of all types. If your link building campaign revolves only around directory submission, or article marketing, or high PR pages, or the like, search engines might ignore the links to your site as they will know what you are up to.
Third, make sure that your links are added every day, every week, every month, unless your destination page is newsy. I am not saying that getting a thousand links in a week is too many. But a thousand links in one week and close to no links for the next few weeks might look strange.
Fourth, and this one is well known, make sure that you are not being linked to from a page that seems like a free-for-all page.
Fifth, ensure that your links look like natural links. How would that be? Well, on the one hand, try to have varying text in the link (this text is called the anchor text). On the other, you can try and get links to the index page and also to non-index pages. This will make the links appear "natural."
Sixth, focus on the topic or theme of the page that is linking to you. Focused links are quite likely more valuable. I must also point out that there is no need to be obsessive about this. Unrelated links have value too. But the one thing that you should avoid is getting links from pages that link to a lot of "bad" pages. True you cannot control who links to you. But at least avoid knowingly getting links from "bad neighborhoods."
Also, stay away from reciprocal links. Reciprocal linkage is common in the interconnected world of blogs and may not be the poison pills that they are often known to be. There should be far more one-way links to your site than reciprocals. Search engines might otherwise classify you as a spam site.
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