Don't Be A Reciprocal Linking Turkey!
I had an email exchange with an SEO client today after his
webmaster called him pushing reciprocal linking software
(when all this web designer was after was to generate some
extra work from a client that hasn't needed him for awhile).
Then that client called me after he received my email de-
nouncing the software, fully convinced by a follow-up phone
call from his web designer that the reciprocal linking soft-
ware WAS valuable.
He had been assured that the spamming, er - I mean, linking
software, would increase his visiblity for an inside page on
a hot topic currently in the news. He didn't want to hear my
unpopular opinion that reciprocal linking is DEAD! Halloween
is over people! We don't need the mummies of yesterdays'
linking schemes haunting our Thanksgiving too! Oh, it must
be a Thanksgiving TURKEY! A reciprocal Linking Turkey! Can
reciprocal linking Santa's be far behind? OK, I'll drop the
holiday metaphors.
I tried in vain to convince this client that he didn't need
that software for his review of the new Myriad Pictures flm,
"Kinsey" about early sex educator Professor Alfred Kinsey.
We had just that morning distributed a press release online
which is now
posted on over 100 high visibility news sites and Yahoo news
picked it up!
These are hugely valuable ONE WAY inbound links that will
vastly improve his search engine ranking immediately due to
the topical nature and excellent timing of the release. This
client is a sex educator and runs an educational web site
about sex and love. His press release put down the idea of
the use of the new Intrinsa© testosterone patch to cure
the low sexual desire of post-menopausal women and praised
the new film Kinsey. He'll be top ranked for two highly
desirable and valuable (to him and his web site) keyword
phrases within the week.
By the way, I HIGHLY recommend this approach for those with
newsworthy issues they want to promote to the press.
will send your newsworthy press
release to over 100 top news sites, hundreds more radio,
television and newspaper reporters, and tons of journalists
who have signed up to receive them. Ereleases.com is syndicated
by major news organizations and you can gain hundreds of links
while generating interviews and even television appearances,
all for only $400! Some people will pay that much for worthless
reciprocal linking software and installation by webmasters
having a slow week. ;-) Back to our story...
I re-affirmed my opposition to the use of the software as we
ended our call and he hung up disappointed because he wanted
my support and assurance that the sales pitch he got from his
web designer on the reciprocal linking software was accurate
and that it would do more for him than this press release.
Unfortunately, we'll never know because he bought the sales
pitch from the web designer, installed the software and
immediately sent out a spm - AHEM, er, I meant to say - email
to his newsletter mailing list announcing the availability of
reciprocal links and asking them for links to his newsworthy
new pages.
When will this linking insanity end?
Following is my reasoned - and decidedly calmer than I am now
- email response to him.
Dear Gary,
This link generation scheme is standard for reciprocal link
software. The value of "Reciprocal links" is far lower than
the value of the ONE WAY links you already have from that
press release distribution and the posting of the press
release on your site which, by the way, includes linking
instructions at the bottom of the relevant pages.
I've written an article call "Linking Psychosis is Treatable"
which discusses
the foolishness of links pointing all over the web.
It doesn't address reciprocal linking so much as the insanity
with which webmasters persue them. Your press release has
ALREADY generated a huge number of inbound ONE WAY links that
will increase the visibility and rank of both Kinsey Film
Review and
Intrinsa©
Testosterone Patch pages.
Doing the reciprocal page will initially LOWER your rank
because it is RECIPROCAL. There is a concept called "Authority
Site" that search engines use where ONE WAY inbound links are
ranked VERY highly and reciprocal links are devalued BECAUSE
of software like that being promoted by link-crazy folks not
willing to do the hard work of generating the more valuable
one-way links.
The search engines know about the software available from
linking fanatics and DEVALUE pages that use it. Ultimately
it can increase your visibility, sometimes, over the long
run, but it just isn't that helpful in most cases.
I've taken a hard line about this and get a lot of flack
about it from those without SEO experience or knowledge.
But smart professional SEO's agree that reciprocal linking
schemes - AND ESPECIALLY SOFTWARE GENERATED PAGES - are not
worth much in search engine rank. The search engines are
reducing the importance of those type of pages daily because
it is too easy and too commonly used by scores of webmasters
looking for an easy ranking.
I have written in the past that "Reciprocal Linking is Dead!"
in which I outline my linking policy and encourage all
reciprocal links requests to submit articles to be used on
my site and that I'll link to them through the resource box
of their articles - IF I decide to publish them - but that
I just don't do reciprocal linking - period. I don't even
require them to link to me, but I point out that I have over
a hundred fifty articles on my web site available for use on
their site if they use my resource box, provide author credit
and link to me through my resource box.
That's my story and I'm sticking with it. ;-) No matter how
unpopular it makes me with software vendors selling programs
or link fanatic webmasters looking for extra income and easy
solutions.
Don't be a linking turkey! Happy Thanksgiving!
About the Author
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Experience with SEO client Dr. Gary Schubach, of
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