Link building is the focal point of the process in achieving success in search engine optimization. Using the wrong link building strategy can cause companies a lot of wasted resources and efforts. There are various strategies for link building that are already widely implemented by many companies today, one of the most popular among them is reciprocal link building. Simply put, reciprocal link building is the method of generating reciprocal links from other websites similar or in the same industry as yours. It is the agreement between web masters that they will publish each other’s links in their web sites. The process is also known by other terms such as link swapping, link partnering or link exchanging.

Increasing customer traffic from one’s website is basically the main goal of reciprocal link building.

Many companies today are finding it increasingly important to generate links from other web pages that are in the same industry or niche as theirs. Although very advantageous as a strategy, companies should also be cautious in not overdoing reciprocal link building because doing so can also bring about unwanted effects. Some of these disadvantages include:

1. Getting links from websites that are ranked lower. Since links are being exchanged in the process of reciprocal link building, it is being assumed that the companies engaging in such is already in the know and are somehow informed of the who’s who in the industry that they are working on. Despite this, many still cannot exactly determine whether they are swapping links with an authority website or not because of the huge amount of websites that are cropping up in the Internet nowadays. Investing the time and effort in determining and finding the best websites to link from will actually pay dividends in a company’s overall search engine optimization process.
2. Directing traffic to the other websites instead of one’s own page. This can happen if a company overdoes its reciprocal link building strategy. Remember that the main focus of reciprocal link building is to link to other similar websites in order to appear more authoritative in the eyes of customers and search engines. Though reciprocal link building plays a great part in a company’s link building process, it should not be the only focus. Overdoing this can cause increased traffic to the competitor’s website, leaving one’s own pages seem less credible than what is hoped for. Search engines have an especially meticulous eye for this and this can result in them ranking the website lower, considering the website less authoritative than the links it harbors. Also important to note is that while many companies are credible in the eyes of search engines, there are an equal number of webmasters out there who do nothing but provide spam links and eventually bring down the website’s search engine rankings. Being on the look-out for these traps, like search engine spiders or an automatic link producer, is important to making reciprocal link building work.
3. Being on the losing side of the bargain. This means that while one is constantly updating one’s website, making sure that every link is as updated as possible, the other site who agreed to exchange links with one’s own does not exert the same effort or does not publish the links the way the other is. Since reciprocal link building is basically an agreement, the whole process will be based on the trust that each party has with the other. It is important that companies constantly check how much their customer traffic is increasing because of link exchanges. Also important to know is how much customer traffic that these links from the other websites are directing to one’s own. Making sure that one is getting a fair share of the deal is important in succeeding in the whole reciprocal link building strategy because some companies can promise without really delivering.
4. Not doing one’s side of the bargain. Mediocre websites can only expect so much in the process of reciprocal link building. Before going to the process, one has to make sure that he has the goods to back up his plans. Link exchanges today are getting more and more meticulous and many websites, especially the authority ones, and link directories are constantly on the lookout for well set-up websites to link from.

The concept of reciprocal link building is exchanging links with a website ranked equal or higher. Offering mediocre and badly maintained websites will do more harm than good to the whole web marketing process implemented by the company. Not only that, it can result in lower search engine rankings in the long run and rejection from authority websites. Reciprocal link building is a proven and legitimate way of increasing traffic to one’s website and climbing up the search engine rankings. It is also advantageous because it builds relationships with other similar websites and indirect competitors which can eventually turn into a network that can be very valuable in the website’s future endeavors. Many people thought that directing traffic away from one’s website to others is disadvantageous, but in the long-run, the process actually makes more sense. Customers are more likely to come back especially if a web site can provide them with good reference pages as a second reading option. Not only does one gain a loyal customer base but in the process can also experience an increase in unique visits every day. This is why reciprocal link building is what it is today. It connects similarly-themed web site and in the process make it a WIN-WIN situation for both parties.

Competition is there whether one acknowledges them or not. With the importance of link popularity today, tools in checking links have also grown in popularity. In the market, companies like INP & Arelis Google Keyword Tool, WordTracker, SEO Tools Rank Checker and Free-Webmaster-tools provide checking and link building service for websites that may need their link’s popularity checked. Most of these companies charge a fee for their services, while there are still many others that offer services for free catered to those start-ups and cash-strapped companies. Search Engine marketing is a very tricky endeavor, but once mastered, the benefits are tremendous and very advantageous. Many shortcuts exist; there are also techniques that businesses can do to take advantage of SEO opportunities.

What worked for one company may not work as well for another. Individual strategies are important for companies to be able to reach out to the millions of users who log into the World Wide Web everyday. Beyond the technicalities and skills that are required in establishing a website, every business has their own goals with which individual strategies are applied. Checking the quality of links, inbound and outbound, is important to rank high in search engine tools like Google and Yahoo. Google, for example, values quality inbound links found in the website for higher rankings. The more quality inbound links a web site has, the more probable it is for that company to be ranked high in Google searches or any other SEOs for that matter.

