Linking between Your Own Sites

Is this okay with Google?

[Eterion]

Ok, not that I have a website up yet, but Ive read from some people that theyre strategies are to build a site, then wait til that gets popular and the PR level goes up, then build another site, and link them to each other so the new one goes up in rank, then keep building basically a network of websites. Is this allowable by Google/most ad companies? Basically they're different websites but essentially owned by the same person. Just a curious question that popped up while I was browsing one of the threads.

[lammert]

Is this allowable by Google/most ad companies?

I think you ask this because of Adsense ads, because otherwise this is the wrong forum to ask.

Adsense ads, and most other contexual ad systems target ads based on the page contents. Links to other sites will not have much influence on the displayed set of ads.

Also I have not heard any mentioning here, or on other forums, of Adsense applications declined because of links to other sites, but maybe links to sites with specific content: adult, tabacco etc. may be a problem.

[brickwall]

... and if for some reason one of sites in your network causes your AdSense account to be compromised, there goes your whole network.

[lammert]

if for some reason one of sites in your network causes your AdSense account to be compromised, there goes your whole network.

You don't need to interlink between your sites to accomplish this. An Adsense TOS violation will many times cause all sites with that publisher ID to be punished, regardless if they are interlinked.

[Atticus]

Eterion,

If you have a reason (other than gaming the system) for launching additional sites and linking to them, then do it.

The real danger of poisoning your enterprise lies in trying to second-guess what Google prefers at this stage of its development (that's SEO/publishing advice and does not necessarily relate to concerns regarding Adsense accounts).