backlink vs. reciprocal link

[dpakman91]

ok, can someone clear up thye difference between backlinks and reciprocal links for me once and for all?

i always assumed a reciprocal link was when two sites link to each other, and backlinks are just one way...am i right?

[deejay]

reciprocal are two way.

backlinks are just total links coming into your site - can be reciprocal or one way.

[dpakman91]

and are reciprocal or backlinks better for your sites PR?

[rj87uk]

and are reciprocal or backlinks better for your sites PR?

I dont think you have understood DeeJay,

Reciprocal links are when two sites 'exchange links' like back to each other.

Backlinks are the total number of links pointing to your website.

If you mean what is better: Reciprocal links or one way links, it is open to discussion, but i would think one way links are better.

[deejay]

*nodding* as RJ87uk has clarified, backlinks are made up of reciprocal and one way links coming into your site.

As far as PR goes, it is your backlinks to any given page that contribute to PR of that page (and these backlinks can be from your own site or outside sites - they all contribute).

In terms of whether one way or reciprocal links are better, one way wins - but not by a lot usually.

Why?

Say you have a PR4 page on your site. It has achieved that PR4 because of the backlinks to it. That page now has a certain amount of 'transferrable' PR accumulated that it may pass on to the pages it links to.

Say (for simplicity) that this page has four links to other pages on your site. Each of them would receive 25% of that transferrable PR.

But say you have a reciprocal link that you need to, well, reciprocate from that page.

Now you have five outgoing links. Each receiving 20% of the transferrable PR - 80% going to your four pages, and 20% going off site.

Note: You have not directly reduced or altered the PR of your PR4 page by adding a fifth link - only rearranged the PR it can pass on.

So. You have 20% less PR from that one page flowing back around your site because you gave that reciprocal link away.

But... and it's a big one... BUT - that 20% is going to a site that is linking to you, thereby raising their PR overall, and the amount of PR on the page on their site that links back to you.

It's all a bit of a merry-go-round, really.

If you're offered a one way link or a reciprocal, go for the one way, absolutely. But I certainly wouldn't turn away good reciprocals.