Link exchange SEO is one of the most common link-building strategies that brands are using to improve site credibility and authority. Like most other SEO factors, link exchange SEO has drawn up differing opinions on both sides of the fence.
However, fret not! This informational guide will help you to understand the underlying shades of Link exchange SEO and how it can help your link-building efforts. We will focus on how link exchanging works, the different types of link exchange, how they differ from each other, and how it can help with link building.
By the end of the article, you too will understand the value of link exchange SEO and how to do it effectively for visible results. So, ensure to read till the very end!
Understanding the basics of link exchange SEO
With link exchange SEO, two or more online companies agree to share links with each other based on mutual agreement. Simply put, you link to me and I link to you. By leveraging link exchange SEO, online brands are able to collaborate well and share backlinks. This makes for a great link-building strategy that helps to increase your SERP standings and in turn gain more organic traffic.
However, this does come with its own set of disadvantages as link exchange with spammy or low-authority domains can prove to be a huge blow to your online visibility and search engine credibility. Therefore, it is very much essential that you understand the basics of link exchange SEO before jumping on the bandwagon.
This being said, let us move towards understanding the types of link exchanges, brands are using to boost SEO.
Types of link exchanges
There are four basic types of link exchange SEO practices that you need to know about. Each of them comes with its associated perks and risks. These include
– Reciprocal links
This is the simplest type of link exchange. This happens when two websites agree to share links based on mutual agreement. Even though this is one of the most obvious ones, many businesses are leveraging this simple link exchange SEO method to create some amazing backlinks for their business and attract more visitors to their websites. When your business is linked with another website, both businesses will benefit from redirecting each other’s online traffic.
However, it is important to swap links with relevant businesses so that the redirects you get are from niche-specific traffic. Also, excessive reciprocal links can draw up a red flag for search engines as it can lead to authority manipulation and Google really hates this. Therefore, it is always advised to exchange links naturally and place these links in relevant positions across your content to stay on the good books.
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– PIN or Private Influencer Networks
This is a private link-building technique where multiple businesses flock to share backlinks with each other and boost rankings. A group of businesses can pool resources and create their own PIN and help with mutual profits and growth.
Although this can be a powerful tool for your link-building efforts, it is very much important that search engines are not able to discover the network as they might flag your business due to manipulative link-building. This will definitely not look good for any business that is involved in the network. So, it is important to use such link-building tactics in moderation and where it is relevant.
– Three-way link exchange
Using a three-way link exchange, you should be able to bypass and avoid the drawbacks of direct link exchanges. In this method, two business share links with each other, keeping the third site as an intermediatory. To ensure this method works, at least two of the three websites involved need to have very high domain authority.
This is a great way to help avoid the risks of direct link exchanges while getting similar benefits of direct link swaps.
– Guest post link exchange
Guest posts can also be a valuable tool for your link-building SEO efforts. Guest posts happen when you reach out to a certain business and ask them to publish your content on their page.
By incorporating backlinks to your website in your guest posts, you should be able to supplement your link-building efforts. This has several benefits as it can help you to gain topical relevance and contextual backlinks that are relevant to your business.
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Benefits of Link Exchange SEO
As previously noted, link exchange is a tremendous tool to boost your SEO if done right. Some of the benefits that come along with link-building SEO for your online business include
– Gain backlinks
Backlinks are crucial for proper SEO. These determine the credibility of your website in front of search engines. If more and more businesses are talking about you and linking back to your website. it will automatically make your site look more relevant to search engines and help you to rank higher.
– Boost traffic
When you have exchanged links with other businesses in your domain, chances are that some of their heavy online traffic will be redirected to your website. This will not only boost traffic, but it can also help you to target the relevant traffic and improve sales.
– Boost domain authority
Link building is very important to boost domain authority. As more and more sites link back to you and you link back to them, your domain authority will also increase. However, it is important to note that link exchanges should only be done with high-authority domains that are relevant to your business to get the best results.
With plenty of advantages associated with link-building SEO, there is no denying the fact that it is truly one of the best link-building strategies. When done correctly, you can gain some amazing links for your online business. But remember not to overdo it to stay on the safe side and divert more of your efforts to other link-building techniques.