To check and make sure of the legitimacy of a website’s popularity, companies can utilize these tips:

1. Not faking and/or using artificial methods in creating inbound links to one’s website. In other words, link farms, top sites, automatic link generators, link services, spamming with keyword text, and doorway pages will most probably be an unwise use of funds to raise search engine rankings. If worse comes to worst, a website may be banned by search engine marketers as a result of implementing these methods.
2. The main objective of link building is to rank high in the list of search engine marketers. Link swaps and linking with similar websites are still the best way to go.
3. Check your links and spend time logging on to search engine websites like Google and Yahoo. Typing in keywords related to your website and poring through how your site is presented every time you make a search is another good way of checking your website’s popularity.

Sheer quantity of links is not the name of the game. To be popular in the vast domain of the Internet, quality is all that matters. A couple dozen links to a website from related, high quality, authority sites are much more valuable to a search engine than hundreds of low quality links one can obtain by exchanging with any site that would agree to post their pages. Positioning one’s website to reach out to millions of customers can only be done through patient strategizing and building link influence. Link Building has played a vital role in search engine positioning for many companies. It helps improve a company’s rankings on different search engines and most importantly, boost over-all company productivity and popularity.

1. Back link analysis on one’s benchmarks and competing sites. No blog is an island; choosing the right blogs to be linked to on their blog roll and vice-versa is a must. Contribution writing for good causes and nonprofit organizations often dedicate links in their donor pages as well. Another proven tactic in improving a blog’s search viability is through link baiting. As another link building service, this helps generate traffic to a blog by showing how it can be a win-win situation for both the blogger and the interested webmasters.
2. Submitting to press release distribution sites. The basic rule is to include the blog’s URL whenever possible and proper: articles that prove useful and re-blog worthy, author profiles for guest writing exposures, social media site biographies, content sponsorships and so much more.
3. Using connections to get the client on mainstream media. Whenever involving other parties (be it blogs, websites, press hubs) through cross sharing content, sponsored writing and exchanging links, the standard of quality writing should be raised higher. Nothing is more damaging to a relationship than obvious self-serving articles that prove to be non-beneficial to the other partner. Think of everyone in your online network as a professional partner – which is why a simple “thank you” recognition is a given as well.

Link exchanges are an easy way of creating link popularity, defined as the quantity and quality of the inbound links pointing to your site. By swapping links with other site owners, you increase the potential targeted readership of your site, thereby giving it more exposure. Since getting noticed by the search engines require the quantity and relevancy of incoming links leading to your site, a link building campaign must incorporate link exchange as one of the methods used for gaining link popularity. However, like all off-page optimization strategies, there are pros and cons, and points to consider when leveraging the power of link exchange to boost your link popularity and search engine rankings.

What can be expected from link exchanges? A big advantage from link exchanges is highly targeted readership, a pivotal factor in building link popularity. By focusing on exchanges with relevant links or doing thematic exchanges with other sites, you can attract a large, quality and highly targeted traffic your way, increasing exposure for your web site. If you can get an authority website that enjoys huge traffic to link to your site, some of that traffic will undoubtedly come your way. Link exchange remains an important part of the link building process because it still is a leading factor in improving search engine placements. It is the easiest way to increase your site’s link popularity, which leads to higher traffic, and ultimately, a better position in the rankings.

What are the types of link exchanges? There are several forms of exchanging links: one-way, reciprocal, and three-way.

1. One-way link exchange. This is the most favorable type of link exchange that enhances link popularity because major search engines place great importance on inbound links when evaluating page rankings. When performing this type of link, the output link becomes: Mysite1 -> Mysite2
2. Reciprocal link exchange. This is a mutual link performed by two websites aimed at generating mutual traffic. Reciprocal links create permanent back links for partner sites. SEO experts typically frown at reciprocal links in general but recommend doing so-called relevant linking, which is a derivative of reciprocal linking that links only to relevant and quality sites. The Output Reciprocal link here is: Mysite1 <-> Mysite2
3. Three Way link exchange. This is a variation of reciprocal linking that is advantageous to all parties and attempts to replicate organic link building for the search engine rankings. The Output Three way link becomes: Mysite1-> Mysite2 -> Mysite3 -> Mysite1

Pointers for performing link exchanges: If done properly, link exchanges can deliver excellent results for your link building campaign. Here are a few pointers:

1. When exchanging links, always consider the Google mantra: “quantity, quality, and relevance of links count towards your rating.” Delimit your exchanges to links that are relevant and high quality.
2. Stay away from link farms and link trading hubs or networks because the possibility of exchanging links with off-topic link partners will prove disastrous to your link popularity and your rankings.
3. Search for relevant websites on search engines. Use Yahoo or Google and search your targeted keyword/s. Target the sites on the upper part of the search results. Visit these pages and ask the owner to link to your site, but do not assume that everyone will say yes. If you succeed, you get inbound links from pages that rank well in the eyes of the search engines, a very advantageous thing for your link popularity. If simply asking for a link does not work, you can offer incentives such as commissions or free advertising.

Link exchange is the most popular method to acquire link popularity, but for large web-based promotional campaigns, exchanging links can be very tedious. Fortunately, you always have the option of hiring a link building company to handle your link exchanges or your link building campaign for that matter.