Hi, I put up a web search directory on one of my sites, and I allow webmasters to put up their sites without a reciprical exchange requirement, and I also trade links with other sites in the same directory, that point to my homepage. (about 50% are reciprical) will this help or hurt my site in the eyes of the search engines? Thanks, RonMo
As long as you don't link to banned/spammy sites it should not hurt your website at all and how much it helps depends on how/from where your link partners link to you.
Try setting up a seperate page for each site and then try to out rank them for their site name. This only works with sites that people are actively searching for though. I have done this with thousands of sites and it works very well.
well they will enrich your website content and this is good for search engine content. But try to get as many as back links as possible and you will increase your Search Engine PR gradually.
I do not see how having a directory on your site can hurt you. Are not link page(s) directories of varying size? In fact, a directory on your site is probably a useful thing because it will, invariably, be specific to your site's theme. I manage an agricultural site. It has an agricultural directory, which is used by the visitors to the site because it is relevant. I use it for link exchange purposes, but I only agree to link exchanges with ag sites. If a "free" directory insists on a link exchange and it is not a pure ag directory, I won't list there and they won't be listed on my site. Since my site is deemed an expert site in its field, that does not hurt me. If, on the other hand, the directory is not specific to your site, it does not contribute to the user experience and it does not help you. Even then, I cannot see why it would hurt your search engine placement for those terms which are relevant to your site and content. Except insofar as it dilutes your site's keyword density. Imagine, a site dedicated to nintendo suddenly has more pages of link exchanges with internet directories. When that happens, it has switched from being a site about nintendo and become a site about directories. You might then place better for for searches about directories than nintendo -- losing your placement in search results with your target audience.