Reciprocal Link & URL Doesn't Match

[ABCFashion]

I've been getting link requests from sites whose reciprocal link doesn't match their URL. When I go to their site, I discover that they don't even have a link page.

Example:

Your link will be added here: www.abcd.com/clothing

My details:

Title: WXYZ
URL: http://www.wxyz.com
Description: WXYZ

I've been denying these requests:

No, thank you because there isn’t a related links page on your site. If we wanted to be on ABCD.com, we would sign up ourselves. Please let us know if www.wxyz.com ever has a related links page, and we’ll gladly reciprocate your link.

Why do people do this?

[The Old Sarge]

A lot of Webmasters/site owners want one-way links. They fool a lot of people into thinking the exchange is equitable, but as you know, it isn't.

Keep up the good work! I refuse to exchange with people like that for the same reason.

[ABCFashion]

Thank you! I just wanted to inform people. Inspect the links and the site carefully...I just got a swap request that had a URL for their Related Links page, but didn't have a Related Links link on their actual site. People are so sneaky!

Hope you all have a great weekend! :)

[Duke]

If you can't find a clear route to a sites link pages, directory, or what have you, pass them by as their just a waste of your valuable time.

I agree with TOS, keep up the good work.

[daveysmith]

many people don't test these links and end up profitting others for nothing.

[willa412]

People do this in the off chance that they might fool someone!

But seriously though, how is a one-way link beneficial to the one who wants it? I mean, okay they get more inlinks, but what else do they get besides that?

[The Old Sarge]

People do this in the off chance that they might fool someone!

But seriously though, how is a one-way link beneficial to the one who wants it? I mean, okay they get more inlinks, but what else do they get besides that?

If you're chasing Page Rank, Google assigns hight "link juice" to one-way links than any other kind. And ... if your site never reciprocates on any of the links to it, you don't contribute to anyone else's PR, which THEORETICALLY might reduce your own.

[Phil Staff]

just wanted to chime in on this one. PR is dying and dying fast. Even Google says to stop focusing your attention on such an unimportant number. PR is only one factor of SE rankings.

Yes many black hat seo guys have found that one way links provide a positive response from the SE's. What they aren't realizing is the SE's aren't stupid and track more information on sites then you can even imagine.

They can tell a site that has fake one-way links. They can tell a site that has irrelevant one-way links. They know how many of each type of link sites in a specific industry should have and if your numbers don't align with your industry it raises a red flag.

The SE's can also tell when you are swapping just for PR and refuse to swap with sites with a lower PR than yours. They can also tell when you are forcing everyone to reciprocate in order to get 100% of your outbound links to match up with your inbound. Some people think it is about getting 100% and it isn't.

All of the above methods the SE's consider chicanery or gamesmanship and are only done by webmasters trying to cheat the system. Yea it may work temporarily but wait until your site is blacklisted and see how easy it is to ask Google's forgiveness. I have helped 3 sites get back on and I can assure you it is no easy or cheap task.

So toss out all that black hat seo, focus on providing links to relevant sites your visitors would find beneficial. That will get the best response from the SE's and bring better targeted traffic from other sites.

Will everyone link back? No. Should you get all bent out of shape about it? No. Do you still get credit for linking *to* them one way? YES. (it is called outbound link url and outbound link text - both can affect your rankings).

ok I will get off my soap box now.

[The Old Sarge]

Mighty fine soap box, Phil. :)

[daveysmith]

but bloggers still care about this unimportant number and it is important when link exchanging is done.

[Phil Staff]

Davey,

Go visit Google Webmaster Forum and search about posts regarding Page Rank. I think you will find that even Google themselves is telling people to stop focusing on such a small factor as it is only one of hundreds of factors for ranking.

As far as for linking. The only people who think PR is important for linking are those misinformed souls that were told that by some SEO cowboys trying to steal their money.

PR should not be the main factor or even an important factor in considering your linking partners. Just because someone has a good PR doesn't mean they are a good link exchange partner. People should be looking at relevance to their visitor above all else.