We’re exploring content exchange as a safer alternative to classic link swaps. Instead of trading links directly, the idea is simple: we visit a site, answer a few short UX questions, and another user does the same for ours. The backlink ends up inside a small, human-written review rather than a reciprocal link. What do you think? Is content exchange a more sustainable approach than traditional link exchange?
No. What you described is essentially still a link exchange, just executed in a different way. A link exchange doesn’t cause any harm as long as it happens occasionally. But once you start doing it on a larger scale, it can lead to Google penalties for link spam.
Thanks for your reply, and no it isn't link exchange. Link exchange is when Site A links to Site B and vice versa. Here, all links are from our plateform to the websites. All review content are user generated, and not on an A to B scheme, rather on a A to C to G to B to F.
It doesn’t matter which specific scheme you use. Google is very good at untangling these “clever” setups. Even back in 2007, it had already learned how to detect Web Ring link schemes, despite the fact that there was no direct link exchange at all. And now, with AI built into Google’s algorithms, it can do this far more effectively. So it’s up to you, but I wouldn’t play these games.