Google’s Problem With Reciprocal Links
Google has a web spam team headed by Matt Cutts. Their job is to enforce these Google Webmaster Guidelines and crack down on link spam. When he talks people listen. He frequently speaks at search engine conferences around the world.
I could not find it anywhere (didn’t really look long) but heard that Matt Cutts in the past has mentioned that he does not like the reciprocal linking that Realtors engage in. Supposedly, he had mentioned this several times over the last few years but has not done anything about it.
There has been a lot of misinformation regarding reciprocal links. If you’ve been told that reciprocal links are a great source of new traffic then you’re been told correctly. However, some reciprocal links are just plain silly.
It’s easy to pick on Realtors or real estate professionals because most of them do business within a confined geographic area. For example, if you sell real estate in Yorkshire, England, you aren’t going to have a presence in Los Angeles, California, unless you are an international real estate company. A local real estate agent in England who links to another local real estate agent in the U.S. is more than likely just linking for the PR benefit, not the traffic. This is what Matt Cutts is talking about.
Why is that bad? Well, for starters, the whole idea behind linking to another website is to say, “I like what this website stands for. I recommend them.” If you buy and sell real estate in Europe then why are you recommending a site in the U.S.? You aren’t referring Europeans to a U.S. company for business, are you? Maybe one or two customers in a year’s time – or longer – will move to the U.S. from Europe and could use a recommendation, but does that deserve a link? Probably not.
It’s an issue of common sense and I think this is what Google is getting at. Reciprocal links that are made to gain new sources of traffic are good. They make sense. Links that are used to gain PageRank status do not really serve a useful purpose and Google wants webmasters to think of their customers first. You should want to think of your customers first.
Before you link to another website, whether we’re talking about reciprocal links or one-way linking, ask yourself, “Will this benefit my customers?” If not, then don’t link. The bottom line is if a link doesn’t serve your customers well then it shouldn’t be done.G
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