Do the search engines give any credence to exchanging links?

Well, this depends on who you listen to.  Some search engine optimizers will tell you that you’re wasting your time with reciprocal linking strategies since backlinks (meaning one way links) are king.  Others will tell you that reciprocal linking is a thing of the past and then there are those who suggest it’s about striking a balance.

So, why link to other websites in the first place?

I still get a fair few reciprocal linking requests, particularly from companies building backlinks for their clients.

But the question being raised today is …

“Is Recipocal Linking Now Regarded As Spam?”

My blog post about 3 way linking highlighted some of the issues with trading linking, but I it appears Google are not the only ones slapping you for “shady” linking practices … Yahoo! have now jumped on the bandwagon and seem to be treating excessive reciprocal links as spam!