Do Link Exchanges Work?

Writing by Nick Stamoulis Tweet

A lot of people are still hooked on exchanging links. You point to me, I point to you, does it work?

Honestly, those links are not as powerful for search engine optimization purposes as one-way links. If I point to you and we are in the same niche category then that will count far more for you than a reciprocal link will for either of us. Of course, it doesn’t help me as the out-linking website much at all. But I wouldn’t say that link exchanges have no benefit at all.

Sometimes your best bet is to forego the linking benefits in lieu of a greater benefit – targeted traffic. If your link partner is a highly respected authority site in your niche then those link exchanges could be sources of great new visitors for you. New traffic is good. Especially if it is targeted traffic in high numbers. So don’t get the idea that link exchanges are worthless. They do provide some value…but my advice is only exchange links with companies that you know, trust and conduct business with.