Small Business Owners – When You Should Exchange Links

You know that your website has “arrived” when someone sends you  an email requesting a link exchange:

I am writing to propose a link exchange for SporkHosting.com*.

SporkHosting.com gets over 1000 uniques a day and has a PR of 4*.

*Note: SporkHosting.com was just used for an example – it doesn’t get that many visitors nor does it have a PR4…yet.

The question is – What do you say when you’re offered a link exchange?

The simple answer is you should only exchange links with websites related to your own. Here are some website relationships where a link exchange probably makes good sense:

1. Topic. Both sites share the same basic topic and/or keywords. TundraNetwork and TundraHeadquarters, which are both about the Toyota Tundra, should link to each other.
2. Shared purpose. Perhaps one website is about properly brushing your dog’s teeth and the other is about properly grooming your cat. They share the same purpose – promoting good pet hygiene – so a link between makes sense. This standard can be vague, unfortunately. If the shared purpose isn’t obvious to you, don’t exchange links.
3. Geographic relevance. Two completely un-related websites can and should link to each other if they both share the same local market. A Denver steak restaurant should link to a Denver hair salon if they both serve the same geographic area, despite the fact they have no other relationship.
4. Traffic. A link that will bring you visitors – like placement in a popular web directory – is a link that makes sense. However, it should be noted that this type of link usually isn’t helpful in terms of SEO.

If an offer to exchange links doesn’t fall into one of the above categories, it’s probably not worth doing.

It’s important to note that link exchanges, unless they’re highly relevant (meaning that they fit the criteria above), don’t help your website very much in terms of SEO. So, if you’re not sure about relevancy, don’t do the exchange. You’re not going to miss out on much if you decline a link exchange offer from a site that’s not terribly relevant to your own.

Finally, it’s important to recognize that some link exchanges can hurt your site. While it seems obvious, you should never exchange links with a site that looks or feels “spammy.” Again, if you’re not sure about a website’s reputability, decline the offer to exchange links.