Are links still considered reciprocal if the link from one website is rel="nofollow" and the other isnt ?

[Sam-P]

Im working on a site that has some press coverage due in the next couple of days from quite a big site in the niche. The press outlet has requested that we link back to the content they post about us, they said the link can be rel="nofollow" if we'd prefer.

Id really like to get the full benefit of the link back to our website, obviously if i did a straight link back to the 3rd party press site the links would be reciprocal and cancel each other out in terms of "link juice", but i was wandering if we make our link back to the 3rd party rel="nofollow" will we still get the full benefit of their link to us in terms of link juice ? ie. having the link back to them, but nofollow wouldn't been seen as a reciprocal link. ?

(Obviously either way there is still benefit of having the link even if it reciprocal as it will send traffic to our site, but just no "link juice")

Note - Ive used the phrase"Link Juice" for lack of a better term, any ideas on how else to refer to this ?

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

I would ask that all press releases that link to you be "nofollow" - Google has some thoughts on this sort of thing, because it will appear on multiple sites.

Keep in mind, a nofollow link still provides value if the site the link is on provides traffic and value to the users that see it. If it doesn't, then you shouldn't want the link to begin with. Don't be afraid of nofollow links, just make sure they are relevant and beneficial to your site and whoever will see the link.

Hope this helps - good luck!

[MattRoney]

Hi there!

I don't believe that would be considered reciprocal linking, so you should be safe.

Patrick's advice on handling press releases is solid. Just to clarify, though, did you submit a press release, or is this organic press coverage?

[Sam-P]

Hi Matt, Its a press release that i submitted, but i believe they are taking the info in the press release and generating another piece of content from it rather than copy, pasting and publishing.

When we have submitted releases in the past i would say 80% if not more go for the copy, paste and publish approach, is this / could this content be seen as negative by Google ?

[MattRoney]

That's a pretty big debate, actually. Google's Matt Cutts has said that they don't provide any SEO value, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they hurt you. In my opinion, they're still useful for their intended purpose—informing the press about newsworthy events.

By my understanding, best practices include 1) make sure the links in the press release are nofollowed, and 2) avoid posting the press release verbatim on your own site.

This actually came up in Q&A back in March. That thread might help clear things up for you. There are a few articles linked in the original post if you really want to get into things.

Sorry that's not a more definitive answer. As I said, it's definitely something that's debated.