First, "Top Agent SEO": Read the silly ramblings of someone brand new to the SEO business in the "comments" section of this post. The SEO of Top Agent SEO wants your money. I hope his clients Google him before using this "top SEO."
Check it out folks. On the left you will see a shot from my Reciprocal Link Checking Software. (I just linked to a Google search on the software thing. There are many to choose from.)
I don't really like reciprocal linking and you are about to find out why. Personally, I find that you are much better served by writing good content and getting one-way links, just because people like what you write. Check out my ActiveRain profile, #2 in Google, right after the sponsored results. The search is for "Chandler AZ Mortgage", where I do business.
That baby (my profile) has a page rank of ZERO, but it is still where I need it to be. Should I "exchange" links with anybody to "improve" my positioning? Hell no! Why mess with success?!?
My AR profile is also on page one of Google for the phrase "Arizona Jumbo Mortgage". That's a good one. There are 29 mortgage companies bidding on that phrase, including Chase and Wells Fargo, just to name a couple. Those are the big commissions.
Finally, my AR profile is on page one of Google for "AZ Home Loans"-- a highly coveted search phrase. Again, I have a PR of zero and I don't have to play games with these link scammers. (Can you see where this is going?)
The aforementioned phrase-- "AZ Home Loans"-- has 19,000,000 results and 20 Google sponsors- most of whom are big players- but there is my AR page, right there on page one with the big boys. For free. And no links. Gee, I wonder why?
Okay, back to the task at hand...
My software is still working, but so far, here is what we have:
1.) Six sites are still being scanned. They have the checkmarks next to them. I was getting impatient, so I am typing this, even though the software is still running. Type-A personality, no pun intended.
2.) 14 sites have screwed me. See all of the "0 Link(s) found" lines just to the left of this sentence? That means that those people took my link down, even though their link remains on my site. I'll discuss this further in a moment.
3.) Two sites have actually maintained their promised links with me.
So, we've got 2 out of 14 so far-- that's 14%. So far, on today's search, only 14% of the Realtors that I link to have maintained their link. Or, as I prefer to look at it: 86% of the people I have exchanged links with are jackasses.
They have no reason to take my link down. After all, their link is still on my site, just as we agreed! Every one of those "0 links found" are Realtors that I have exchanged with. I ran this a month ago and there were links found on every one of the pages you see here. Today, they are gone. Shocking? Not really. It happens all of the time and many smart SEO's know that reciprocal linking is the last route one should take in developing a good SEO strategy. It's just not necessary.
Now, I know some people on AR disagree with me on this, but before you comment, please note the proof: I've got awesome SERP and my reciprocal linking campaign is a big fat failure. Fortunately, it is meaningless to me- again- because I dominate the Arizona search engine results.
It's unfortunate, but I find that many Realtors and Mortgage Brokers engage in this unscupulous method of exchanging links. That is, they will either use nofollow tags, they will take down your site, or they will "disconnect" their link page from their main site, so that when the search engine comes crawling, it can't find the link page.
I like the last one the best.
I know many of you do believe you have luck with this. Good for you! But just know that there are better ways to drive your site to the top of the search engines and better SEO's, with better advice for you. And, if you work on those better ways now, it won't matter if your reciprocal link exchange partners are jerks-- you'll get to the top on your own merits. Personally, I would never set up a website that required my client to engage in this crap.
If you have an SEO that keeps insisting in the 1999 belief that reciprocal linking is the way to go, ask him why Karen doesn't have to do it and then send them a link to this post. Get ready for the stammering.
You want to do this the easy way? Do you want your AR profile on Google, Page one? Stay tuned to my blog. I'll keep giving tips if I get the comments. (I need to know y'all are reading you know.)
;)
;)
Karen,
Thanks for the info. I feel like I can let up on the reciprocal linking and spend time on other pursuits. It seems the only people finding my website are web advertisers!
Fran