There seems to be a lot of talk these days on the value of reciprocal linking. Does it hurt your site or does it help your site? Just like everything else there are several opinions on the subject. Some search engine marketers feel that reciprocal linking is a sure way to get traffic and ranking while others feel that it is the scourge of the Internet. Whether you believe that reciprocal linking is good or bad, the one thing that all search engine marketers should agree on is the simple fact that search engines wouldn’t exist without linking. If you, as a SEM agree with this simple truth then how could you think that reciprocal linking is a bad thing?

Reciprocal linking, like most things in life, when abused can definitely cause some problems. The way to avoid potential problems with reciprocal linking is to apply a little common sense. Don’t develop too many links too quickly and be very selective on which sites you exchange links with. Is the site you want to trade links with a site that you would actually spend time visiting? If the answer is no then why would you want to recommend that site to your members/visitors? Think about it this way, every link you place on your site is like a personal recommendation for that site. If you haphazardly toss out a lot of recommendations for garbage sites and search engines passed on your recommendations, how long do you think it would take to kill the reputation and credibility of your site? Not too long according to Google. Don’t believe me, go ahead and link to any and everything and find out for yourself.