Hi guys, A thought came to me earlier - Given that the web design company I work for has approximately 250 websites in our portfolio, would it be worth linking between some of them? For example, every time we launch a new site we could setup reciprocal links with 15, 20, 25 of the existing websites (chosen at random and then vetted to ensure they aren't direct competitors) in order to give the client some back links. I know reciprocal links have a very low value compared with one-way links from authority sites BUT our client base is prominently small-medium sized businesses who usually target uncompetitive phrases. As a result even a low value link profile can benefit their search engine rankings, judging from my previous experience anyway. I am just thinking that it will be a means of improving our seo by tapping into our large client base. Would there be any consequences from the search engines from doing this? Any other thoughts on my friday-afternoon (in the UK) thoughts? Anthony
I would probably stay away from a direct 1 to 1 reciprocal arrangement. You also don't want to form too tight a relationship between the sites, especially for the new ones.
Depending on the extent that you do this, the consequences can actually be quite disastrous. when google identifies networks that leverage each other to manipulate SERPS, they often label them as 'bad neighborhoods', similar to those made for selling links 'blog networks'. If it's just a few, it's not a big deal. But I would be cautious in how many you place.
I think you are right....Probably not the best idea - especially when you consider that our company is very strict on white hat seo, we don't want to be seen as a link farm!
basically what you are trying to is to create a large link farm. i would stay away from such linking method. also, not sure there will be too many clients who will like to link to 15 - 25 other sites
If done properly (just a few links, don't do 15 or 20, different C Class ips...etc) it can benefit the clients. Especially if the sites complement each other. You can do one way links; site A links to site F, site B links to site E....etc, you don't have to do reciprocal links.
Just make sure you have the clients permission to use their sites for reciprocal link building purposes. Most would agree, but some would not want the clutter that comes with allocating a page for link building purposes that is reachable by indexing and via a sitemap. It gives away to google that you are doing reciprocal linking.