Do link swaps still work?

[crazihos]

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Hi,

This may seem a very basic question but I wondered if anyone could say if related link swaps still have a good effect with serps and if so whats the best practice for them?

I've never swapped them before having always opted for 1 way links which have worked great - but as recips seem fairly easy to get I may try a few.

My site is on Kefalonia so would I set up say an Ionian Island resource page and exchange links with sites that will be genuinely useful for my visitors (including a short paragraph about the site and their link).

Im pretty sure thats best practice but wanted to check im right and that recips are still effective to a degree before I send out some emails?

Thanks everyone

Russ

[pedigreechump6]

One of my main comeptitors is very heavily reliant on link exchanges but gets them from lots of high quality PR4,5 & 6 pages and they are often ahead of me. I think it works so well for them because the majority of the sites he links with are .co.uk domains and very relevant. I have a lot of links from non-uk domains which isn't quite as natural I'd suggest given my niche.

So yes, go for it I say.

[accelerator]

Yes they definitely do. It's much better in my opinion if you have a number of sites available to create links from, as then you don't have to do a direct site to site swap, you can create the return link from another one of your sites.

I have a wide range of websites in the mobile phone, mobile broadband, home broadband, travel, fashion, car insurance, consumer electronics, ink cartridges, voucher codes and reviews sectors. If anyone would like a link exchange then please PM me.

Rgds

[Dave@Profitistic]

I blogged about this very subject quite recently here:

SEO - Are Reciprocal Links Worth It? | Internet Marketing Services | Blog

As you can see, reciprocal links can pass link equity if they are natural-looking and editorially given, but the old-fashioned direct link exchange has limited value these days.

I hope that helps!