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Google Now Discounts All Reciprocal Links
Instead of using the approach of reciprocal links, businesses must find alternative ways to bring organic traffic and visibility to their website.
For a long time, reciprocal links were a leading part of inbound linking strategies. Many businesses believed that by forming partnerships with other sites and exchanging links, they would be able to increase the number of incoming links to their site.
However, as Google began to realize the impact of reciprocal link exchanges, it started to take action. Over the years, Google changed its algorithm to identify these exchanges and reduce their value. As of now, all reciprocal links are discounted from page rankings within the search engine results pages (SERPs).
This means that any attempts to manipulate your site’s rankings by creating link exchanges will no longer work. If businesses want to have successful SEO and ranking strategies in place, they will need to focus on other methods for boosting inbound links and improving organic traffic.
The concept of reciprocal linking defies Google’s original intention with the algorithm. Quality content should attract links. The exchange of links is nothing more than a mutual agreement to unjustifiably promote others’ content with the end goal of promoting your own. Google doesn’t particularly like this (see Link Schemes).
Some even claim that Google is now able to identify three-way linking schemes (i.e. website A links to website B, who links to website C, who links back to A). Whether this is true or not is hard to say. One thing is for certain though: inbound linking strategies should NOT be centered around reciprocal linking. This manufactured form of link creation is not well-received and is ultimately a waste of time. Instead, focus on creating unique, high-quality content in a given niche. The links will ensue.
The days of relying on reciprocal link exchanges for inbound links are over. Google now discounts them from SERPs rankings, making it necessary for businesses to find other ways to gain organic traffic and increase visibility online. By understanding how to properly utilize SEO tactics and strategies, businesses can establish valuable relationships with websites that have relevant content and generate quality inbound links for their site.
