The first or initial element on the Web was the reciprocal links – they’ve been in existence long before we started hearing of ‘social media’. There’s no complexity when it comes to reciprocal link concept. The concept is as simple as this scenario: I "Like" your site – (so, I link to it), you "Like back" – (and link to my own site).

The position of your website can substantially improve in Google’s search results since links are excellent pointers that other folks place-value your website.

FUD

The few years of recent past has recorded several FUD about the effectiveness of reciprocal links. Some people are of the opinion that reciprocal links are no longer effective, while others went as far as propagating the information that reciprocal links can result in serious issues with Google.

Is anything actually wrong with reciprocal links?

A lot of opinions and statements have been made regarding the efficiency of reciprocal links; however, none of these statements or opinions are accompanied by evidences. Nothing has gone wrong with reciprocal links – they are still as effective as they were at their inception.

Simply analyze the backlink profile of your competitors who rank high (perhaps using a backlink analyzer). You will discover that a good volume of the links are reciprocal links. What are the sources of these links?

The links come from:

• Mutual contextual linking – like the type exchanged between bloggers

• Link resources/exchange pages

• Directory links

• Blogroll links

Reciprocal links are more effective for decent websites – websites that do not feature the ‘xxx’ content. There are some sites that find it difficult to generate links without something in exchange. These are the sites that reap most of the fruits from reciprocal links.

I read that Google is at loggerheads with reciprocal linking – what about that?

Google has no issues with reciprocal linking. The only thing that Google advocates against is complete automated, large volume linking techniques or systems. Normal reciprocal linking is not part of this. If you are not convinced yet, go ahead and carry out an analysis on your competitors’ backlinks.

Plus improved search engine rankings, you can get quality traffic from your partner’s website via reciprocal links. This is the essence of links.

Which are the best links – one way links or three way links?

None of these links are better than another, they are all equal. Whether reciprocal, one way link or any other type of link, the most important thing is that the source of the link should be such that it would be relevant to your site in the eyes of search engines.

Why the complexities by search engines? Well, it is the way you look at things. Do the right thing and you will see that there is no complication with the search engine. Ensure that links to your website are relevant as well as trusted – it is for the good of your site.

Looking to rank high in Google? Then, there is need for high quality backlinks to your website. You could also include reciprocal links in your blog posts, especially if your site does not provide the possibility of links or resources page.