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Thread: Pet peeve

  1. #1
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    Pet peeve

    OK, leaving aside the morality, effectiveness and potential risks of link exchanges, I just can't get this.

    It happened more than once for sites that I keep track of, to change their website design and then fail or "forget" to put the exchanged links back where they belonged/we agreed. No notification given, no nothing.

    I find this to be quite offensive, if not even a breach of contract/mutual understanding.

    In fact, I came to think that some webmasters do this on purpose. They start out and exchange links like crazy even in situations where the deal gets them the short end of the stick. It doesn't bother them, as the plan is not to keep those links on their site, but to remove them once their goal is achieved and their site is getting the results/prominence they were after. Sure, when they remove the links they will lose some of the links they've gained, but there will be a high percentage of links that won't be removed, or will take years to be so.

    Maybe there should be a list of "bad link partners", as there are RBLs.

    </rant>

  2. #2
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    Yeah years ago when I had a few sites that did link exchanges, I noticed a few did this...

    Very seedy.. and for the people that do link exchanges, you should do a follow up or put it on your to-do-list to do checks every quarter, or something.
    Freelance SEO Consultant - Been there, done that. Will do it again!

  3. #3

    Link exchanges

    I thought link exchanges were old news, as google search engine doesnt like them?

  4. #4
    Link exchanges are dangerous. People who do link exchanges are doing it for all the wrong reasons and thats a bad start. Lots of people will tell you they have been devalued but thats not the point. Its daft taking a chance on people who are trying to fiddle the system. The results can be terminal. And why bother? There are more free directories than you will ever manage to get around to. Low value maybe but risk free is risk free and they can always be replaced if they go bad.

  5. #5
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    Link exchanges are pointless, you need genuine one way inbound links for Google to rank you better.

  6. #6
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    Except for nuthin, looks like my point was entirely missed. Oh well, I should have expected it. SEO is one huge beliefs battlefield.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by ldcdc View Post
    Maybe there should be a list of "bad link partners", as there are RBLs.
    yupps mate it sux...but on that note though.

    what a great idea for a site......now to toodle off and buy a decent domain.

    owm
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  8. #8
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    Yea I tried adbrites link exchange and didn't get any clicks for the many I was giving it.
    Computer Steroids - Full service website development solutions since 2001.
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  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by ldcdc View Post
    Maybe there should be a list of "bad link partners", as there are RBLs.

    </rant>
    Daft question. Everyone looking for link partners would want to get themselves added to the list. It would grow into the sort of logistical nightmare you take on for no purpose whatsoever. Whilst I can understand the need to rant, I can't believe that you take your suggestion seriously, or do you?

    What are RBL's? Reciprocal BLs? Are you saying that "someone" is actually managing list of bad links? Whats the difference between an RBL and a link exchange? Where do three and more way linking schemes fit into this insane jig saw puzzle? There are some very odd ideas being floated around out there.

  10. #10
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    I'm not sure I understand you post rainchild. I was not proposing the creation of a link exchange site/service. I was proposing a "name and shame" list of websites that agree to an exchange and then unilaterally choose to take those links down. No, it wasn't a serious proposal as it would be quite a nightmare to be done right. Hence the venting nature of my post.

  11. #11
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    What are you talking about? This is the least that can happen.
    I have people emaailing exchange request, you know the typical:
    "Hi your link has been placed on our link page, you can link back... bla bla"
    and you visit the page and it has never been cached by Google! Lol at most.
    It's like, who do they think they talking to?

    Quote Originally Posted by ldcdc View Post
    OK, leaving aside the morality, effectiveness and potential risks of link exchanges, I just can't get this.

    It happened more than once for sites that I keep track of, to change their website design and then fail or "forget" to put the exchanged links back where they belonged/we agreed. No notification given, no nothing.

    I find this to be quite offensive, if not even a breach of contract/mutual understanding.

    In fact, I came to think that some webmasters do this on purpose. They start out and exchange links like crazy even in situations where the deal gets them the short end of the stick. It doesn't bother them, as the plan is not to keep those links on their site, but to remove them once their goal is achieved and their site is getting the results/prominence they were after. Sure, when they remove the links they will lose some of the links they've gained, but there will be a high percentage of links that won't be removed, or will take years to be so.

    Maybe there should be a list of "bad link partners", as there are RBLs.

    </rant>

  12. #12
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    Well Steve, at least you can do your research on the situation and decide it's not a deal you can agree with. That I can live with, I get lots of such link exchange requests. Sometimes, if the site is worth it you can still link to it, as a long term investment.

