This tip is for sites that have some traffic and in the top 20 or better in SERP. Newbies will probably not benefit because it requires some decent SERP, but they can use it once they get up in the SERP level. This has worked for me and I received about a 10% success on my requests. For keywords that are similar to yours, create a page dedicated to those keywords. In my scenario, my keywords are Florida bass fishing, so I created a page for Florida bass fishing guides. I created an email stating my good position in Google for my keywords (I believe I was at 9 or 10 in SERP at the time of my 1st request) and am willing to create a link to their site on my Florida Bass Fishing Guides page in exchange for one from their homepage to my homepage. I then searched for my keywords and the new set of keywords and went to the 3rd page of the results and up. The reason I went that far down the SERPs was simply that I thought they would be more receptive to the deal than someone who is already ranking well. I emailed 30 or 40 sites from the results with the canned letter and received about a 10% success rate. Some of the webmasters wanted a listing on my homepage or another site of mine, and if their site was ranked pretty well, I took them up on it. Even though they are reciprocals, they are related and from my own experience helped my rankings. The more sites you email, the more likely you will receive success. Well, I'm no SEO guru, but it worked for me. Hope you all can use this and again, thanks DP!
While personally I don't like the link exchange thing, many people here do it, so this will be helpful Too bad most of the times people tend to ask a link exchange with established sites when they can offer a link on a brand new site with zero traffic and backlinks. You should always try to get as many one way links as possible before asking anyone for a link exchange
Zexy, You're right most people want to exchange with established sites. With this method, you are the one with the established site asking for links from lower sites in SERPs. Usually the less established sites want the exposure, not necessarily the link juice and some are willing to exchange. One way links are ideal, and they come naturally, but this method can accelerate the related reciprocals.
Biggest problem with link exchanges is that people end up removing your link after a short while. You end up having to constantly be checking to be sure they still link to you. While it seems to work at first, it's a real hassle in the long run. (at least in my experience)
Good tip. I think link exchange is still a great way to increase your link popularity if it's done right. And this is a good way to do it. The important thing is to get links from related sites. They don't need to be well established or well ranked. Good quality and related content is important.