I'm speaking at the upcoming WebmasterWorld Search Conference (it actually starts tomorrow) in New Orleans about Linking Campaigns.

If you were there, what would you like to know about Linking Campaigns?

Questions I see in the forums...

- are reciprocal links bad?
- how badly are run-of-site links discounted as being real links?
- are links pages (on your own site) bad?
- should you try to work links into the body text, or put them in a separate section of the page?
- how to identify a link farm from a real directory?
- how to find niche on-topic sites that may donate a link?

... does that get you started?

That definitely gets me started.

- are reciprocal links bad?

Off-topic reciprocal links are on on my "bad linking practices" list. I don't recommend trading off-topic links or any links that are gained just to get a better search engine ranking.

- how badly are run-of-site links discounted as being real links?

Run-of-site links with the same exact link text are definitely not recommended. You can get away with a few links from the same site as long as the link is a part of the content of that site.

- are links pages (on your own site) bad?

Why should the search engines in general give any weight or credit to links on links pages? They're obviously there just to 'trade links' in an effort to 'game' the search engine algorithms.

- should you try to work links into the body text, or put them in a separate section of the page?

There seems to be extra weight given to links that are a part of the body text of a site. I personally think certain search engines can identify links that aren't a part of the main body text of the page.

- how to identify a link farm from a real directory?

A lot of the ways to idenfity link farms comes simply by experience--if you see enough of them you can tell a link farm from a real directory. Link farms tend to have links on the same page that are completely unrelated to each other. Web directories tend to be categorized somehow and include only on-topic links on each page. You can tell a lot about the directory by analyzing some of the backlinks that appear in that directory.

- how to find niche on-topic sites that may donate a link?

Analyze your competitors and see where their links come from. Your competitors might be members of certain trade groups or associations. Make sure you join their association and ask for a link. Try searching for terms that include your keyword plus the word 'association' or 'organization' (i.e., 'keyword association')

I would ask

" Do we still need to be crazy about the PR thing?"
" Too many inks too fast - Am I inviting a Google ban?"
" One way link from non-relevant site - useful?"

No-one should ever have been crazy about the "PR thing". Ever. :-0

If in the unlikely event I was at the conference, I would ask a simple rhetorical question: why can't people think of more valid ways to encourage people to link to them their sites than reciprocal exchanges?

In the zero-sum game we all must play to improve our web position vis-a-vis our competition, when when when when when (keyword stuffing) will people realise that if everyone is doing it then it probably isn't worth doing... and even if it is worth doing, I'm sick of the feigned politeness in these emails begging for a link exchange...(it is still unsolicited mail, by the way, and anyone that encourage it is encouraging people to break the law)

So why not put something meaningful or attractive -- or even fun -- on your site and let nature take its course... People will ask if they can link to you if you succeed, without any need for reciprocation, and if you fail well at least you still have your dignity. I might remind you that this was how the web was meant to work...

Pagerank is supposed to give value to those sites that naturally through their inherrent usefulness or value are linked to by others... just as academics refer to a much respected book or article and the more that do so give some measure of the said article's importance...

How surreal would it be for academics all over the world to start begging other academics for a mention in their forthcoming books in exchange for one in theirs? (maybe you could ask this question) This is tantamount to the aberration that Google has fostered with pagerank...

All of this will be discussed in more depth in my forthcoming article and those who indignify themselves in the begging for links thing can expect much deserved harshness...

Karl Hochstapler

P.S. if anyone wants to trade links and are in the SEO field, please PM me

g1smd ,

I agree with you. The point is clients don't.