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Trading Link Juice: How Website Link Exchange Works

Trading Link Juice: How Website Link Exchange Works

Link exchange websites have been popping up all over the web since 1994.  If you're thinking of doing a website link exchange to extend your online reach and make it easier for people to find your firm in search engine results, you may have heard a lot of conflicting information.  Do link exchange websites always have a positive impact for search engines?  Will using website link exchange get you “punished” in some mysterious way by Google?  How much use of link exchange websites is too much?  This guide will try to answer all of your questions about website link exchange.

What is Link Exchange for Websites?

There's no better place to start than with the basics.  Website link exchange is a practice in which two different website owners, both looking to improve their search engine rankings, each put up a link to the other's website on their own site.  This reciprocal arrangement traditionally benefits both people in approximately equal measure.

However, in recent years, link exchange for websites has begun to encounter some problems.  Google has started to crack down on websites that use website link exchange in a way that constitutes manipulation of search results.  Usually, the websites that Google wants to stop

In general, Google doesn't do anything negative to sites that are clearly using link exchange with other contextually relevant sites.  The general assumption about these websites is that you could build them with organic website link exchange techniques.  If, however, you're seen to be using link exchange websites, Google may decide to intervene so that your linking there doesn't give you an unfair advantage.

How Does Website Link Exchange Make My Site More Popular?

For one thing, if you're doing link exchange with websites that actually have contextual relevance to your site, exchanging links can actually result in a large amount of direct website traffic.  In order to make the most of this traffic, you'll need to make your website conversion ready.  Website link exchange won't give you direct traffic on sites that are about very different things from your site, or sites that bury your link on an irrelevant, difficult to find page that is unlikely to be used by anyone actually exploring the site.

The second way that link exchange for websites works is by enhancing your link juice for web searches.  Link juice is a term for the amount of authority that your website is getting from its links from other websites.  Websites with a very high level of popularity and authority can give your site more link juice from a single link, while a brand new blog with one post and spam content will barely give you any.

By doing website link exchange with several websites owned by people you respect, you can ensure that everyone's doing better in their search results.  While this probably means you shouldn't link exchange with websites that are owned by your direct competitors, other attorneys are a great place to find good link building opportunities.

Can We Build Links With Website Link Exchange Exclusively?

Since link exchange for websites is so mutually beneficial, you may wonder why you'd ever want to get one way links.  A few years ago, you might have had a very good point: at that time, Google and other search engines regarded reciprocal and one way links as being essentially identical for the purposes of search rankings.

However, all that has changed now.  Today, website link exchange needs to be just one of several strategies for building your inbound links.  Google has started using some new algorithms to detect when a website is displaying a pattern of unnatural linking.  If Google believes that you've been manipulating search results via link exchange with websites, you'll stop getting additional link juice from those links and could even find yourself getting negative link juice from additional links of the same type.

Link Exchange Websites: Which Ones Are Best?

In order to do effective website link exchange, you may want to start looking at some link exchange websites.  Be careful to avoid any site that looks like it is too popular, and make sure that you're searching on Google for information about any site before you use it.  Having links taken down is a tedious process that you don't want to go through unless you absolutely have to—you should avoid link exchange with websites that may get you penalized.

The best link exchange websites for attorneys are those that actually emphasize legal services.  If you're doing website link exchange with other lawyers, this is likely to be seen by Google as legitimate networking and link building.  You should also avoid phony link exchange websites that are actually just ways to purchase links.  Typically, doing link exchange should be free of charge or very close to it.

Are There Websites We Should Avoid Link Exchange With?

As a lawyer, your image is very important to your ability to win and keep clients.  To avoid damaging your reputation, you should never use link exchange websites that could put your links onto inappropriate websites.  For example, if you think that your website for link exchange might give you reciprocal links with shady online pharmacies, payday lenders, or pornographic sites, you should definitely stay far, far away.

How Fast Can We Build Links with Link Exchange Websites?

No matter what website for link exchange you decide to use, it's important not to do too much too fast.  Overuse of link exchange on websites that are very young and have little traffic is a huge red flag for Google that you're probably overoptimizing your site.

Try to start by building just a few links every day.  If you're doing more than this before your traffic takes off, you're asking for trouble.  Slowly start to increase the number of links.  Rushing this part is likely to win you a one-way trip down in the search rankings, so be very careful as you continue to use link exchange websites.

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