DomainDrivers - 2:58 pm on Aug 22, 2006 (gmt 0)

>>>I don't see many people saying recips aren't a valid form of promotion.

Sugarrae, I see that all the time. From some very big names in SEO. It's ridiculous. Instead of me making claims and putting words in their mouths, I can post an article reference list, if you like, where these people are publicly disparaging the practice of reciprocation. But, as you said in your post, this is not the thread for that. The list of names is well known, vocal, and active, both as conference speakers and well-known writers. What I have never seen are facts to support it. Because here, we have considerable evidence to wholly refute what these people say.

>>>I think anyone using reciprocal linking as their sole link strategy are not being the smartest about the long term growth and stability of their sites.

There are many ways to get links. I encourage clients to pursue as many as possible, but time and money constraints often come into play as well. Reciprocation is just one way to get links, but in many cases it is the "foundation" on which other methods can build, or it is the most accessible and affordable of the various options. Choices must be made.

Most sites that reciprocate actively begin to get links that are not reciprocated, thus reducing their overall reciprocation ratio. In other words, laying the foundation of reciprocation generates other linking back to the site, of various types.

For instance, if we earn 200 links to a client site that had no links whatsoever when we started, it is typical to see hundreds (maybe over 1000) unique domain links coming back to the site after 6 months. This "link expansion" continues indefinitely.

Where did all those other links come from? As it often turns out, from a lot of different places and situations, especially if the site is now ranking well for it's prime keywords. Quite often, the client has done nothing else pro-active to earn these other kinds of links. That's their choice, not mine. I just observe the outcome.

This "links beget links" phenomenon is almost universal within my client link profiles. How someone can ignore it or deny it's effectiveness is worth a good "chuckle", as you said.

As I said, reciprocation is foundation work. Put it in place and build upon it, as budgets allow.

>>>If you don't agree with someone - you have the choice to give them a counter opinion or chuckle to yourself, but everyone has the right to think outloud on this forum - as long as they do it within the bounds of the TOS.

I totally agree. I hope that applies to me as well, when I say that most of what is published about linking and SEO issues is mostly just total bunk. It fails to hold up to close scrutiny, when real SERPs are applied to it. I see that all the time.

I'll regularly read some absolutist statement about linking coming from some big name SEO guru, and then I look at the hundreds of situations that we monitor here, and it fails miserably to hold water.

Instead of chasing linking fads and the scare tactics that these people continue to foist upon us, I prefer to continue to do what has worked well for years. It's a very traditional, branding-based approach to reciprocal linking that actually takes search engine considerations out of the mix entirely. The search results DERIVE from that. We ignore PR and other search-based factors. That's just noise.

People can make all kinds of claims in the SEO business. What matters is SERPs. And yes, there are hundreds of factors that drive SERPs. But, by reviewing large numbers of results pages and the sites behind them, common patterns emerge again and again, with inevitable exceptions as well.

People can speculate all they like. But when people make claims as to the financial viability of the LinksManager business or their competitive intentions, while holding no facts whatsoever, it crosses the line of credibility. It's like saying that the moon is made of green cheese. It's a free speech thing. Anyone can say it, but what is the point? Only to denigrate a business that is doing nothing wrong (and actually trying to do the right thing), just because they are involved in link reciprocation? I don't get it. They can say it. I can counter it. Readers can choose what to believe.

Finally, to drag myself out the contentious mode for a moment, the post from MsRach (#:3050406) was an excellent example of what I have seen hundreds of times in my life. Genuine, subject-relevant reciprocal linking pursued as a branding function of the business, combined with good on-site SEO practice. It's hard to beat.

That post was followed up by a great post from biker6 (#:3050735), explaining exactly how reciprocation, done properly, works for a niche site.

Not everyone is confused about reciprocation, but from my experience, they are in the minority in the SEO world.