Link page technique

Good idea? Or would SEs see it as a link farm?

[DylanW]

Given the theory that part of Florida was a filter for "over-SEO'd" sites, I've been going over how I've been doing things lately, just to make sure everything is OK.

A month or so ago, I changed our links directory (all done manually, not with Zeus, etc.) around by placing link partners at the very top. After the descriptions for these sites, I placed a link that said "(Link Exchange)" leading to their link page that contains the link to our site. My rationale for this was that, since I know our links directory has been indexed and updated, then SEs will follow those links and I can be a little more certain that their links page will be spidered as well.

Of course, I figure this is one of those things that could get us flagged as a link farm (although all the links have some relation to the subject of our site, most of them very specifically). Would it be flagged as a spammy technique or not?

[rogerd]

DylanW, it's hard to say what might get filtered or downgraded these days, but there's a general belief that unreciprocated links are more desirable than reciprocated ones, perhaps moreso in the future. To the extent that this might be true, linking right back to their links page from your links page doesn't seem like a great idea.

If their link page isn't getting spidered/indexed, you should check their site structure and point out any obvious problems. Better still, don't exchange links with anyone who has an orphaned or problematic link page. I encounter this occasionally when I get a link request - when I point out the problem, the other site either corrects it or never replies (because they were always aware of it and didn't care).