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But what Im concerned about is getting to many outgoing links on this page but not coming back .. while I wait for a return response. Will this harm me? Expecially now before the next update. (I eventually will remove those links in a few weeks that dont reciprocate)
Thanks
I'm in the process of adding more reciprocal links to my site - what I've been doing is linking up sites to my link page then emailing each webmaster to ask for a return link back...But what Im concerned about is getting to many outgoing links on this page but not coming back .. while I wait for a return response. Will this harm me? Expecially now before the next update. (I eventually will remove those links in a few weeks that dont reciprocate)
A variety of opinions out there... but here is mine.
Preemptive Reciprocal Link Strategy.
Review a targeted site.
Develop new page that promotes this site only -- as complimenting your information. A page doesn't take that long to design (e.g. template)
Place single link into this page into your site (your main page or a subsection) as well as a single link to their most appropriate web page (their main page or something else).
Send an email indicating your review and how links to each site may offer more to both site's visitors.
Direct them to the page you have setup.
Request a return link - be specific and provide them your link code for (a complete page as well as just a link).
You will most likely get a response... and usually favorable.
If they go for the page (keep your page to them, if they go for the single link, amend your site, if they choose neither... well, go on to the next site.
Note: As your site itself is not yet linking to this page (you have only two outbound links from that page and no inbounds -- one to them and one to get into your site, so if their agree to link, you can now add the (internal) link to the page (maybe from the links page).
Note: a page doesn't need to be a full page, could be a pop-up window... the link you send them however, can still show full screen and justified center for better appearance.
If yes, then they're legitimate links, regardless of whether they're reciprocated or not. The fact that some are unreciprocated won't hurt you - only linking to bad neighborhoods could cause damage. The number of links on a page will affect the Page Rank in terms of the value of your vote to the other sites, but imho if they're quality links and only some are reciprocated, then they represent a quality vote for the sites linked to and if my guess is right would probably add credibility and legitimacy to your links page.
imho unreciprocated links won't hurt at all, if they're good links they can help.
I eventually will remove those links in a few weeks that don't reciprocate
Why not leave those links in place just a bit longer and send a second request after a few months? If you're sending them some traffic they may be willing to reciprocate then. There's more to linking than just Page Rank......
As far as your outgoing links, you should be okay if you're not linking to a penalized site or a link farm.
If I were any search engine, I would be very suspicious of a site that only had reciprocated links, rather than a site that has a healthy link resource for its visitors.
The part that I would like to contribute to this discussion is the area on each site giving to processing all these links. I’m of the thought that if you’re going to offer a reciprocal link fathom has offered a suggestion for the optimum campaign. I remember Brett suggesting this at one point and I began applying this theory to sites with great success. Both sites win with this arrangement, leaving room to explore linking outside of the box [webmasterworld.com] ideas as well.
I also love directory structures for linking. Give me a site with an organized structure based on an industry and it’s themes, offering clear directions on how they like to handle their linking and what they are capable of offering in exchange.
Along with that I like sites that review each site personally before listing no matter how automated the rest of the process. They should be honest about their linking and give each a text link from a static page with less than 25 outgoing links to reputable sites. I think that should be the minimum but it’s tough to find. If you can find someone like fathom to work with it would be a great idea to jump on that.
There is a lot of ugly linking going on. I sometimes wish we could set standards but the reality of it the hunt is the thrill for me then the connecting. Sometimes you find folks interested in taking the linking further into actual networking which is not bad.
Yes, PR is part of the equation but for me it’s in terms of as Marcia reminds us, basic guidelines for not linking to ‘bad neighborhoods’. Beyond that I see PR as a bonus. More important I believe is building authority through the text links reinforced by the content and context of the site, along with establishing relationships and increasing content.
To address the part of your question moomelman that relates to unreciprocated links, I agree with comments that support the idea of actually encouraging those. If nothing else this eliminates closed loops.
If this is the case, what kind of response do you get from Webmasters who check the page rank of this page? (I would expect the PR to be very low or nonexistent.)
Thanks,
Jim
Thanks for the reply. Historically, any success I've ever had has been content-based. I'm just trying to understand the concept presented above. If someone used the technique described as I understand it to propose a link exchange with one of my sites, I would look at the proposed-link page, and think, "Well this page is an orphan - a doorway page - and it has no PageRank." I would question the value to my site of the proposed link exchange, unless the proposing site had really excellent, on-topic content.
So, my question is twofold - Did I understand fathom's idea, and what is the "psychology" of doing it this way? Don't mean to be a bother, but it's quite an interesting idea!
Jim
The only thing else I would do is make sure to click on those links on your links page a couple times a week to generate some referrals. It is also nice if you excessively link to your link page so that you send out some referrals.
I like paynt's directory style -- the one problem here is, which comes first:
1. the directory of topics, or
2. the links
A directory with many blank pages (no links) is almost as bad as the old "under construction" signs.
So for this to have "visitor" value you would need to start with many links already.
Two other considerations I have:
1. The link does have power -- power to build as well as power to destroy.
When you link to someone there are no guarantees that they know what "not to link to", and your association (by your link to them) put this burden on you to protect yourself.
My suggested page "link" limits the damage that could be caused to your web site to only "1 page, or maybe two" receiving a potential PR0 penalty, as well limits the chance of you passing that PR0 penalty on to others in your reciprocal link program.
Thinking of the future when you do have many links to support a directory style strategy... the second level link (e.g. pop up) can still be implemented into your directory and provide a buffer.
Remembering that DMOZ.org still gets dinged with PR0 penalties since good linking method and practices are not part of their mandate.
2. IMO regardless of how your recip's wishes to link back, the single link to them invariably gives almost all of that page's PR to them, therefore I always attempt to link to the specific page linking to me, so that the PR pass from me is returned as a very small extreme boost, based on the merits of the individual links themselves.
I use link pages for one way links such as authority sites (e.g. NASA, NOAA, USGS, etc.) and as paynt has suggested limit the number on each page is good. A links page only has value to your site's visitors and the longer the list the less appealing it is to them.
Some contraversy here - I have noindex, follow Meta Tag on these pages, not because I wish to stop PR tranfer (although some would say this is exactly my motivation) but because I do not want these pages to be the introduction page for a new visitor coming from a search engine.
If my more topical focus pages can't reach search engines users an exit page isn't going to help them or my clients.
Reciprocals and one way links have separate purposes - they should also have separate strategies.
Added... more [webmasterworld.com]
Brett, thanks for jumping in. I wish I could find the post where you initially mentioned the one link one page idea. It’s a great approach and can richly add to a site.
That's a great idea. In these times of "how do I keep from giving PageRank to people I link to" we could do well think of how we can help other site owners. Sooner or later some of that generosity is bound to be repaid.
moomelman, I agree with the other comments. Your approach should foster some goodwill towards you, and we all need goodwill.
