sit2510 - 7:53 am on Dec 15, 2004 (gmt 0)

>>> What this thread shows us above all is that reciprocal linking has become really high maintenance. Checking link partners takes time, and who has the time to thoroughly check them all once again two months later to weed out the ones who have deleted or otherwise obscured your link?

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Absolutely right! Good links are often mixed with bad links, so to check them thoroughly at regular interval would be too expensive. IMHO, one of the good approaches is NOT to seek for perfection and NOT to be too obsessive about being cheated.

Anyway I do not intend to mean that you have to work blindly. For me, I check backlinks quarterly using automatic approaches to weed out obvious bad links. Those links that are doubtful might be followed by humam review. Bad links are allowed to stay as long as they are not detected, but to spend tremendous time to check everyone is practically not wise. In the mix of bad guys, I know that there are always good guys in there who give good link leverage.

Having higher percentage of good links over the bad ones is the KEY, and that's enough for this game.