Link Exchange: Why Can’t You Get It to Work

I have seen too many write ups about link exchange and how you can get penalized for practicing it. The truth is; as long as it’s not excessive, it is actually beneficial for blog sites and Matt Cutts actually noted it on his blog.

Here’s a quote from him:

So how can we say that you will get penalized for it? In fact, bloggers do it all the time with something called “link love”. When they find interesting articles, they share it among their readers. And when the source noticed that they have been sending traffic to his blog, they link back out of courtesy. And I must admit that I am one who feels the pressure of linking back when someone quoted my blog on his.

It is linking that makes up the blogosphere. It is what makes blogging unique. And to say that link exchange is wrong is not true.

Sources of Quality Sites for Link Exchange

1. DMOZ Directory
2. Yahoo Directory

Both DMOZ and Yahoo are very careful about the sites that they include on their list. If they trust those sites, I’m not sure why you can’t. Start asking for link exchange from those sites within your niche. But before you do, follow these simple guidelines to make sure that you will achieve some level of success.

1. Do not expect too much

If you send 10 emails and only one of them responded, that’s a good start. The problem with those who tried to solicit for links gets easily disappointed and stops from there. Persevere. Continue sending emails relentlessly.

2. Get a good web design if you can’t write well

People links to site because they like it. Take note of the word “like”. They must like your site because of your articles or simply because there’s something unique about the way that you presented your ideas.

It’s not always easy to write interesting article. But if you can present it with a nice- looking and unique web design, there’s a good chance that they will respond to you positively. The sites that they would most likely ignore are:

• Those with grammar and spelling mistakes
• Blogs that look like any other blogs
• Blogs that look desperate to earn money 

3. Be realistic

Do you know that webmasters check your site’s PageRank before they link to you? If your site’s PageRank is 0, do not expect that a site with PageRank of 4 or 5 will link back to you. That’s not how it works and it’s not fair. Blame it on Google if you are looking for someone to blame.

If you are not looking at offering some financial reward, then, be realistic.

Before you rant about it, find out why they wouldn’t respond to sites with a PR of 0

• The site is still new. It’s possible that your site is only 3-6 months old and it’s not easy to trust that you will be serious about it.
• It’s also possible that you must have been penalized by Google for breaking their policy and if they link back to you, they, too could possibly face the same problem.

Offer your page with a better PageRank. A PageRank of 2 is not bad, as long as you are not asking for a page with a PR of 5.