Building reciprocal links are a long-standing method that webmasters use to gain valuable incoming links to help not only increase traffic, but boost their link popularity. It is true that the search engines look for inbound one-way links and consider this to be better than reciprocal links. This said, the search engines do not look askew at reciprocal links that come from quality websites that are related to the them of your own website. The emphasis here is on high value websites that are related to your website theme.

Outright rejection

Webmasters of high value and high ranking websites receive a multitude of requests for reciprocal link exchanging, yet they turn the majority down. This is very frustrating for websites that are desperately trying to increase their page rank and link popularity. The first thing a webmaster does when receiving a reciprocal link request is to go and visit the requesting website.

What that webmaster finds will determine whether the request will be summarily turned down or whether thought will be given to do reciprocal linking. Obviously if the requesting website is totally irrelevant, the request will be rejected. The webmaster will not accept a link from an irrelevant website as it is meaningless to him and he will not get any targeted traffic either.

Relevant, but still rejected

If your website is relevant, but your request is rejected it is time to look at your own website critically. Theme related, but poor quality site content will get you rejected fast. High value websites look for theme related sites that are not in competition with them, but have content of excellent value. If your site does not offer then you stand no chance.

If your website has a low page rank it will not be easy to get a reciprocal link. Though, if you can prove that your ranking is steadily improving and you have excellent site content to back you up, a high value website might take a chance on you and do reciprocal linking. So your optimisation efforts must be top-notch and your site content must be the best to make your website attractive to the site you wish a reciprocal link from.

When you request a reciprocal link, that webmaster will look very critically at your link directory before he will decide to link to you. Your link directly must be easily accessible for your website visitors, meaning no further away from your home page than two clicks. A plethora of links to each page and a link directory that is not categorized is another sure way to have your link request rejected.

If you wish a high ranking website to agree to do reciprocal linking with you, you must make sure your house is in order. Everything must be perfect; from the web design, the implementation of all the optimisation factors, website layout and highly valuable content. A reciprocal link campaign will only be successful if your own website has value to offer the website you wish to link to. No webmaster will damage his own reputation, chances of gaining site traffic and his own link popularity if your website is not up to scratch.

Get Involved