    But I can't agree to unannounced unilateral link removal. I just can't.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by ldcdc View Post
    I was not proposing the creation of a link exchange site/service. I was proposing a "name and shame" list of websites that agree to an exchange and then unilaterally choose to take those links down.
    I don't understand why you would want to build on link exchanges but besides that why name and shame? It would make a whole lot of sense to build an exchange community where the members actively promote the service. But one where you focus more on the commitment to abide by what's agreed and to rectify any unintentional slippage. There is a difference.

  14. #14
    Actually your first statement concerning morality cannot be separated from ones intent even if it is dealing with the mutual respect of honoring the exchanging of links.

    Karma and Google will eventually catch up to such link cheaters. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time before they run out of rope and hang themselves. People lacking in ethics have an innate attraction for bringing trouble upon themselves in the end.

    Does this make any sense?


  15. #15
    It sure does but there are many experts who swear blind that Google has already devalued link exchanges to the point where it is now pointless. And this is a good example of why its important to encourage sensible sound link building practices. What about forum posting, blog commenting and social networking? Do you perhaps have a list of link directories which are on the level, spam free and which hold themselves to be publicly accountable.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by rainchild View Post
    What about forum posting, blog commenting and social networking? Do you perhaps have a list of link directories which are on the level, spam free and which hold themselves to be publicly accountable.
    Well of course not. It would be impossible to track such data as far as any "public accountability."

    Quote Originally Posted by rainchild View Post
    It sure does but there are many experts who swear blind that Google has already devalued link exchanges to the point where it is now pointless. And this is a good example of why its important to encourage sensible sound link building practices.
    I agree.

    I am looking at this issue from more of a philosophical perspective than a "nuts and bolts" approach. Some people play by the rules and some don't. All actions come from decisions made from within. No outside influence can force someone to be ethical.

    Now from my understanding, it is Idcdc's contention that the people he has dealt with are not honoring the link exchange agreement between the two. The real issue in this thread is why the link exchanges weren't honored? From my viewpoint it goes back to a matter of ethics or in this case the absence of ethics.

    So what can be done about the situation at this point is the question that needs to be answered?

    The debate of whether link exchanges are good or bad or work or don't side steps all relevancy of the OP's initial post.


  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by CrazyPenguin View Post
    It would be impossible to track such data as far as any "public accountability."
    That depends on what you perceive "public accountability" to mean and how it works. All things in general can become generally accepted. Unfortunately that tends to get translated into anything goes, spam and scam in this industry. But it wouldn't be too difficult to change that if there were the right sort of incentives.
    Quote Originally Posted by CrazyPenguin View Post
    All actions come from decisions made from within. No outside influence can force someone to be ethical.
    No but all you have to do is to repackage the incentives to influence the decisions people make.

    Quote Originally Posted by CrazyPenguin View Post
    Now from my understanding, it is Disc's contention that the people he has dealt with are not honouring the link exchange agreement between the two. The real issue in this thread is why the link exchanges weren't honoured? From my viewpoint it goes back to a matter of ethics or in this case the absence of ethics.

    So what can be done about the situation at this point is the question that needs to be answered?
    It's quite simple. Set up a list of ethical webmasters who don't understand that link exchanges are passé but who will nonetheless honour their commitment. And if they don't they can be removed from the list and placed on the other list

    Quote Originally Posted by CrazyPenguin View Post
    The debate of whether link exchanges are good or bad or work or don't side steps all relevancy of the OP's initial post.
    That depends on how you look at it. Is it ethical to promote a tool which carries a health warning? And if you are gong to go out of your way to deliberately mix it with thieves, robbers and unscrupulous sorts, what do you expect?
    Last edited by rainchild; 04-29-2009 at 05:45 AM.

  18. #18
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    What about forum posting, blog commenting and social networking?
    At some point in the future they could be see as techniques of "doctoring" the search engines as well. Fact is that the search engines were designed to function optimally in a world where everybody behaved as if they didn't exist. But that world is gone. In a way, it probably never existed, for traffic exchange and link exchange schemes existed and prospered well before search engines surfaced. They were an efficient motor of traffic growth, and everybody has always wanted that.

    Sometimes it takes a little bit of time before they run out of rope and hang themselves.
    One can hope so, but it gets worse before it gets better. It is an interesting fact that once these sites remove the reciprocal links from their site, if search engines do penalize link exchanges, they will suddenly get a boost in the "honesty" factor. They'd no longer be classified as using black/gray hat SEO.

  19. #19
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    Getting stitched up with backlink requests is the reason I commissioned my companies latest venture.

  20. #20
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    Why Waste your time on link exchanges which are pretty well devalued by Google?
    I plan to live forever - so far so good
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