Backlinking

[Onlinedesignmeubel]

Dear community,

How do you deal with website that ask for return links?

Regards,

Martin

[ditoroin]

It depends who asks and how. If it is interesting, I tweet/share the link.

There is a very interesting video: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/what-separates-a-good-outreach-email-from-a-great-one-whiteboard-friday

[Onlinedesignmeubel]

Hey Dimitri Roinishvili,

Theres a possibility that i havent formulated my question correctly.

I'm trying to get links to my website on other websites. How i am finding these websites is by analysing competitors, with opensite explorer, to find out which pages links to their website.

Some of these websites ask for a return link, which is not alloud by google. My question is how do you deal with theseso called backlinks?

[EdoubleD]

This is something I'm also interested in, in the last post from OP he suggests that exhcaning links is something google like. What about partner compnies etc. We are listed on a number of our friends websites such as photographers and we're going to be putting a link page up which will list of few of these people. We're very selective about who we link to but am I right in now thinking this is actually a damaging practice?

[ditoroin]

As you mentioned, Google does not allows such reciprocal links.

I think, you should avoid making this kind of deals, i.e. ignore them.

[Everett]

It is ok to link to partner companies and related websites if you think the links are useful and they are relevant. I see this question all the time and the answer is always the same: Just use common sense.

If you have a site that sells bicycles online linking to a real estate site in Chicago and a law office in New York it is going to raise some flags.

If you have a site linking out to hundreds of other websites, ALL of which link to each other in some kind of 2-way, 3-way or more complicated network it is going to raise some flags.

If you have a store selling bicycles in Chicago that links to its other locations in other cities that is fine.

If you have a website design company linking out to some other local businesses, clients' sites, etc... that is probably fine.

I have never heard anyone from Google come out and say "All reciprocal linking is bad". If you're doing it for SEO it's probably worth reconsidering. If you are doing it for your visitors and potential clients/shoppers it is probably ok. Common sense.

In regard to the original question, I think Dimitri gave really good advice. If someone says they'll link to you if you link to them you should probably just walk away because they've said that to everyone else too.