Hi

I have just been reading on Jim Boykin's Blog about linking and the new theories.

I am new to his blog, hadn't heard of him before, but I was referred there and read quite a lot.

Basically, as I understand it, he and others he confers with think reciprocal linking is dead, and only links within content on other sites are useful, and only if sites are relevant and well thought of.

So I'd like to hear some other opinions.

It was also suggested that links pages not be called links pages, which I already knew, but further that if you were going to have a link page at all it should be written up with each link entrant writing not just the usual heading link anchor text and a description, but actual content like in the form of a short article.

So I'd like to hear some opinions on this. Makes me feel all my efforts in getting reciprocal links may have been in vain.

I'd also like a definition of a link farm. Everybody refers to them, but nobody gives an identifiable description. Just what is a link farm exactly?

Thanks
Myfunzrlo

Link Farm [link]

Hey myfunz - welcome to the forums!

The info you are reading is nothing new to those working in this industry at this point. It's also a decent summary of the state of things, though I personally tend not to cast quite so dire a glance at recip links - they do play a role for brand new websites.

Here is another post from right here at SEF where we shared some useful tips on linking.

Basically, recips can help a new site get a footing and get found, which is the first step in getting indexed by the engines, so it's vital. Thus we could even argue that recip links are vital - except that you could just go to a free directory, drop in a link and achieve the same result - the spiders find you, so it's best to look to recips for other support outside of SEO efforts.

Recips play a role in helping the spiders understand the "niche" you occupy, just like one-way links would: Sites related to your topic link to you.

Recips have fallen from favour due to abuse. One-way inbound links are the gold standard because it pretty much is assumed that to obtain one, you must have worthwhile content in place - after all, why would someone link to you if the content wasn't good.

In a perfect world we'd all be able to land one-way inbound links from .gov, .mil & .edu sites making our own sites appear to be the shiz-natch.

In reality it just doesn't happen that often.

By far the best advice I can offer (though it wasn't even asked for, I know... ) is to concentrate on building useful, unique content. That content is the key to attracting those one-way inbound links you (the global you) want.

Recips still play a role, they just don't do much for SEO efforts these days. If you're strictly after traffic they can provide a steady stream of traffc to your site from related sites - there's always value in that.

If your focus is solely on SEO efforts, one-way inbound links are what you seek - no question. They are tough to obtain and can be very worthwhile.

As always, folks should be very careful about who they link their own site to - that link suggests you're recommending the other site, so mind your neighbors. There's little you can do, ultimately, to control who links to you, and the engines seem to be aware this is the case and don't penalize folks as much when bad neighbors link to you.

Bottom line - what I think is that folks should cover the main directories to obtain inbound links, then get cracking on building excellent content that attracts links naturally. This is all directly within the Webmaster's control.

Thanks to all who have given me some insight on reciprocal links.
Sorry I didn't get back sooner, but I've been doing some cleanup of my links program.
I have submitted to a lot of directories. I started with DMOZ, but am not holding my breath. From there I moved on to smaller directories, and submitted some articles.
Unfortunately, I have listened to the wrong voices.
Many of the big time marketers don't have much integrity and tout a lot of bad info for their own gain. Guess they rest well at night on those big piles of money.
What really chaps my hide, is I have been dilligent and really tried to study and figure all this out and do it right.
About the only big marketer I trust anymore is Ken Envoy.
Anyway, onward and upward. A new lesson learned.
Thanks
Myfunzrlo

At least you seem to have a good attitude about it - focus on what CAN be done, not what WAS done.