link exchanges

google penalize sites using sites with link exchange?

[helenp]

Hi,
I do have a problem, been for 8 months on first page in google with my best keywords, started to fall from 1st line to fifth of 1st page. Then changed host was ofline 20 hours, and my best frase position fall to third page, the site is up since a week, but keep falling.

well now the cuestion, before I acepted all travel link exchanges (relative to my business) but heard must be careful with site that you link to, so started to check sites, and many wasn´t even present in google, they penalized them, so took them of, later took all of that had an linkexchange page on their site.

Checking the sites on first page in google, and they all have a lot of links in link exchange sites............I mean travel sites with a link exchange page.

what should I do, accept sites with a link exchange page?

regards,
Helen

[sit2510]

>>> google penalize sites using sites with link exchange?

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I don't think Google has gone to that extreme...that is why you can see those sites appearing on 1st page with link exchange page. However, it is going to be a new art in seo to combine the web structure and linking pattern internally as well as externally for visibility in Google.

>>> what should I do, accept sites with a link exchange page?

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It depends on what you want to do, but if I were you, I will still proceed if that site meet some criteria such as having decent PR, their link page is viewable in cache, their policy of taking maximum of links on that page, also total number of pages as indexed by G. For advanced feature, view their content and if you are satisfy, then link.

[seofreak]

>>google penalize sites using sites with link exchange?

no way. atleast for my related keywords only sites with link exchange pages and directories, stuffed keywords in ALT tags and descriptions are the ones at top ..

[Goanna1]

I don't see any penalties at present but that might change any time.