Link exchange has to be managed wisely!

Links and link exchange (links swap) management is not an easy task, but if done properly, it might significantly boost your website’s ranking.

First, you should build a link exchange page for your website. If you swap links heavily, you should consider links categorization, and you should create a separate page for each sub-category. It is very annoying for surfers to see huge links pages, with hundreds of non-categorized links, even if they are theme-related. ANY category can be sub-categorized, and you should do that. On the other hand, there is a poor chance that search engines will index a page with hundreds of links and no content, because that page looks like a FFA page!

Second, you should include your link exchange information in a very clear manner. Some webmasters give the HTML code to be included for the link, and this is a great idea! Anyway, you should provide at least you URL, your link text (your keyphrases to be included!) and a short description of your website (again, your keyphrases to be included!). If you want, you can provide a small image or banner, but keep in mind that text links are more valuable than graphical links. If you provide an image for linking, don’t forget to provide also the “alt” text for that image! An email address for link swap is also needed. If you actively swap links, it is a good idea to have a special email address just for this purpose.

Third, you may want to take a closer look to the website you are swapping links with. If they use a third-party service for link exchange management, than you will get a link back from the website of the third-party service, NOT from the website you are trading links with! Those links are not very valuable, because the third-party website, by managing the links of hundreds of different websites, might look to the search engines like a “link farm”. Basically, you are "giving" a link to somebody’s website, but "receiving back" a link from somebody else’s website. To check that, just visit their links page, and watch for an URL change in the address bar of your browser. If the URL does not begin with their domain name, they are using a third party service for links management, and the link you are getting in exchange for yours does not worth too much in terms of page ranking. Many webmasters avoid to trade links with websites that do not host their links page in the same place with their website, but on third-party sites. Anyway, the link that you are getting back might still generate direct traffic for your website. If you need a better understanding of all of the above, you should try a closer look on how the PageRank algorithm works.

Finally, it is a good idea to visit some forums dedicated to links swap and/or link popularity. Many good things can be learned from other people involved in this activity. Knowledge is power, and practical experience is valuable knowledge! Keep that in mind…