Advanced Access - Helping Agents REMOVE Reciprocal Links!

Great post. I have never been a fan of reciprocal links just like Bob and Carolin stated it seems pointless.

Good post. I was one of the chosen few who got penalized about 30 days ago. I always thought reciprocal linking was dumb as well and had not done it for over 1.5 years. However, I made the mistake of not erasing my state pages and all of the reciprocal links in time.  I deleted them the 5th of May and I was penalized the 9th of May. I would have done it sooner but I was ranking #1 or #2 for tons of key phrases and the most sought after ones so I did not want to rock the boat.

Hopefully, I will come back in time now. Many of the Advanced Access users who were penalized came back within 30 to 45 days.

Thanks for the info, Jay and Francy !

It was rather timely that I read this right now since I had been considering the past few days to start adding reciprocal links to my website.

One less job to do !

have a wonderful day,

Jo 

Hi!

The reason AA sites were penalized was because they were creating "link farms" with all the linked sites being hosted on the same IP address, rather than showing their subscribers how to do reciprocal linking correctly and create legitimate "link directories". What does that mean? They were primarily linking AA sites to each other - pretty incestuous. The search engines know the IP address and the web host where your web site lives. So it is real easy to achieve reciprocal links from eveyone who is being hosted at the same place. Yahoo! and Google saw this as "gaming" the system and took action against those sites with "link farms". And now, AA is just doing a CYA in their blog to downplay the fact that they should have known better! Their technique got many of their subscribers' sites in trouble.

You reference Matt Cutts, at Google. Dirk Johnson responded in another comment to a Post on this subject here on Active Rain. He wrote in part -

"Unfortunately, people read into his comments what they want to hear. Both he and his colleague, Adam Lasnik, have stated emphatically that they do not have a problem with legitimate reciprocation, and they realize that sites will reciprocate to their mutual benefit, as has been done since long before Google existed.

Reciprocation between sites in the same realm of interest is a fundamental web marketing practice that pre-dates every single search engine. For Google to stomp on that would be for them to try to alter the fundamentals of the World Wide Web. The web is network of links. Sites in the same realm will inevitably link to each other. 

Cutts and Lasnik do have a problem with sites trying to link to anything and everything. An example of that would be a health supplement site linking to automotive sites, gambling sites, etc.

It is not a matter of believing me or them, since reciprocation will continue on unabated, regardless of what I say, or what some SEO consultant says. This is not about opinion. It should be about actual real world examples. And, if you look at actual search results, especially in real estate, you will see that those reciprocating sites are doing quite well. And this condition applies acutely to the most competitive markets in real estate."

Reciprocation is a practice that pre-dates every search engine. It is entirely appropriate for home and real estate-related sites to link to and from each other, for their mutual benefit and the benefit of their visitors.

The key is what Win Singleton said in the last sentence "link to and from each other, for their mutual benefit and the benefit of their visitors".

Linking was, is now, and always will be about popularity and recommending the landing site for information.  It is not about acquiring back links. 

I do not participate in reciprocal linking with other web sites.  I do, however, understand how it can be benificial to SOME web site, if done honestly, to recomment content on the landing page. 

That's what Google had in mind when they built the Frankenstein known as "popularity" or "authority". 

Before one participates in a reciprocal linking scheme, as yourself if it is a scheme or if you are honestly recommending a site because of it's content.  If you link is on a page of links all linking to a page of links, Goggle will getcha.

Interesting post. My question still remains. If we don't exchange links as in the original "Link exchange" page, than how can we get other realtors websites pointing to our site?

Isn't this all about site popularity rank?

Thank you for your prospective on linking exchanges. It is all new to me . I have no idea how to link if I even wanted too. Is there a simple way to do?  What are the steps?

How do you rank so high without those links?

Teresa Johnson

When building a site for our clients we use reciprocal links sparingly.  We link to vendors (handymen, lenders, title companies, banks, community links, and to the broker)  other than that we don't use them....you shouldn't link to any and everything.  In fact if you've ever looked at ANY Advanced Access site  they are all full of links and the pages look horrible--alot of my clients were previous Advanced Access customers, and wanted a way to stand out!

Hi,

I don't know what any of your current status is with Advanced Access, but for current information about Advanced Access, we've just started "AAUG - Advanced Access Users Group" which hopefully, as we get going, will bring you up to date and keep you up to date on the company and it's products and services.
 
You're invited to join and contribute ideas, comments and suggestions if interested.
 
Larry