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Don't: Participate in link exchanges for the sole purpose of increasing your ranking in search engines.
Quote from Google's Webmaster Dos and Don'ts. [google.ca]
I believe some red flags are raised from the bots,(and possibly a couple of piggies) then some humans check it and maintain a black list.
My site is linked to by a bunch of different sites in a link exchange. I do NOT link to the exchange, and have asked them repeatedly to not link to me. Do you think Google might ban me because of it???
Thanks!
Okay, stress i can see ... but heartbreak? hmm, if getting dropped from Google causes feelings similar to getting dumped on the night of the prom then perhaps you are taking SEO just a tad too serious?
And no, I did not get dumped on the night of the prom. I was sick that night. Honest.