The Wikipedia encyclopedia defines a link exchange as, quote “A link exchange (also known as a banner exchange) is a confederation of websites that operates similarly to a web ring. Webmasters register their web sites with a central organization, that runs the exchange, and in turn receive from the exchange ‘html’ code which they insert into their web pages. In contrast to a web ring, where the ‘html’ code simply comprises simple circular ring navigation hyperlinks, in a link exchange the ‘html’ code causes the display of banner advertisements, for the sites of other members of the exchange, on the member web sites, and webmasters have to create such banner advertisements for their own web sites.
Link Exchange Campaigns
Link exchange programs are used in internet marketing and search engine optimization campaigns. Businesses wanting to increase the volume of traffic or the number of visitors to their respective websites form alliances with their business partners and companies and agree mutually to add links to their websites. These link exchange agreements can specify links pointing to and from related websites but do not necessarily involve compulsory reciprocal linking practices
Summarised below are details of different types of link exchange methods.
Reciprocal Linking
Reciprocal linking is the most commonly used linking exchange system and is a popular search engine optimization technique. A reciprocal link is a link that is created and shared between two websites in order share the traffic that each website receives. Here website ‘A’ places a link on it that points to website ‘B’. Website ‘B’ mutually places a link on itself to point back to website ‘A’. The two websites are now reciprocally linked.
Three Way Linking
Three way linking is a special type of reciprocal linking system that aims to create more "natural" links to attract and prompt the search engine spiders. Here website ‘A’ has a link on it that refers to website ‘B’. Website ‘B’ has a link on it pointing to website ‘C’. Website ‘C’ has a link on it pointing back to website ‘A’. This strategy forms a loop of links that eventually point back to the targeted website. Three-way linking exchange strategies can be more effective and successful than standard reciprocal link strategies which are only conducted between two domains or websites.
Automated Linking
This link exchange system is an expansion of the reciprocal linking program. Here a website will place not only one but several links to various websites. Each of these several websites will also place links back to all the websites who have links pointing to them. This system creates many inbound links and usually improves the search engine ranking of all the websites involved.
Link Exchanges
This method is an alternative to the automated linking described above and can be described as a link exchange forum. Owners of websites advertise the websites that they want to get links to and will in turn offer reciprocal or three way links back to the websites that link to them. The links generated through such services are can and need to be checked and edited by the participating owners of the websites.
One Way Linking
A one way link is a link or hyperlink that points to a website without any reciprocal link returning the complement from another website. The link only points in a “one way” direction. These links are seen by the search engine spiders as the more natural links. One way links are also called ‘Incoming Links’ or ‘Inbound Links’.
The most effective and successful way of creating a one way linking exchange is to write articles, blog posts, forum posts and press releases that are keyword specific about the owners website. The link, hyperlinks or url created by these content submissions are then used as part of an anchor text link together with the specific keywords and or keyword phrases to point back ‘one way’ to the owners website. This is a powerful and effective search engine optimization technique used to improve the search engine ranking of websites.
Back Linking
Backlinks are ‘incoming links’ that point to a website or web page. The number of backlinks pointing to a website improves the popularity and importance of that website or webpage. A backlink is any link received by a web page, directory, website, or domain from another website. Back links are also referred to or known as incoming links, inbound links, inlinks, and inward links.
Multi Way linking
The term ‘multi way’ simply refers to a link exchange that is between three or more websites, while ensuring that each link points only to one other website. This type of link exchange technique involves the creation of similar one way links that point one way from three or more partner websites to a specific website. Each website then contains a one way non-reciprocal link. This technique is an expansion of the reciprocal linking exchange principle. The search engine spiders prefer websites that contain quality keyword specific incoming non-reciprocated (one-way) links to those websites that contain many reciprocated links.
Free For All linking
A ‘Free For All’ or FFA links webpage is created mainly to improve the search engine ranking of websites. Webmasters use software to place links to their websites on hundreds of different FFA sites. This increases the number of incoming links pointing to their websites and therefore improves the search engine ranking for those websites. Free for all linking is also used as a search engine optimization technique bearing in mind that the links only stay on the various FFA websites for short periods of time. This means that the search engine spiders, who regularly index FFA websites, only spider a certain number of inbound links at any given time forcing SEO specialists to post to FFA sites on a regular basis.
Off Page SEO Linking
This refers to search engine optimization techniques that are not applied to the back end or html of a website. These SEO techniques involve the validation of the search popularity of focused keywords and phrases that describe the business. The use of these keywords and keyword phrases in the content of related submission articles, blog posts, forum posts and press releases created to promote the business and website. The links created by each post are then hand submitted to the search engines to prompt the search engine spiders to visit the submission content and in so doing spider the link contained in that content that points back to the business website.
Forum Signature Linking
Forum signature linking is a technique used to build backlinks to a website. Forums that allow outbound links or hyperlinks in their member's signature are accessed to apply this type of linking program. The results of forum signature linking builds inbound links pointing to a website very quickly. If the subject content of the forum posts are relevant to the main topic of the forum then this linking technique will also deliver targeted traffic to the related website.
From a search engine optimization point of view forums that have placed the ‘no follow’ robot in the backend ‘html’ area of the forum should not be used. This robot tag ensures that the forum will not be indexed by the search engine spiders. Therefore links pointing to specific websites in the content of the forums are ‘dead’ in that they will not improve the website ranking of those particular websites.
Incestuous Linking
This is a search engine optimization strategy or technique used by webmasters to promote a collection of their own websites or websites of close friends and or business associates. When these websites are not directly owned by the real website owner, this is referred to as a web clique. Websites are seen by the Google search engine spiders as ‘more important’ if they contain large numbers of inbound links. If those inbound links are from highly ranked web sites, they will increase the search engine ranking of that website.
Link Baiting
Link bait is any content or feature within a website that somehow baits viewers to place links to it from other websites. Link baiting is anything that is interesting enough to attract people's attention. Link bait can be an extremely powerful form of marketing because it has a viral nature.
Deep Linking
This is when a hyperlink points to a specific page or image on another website, instead of that website's main or home page. These links are called ‘deep links’.
Inline Linking
This involves the use of a linked object, such as an image, from one website into a web page belonging to a second website. The second website would then be known to have an ‘inline link’ to the website where the object is located. Inline linking is also known as hot linking, leeching, piggy-backing, direct linking, offsite image grabs and bandwidth theft.
Link Doping
This link exchange practice involves placing a large number of gratuitous links or hyperlinks on a website, in exchange for reciprocal links. Link doping is effected when a person hyperlinks or links to websites that they have never visited or ever intend visiting, in return for a place on the website's blogroll, for the only purpose of inflating the popularity of their website. |
