To Link back or not to link back?

Is it necessary and would this be a link farm?

[Helpmebe1]

Can anyone tell me if it is neccessary to link back to increase a PR by any chance? I wouldnt think so but am considering letting someone hyperlink to specific product pages who would in turn get a cut of the profit for referring people to that product if they bought it. His pages only have a PR of 3, so I am not sure if they will even count as incoming links. He also has three other websites he links to on some of his pages, would this be dangerous to do for us to be receive links with three other links surround us going to other peoples pages?

[Grumpus]

Receiving links isn't dangerous. Linking back can be - if they are considered to be "bad sites" by Google. You could even help yourself in the long run by linking back if you are certain that they are not in trouble. Your link to that page will help increase it's PR and therefore, that increase will reflect in your incoming link from them.

G.

[Helpmebe1]

G, got you.. so by linking back it is increasing their PR which will then come back to us... would that be dangerous to link to them being they have three other links surround ours going to other competitor sites? Is that dangerous at this point, viewed as a link farm by any means? As far as I understand then, them linking to us could never harm us even if they are a link farm IF we do not link back to them?

Thanks,
Chris

[Marcia]

Chris, it doesn't make it a link farm, but you're wise to be cautious. It's not just a two way street between your link and theirs back. Check who they're linking to and who's linking to them. Do the same with the other sites they'll be linking to next to yours, checking their linking situation both at Google and Fast. See if they're associated with links to sites that are traditionally spammishly inclined. (LOL.a new word here). If those other sites get zapped and they get it for linking to them, there's a slight possibility you could end up linking to a site that's on thin ice. It's always safest to check links past the first level to find deeper linking relationships.

[Helpmebe1]

hahaa.. cute Marcia.. Sounds like a good new word to me.. hey, if it fits, keep it, right? Well question, if I do not link back to them, as I am not sure if we will or not being that their are competitors listed on the pages we would link back to, it may not be such a good idea.

If we do not link back to them and they are on thin ice, by them simply linking to our site and google consides them spamish.. would that harm us? I would think not since we are not linking to them, rather they are just linking to us?

I am rather unsure about how this whole link thing works (as if it werent obvious)

Last and final question for today, :, if their page is only a PR3 will that boost our PR? I think it needs to be a PR4 to be recognized as an inbound link on google?

Thanks for answering and clarifying some of the linking structure...

Chris

[Grumpus]

Marcia is right in general, but I also am of the mind that it isn't healthy (intestinally) to worry TOO much about linking back. In essence, if the pages they are linking to on that page are your competitors, then it's surely not a link farm for the simple fact that you are all on the same "theme" and is, therefore, relevant.

While I suggest you don't get an ulcer over worrying about whether to link or not to link she's also very right in the fact that your linking back to them will increase their page rank and therefore, increase the pagerank of the competitors. That's a toss-up, in my book. If your competitors already have a better PR than you, then you won't help them as much as it can potentially help you. If they are lower than you, then it'll help them more than you.

if their page is only a PR3 will that boost our PR?

PR is cumulative. Here are some numbers I made up, but the general theory is sound....

If it takes one vote from a PR5 pages to give you a PR3 and it takes 2 votes from two PR4 to give you a PR3, then it would take 4 votes from PR3 pages to make you PR3 and 8 votes from PR2 pages to make you PR3 and 16 votes from PR1 pages to make you PR3.

The whole thing is rather exponential as you can see in the above example.

Every incoming link helps and none will hurt you - even if it's incoming from a PR0 site.

G.

[Helpmebe1]

Grumpus,
Thank you again! You are to kind, everyone is on here.. thats why I love this site so we can help explain things to each other!

By the way, how did you know about my ulcer? haha.. Well soon to have ulcer at this rate. Thanks for the clarification, and for the PR example. This page is officially bookmarked!

Thank you both!

Chris