Link Exchange???

I keep reading stuff like this and I quote "Don't say we didn't warn you !! ONLY ONLY ONLY request trades with sites that have similar themes and content to yours !! Hokay !!"

Now that being the case how come I get PR levels of like 6 on Google and for the most part only my own sites link to each other and each are not relevant to the other (not really) ???

Then again not being a Google PR expert maybe 6/10 is crap and I should be trying to get closer to 1 however I can't see that being the case.

One of your sites that has a PR6 has 274 listed incoming links.

The major part of the PR calculation is taken from this figure, which is higher than most other similar sites (i've checked)

I have a PR5, and 90 listed incoming links. NetFreeStuff is ahead with 180 links, but still has a PR5.

You should not compare PR of dis-similar sites, only compare with sites with similar content. A PR4 on a shopping site is not necessarily worse than a freebie site with PR6.

Please correct me anyone if i state anything you disagree with.

ah interesting, never looked at it like that.. shame there is no Google guide book to how PR works, mind you if they did publish something like that it would be abused.

I agree. I've spent 3 months reading every post made on an SEO forum. I only read the google parts.

In some ways i'm more confused than when i started.

But then i had a PR4, and although it's mostly unrelated to PR, i was positioned 1330 for the terms 'UK free stuff'.

Now i got a PR5 that's stabilised, and position 11 (UK).

Even if i turn adwords off (which i do all the time), my incoming customers just goes up :O)

Must be learning something!

So say I was to make 300 sites on 300 different domain names (not that I would have the time) and linked them all to my sites and just had them linking to each other in a random fashion, then I could for example get an even higher PR rating???

That being the case would be easier to get links of a bunch of other sites

I have seen some examples of this. They are all things that people have brought up as spam. All have been reported, and most end up removed. This isn't done by hand (for the most part), they change the algorithm to filter it on the next refresh.

So the answer the way i see it is: Yes, you may be able to do this, and get away with it for a while. But when you are caught you will get nothing from Google for a while.

Google state that you can do whatever you like with linking (ok, this isn't their words), but you must not try to increase your PR artificially.

Also worth pointing out that PR does not equal rank in SE's. It's just one small part of overal SEO.

Feedback from others is welcome. I'd kinda like someone to confirm i'm geting things at least nearly there :O)

At the end of the day it changes every month, so you can't keep up. Better off concentrating on content than PR.

I don't wish to post anything to long here, frankly I don't have the time, but this is an interesting subject.

RE: 300 websites, 300 links - this would be classed as a link farm and if were served by the same hosting company the IP addresses would tell the story.

About PR. The theme is pretty important, of those sites which are linking back to you. What is also important is the number of links on the page which includes your link. Also, where abouts it is on the page - top being much better than bottom.

I, like Carl, have spent many many hours learning about SEO and I feel I know just about everything there is to know about google, for what I want to do. I've found the google newsgroup most valuable in all of this, as well as the google toolbar.

Just to run some stats by you for rewardsites. I achieved a PR of 6 in 5 months on Google and only have 22 back links. Now, if back links are the main part of google's algorithm........how did I achieve a PR6?

I think I know how - and before I tell you my 'secret' or two (in other words, my guess), does anyone else have any ideas?

Cheers,

RE: 300 websites, 300 links - this would be classed as a link farm and if were served by the same hosting company the IP addresses would tell the story.

I was thinking about 300 real web sites, with real content. (of course I would never have the time to do that, but nothing stopping me hiring someone to do it) Your forgetting I have servers in UK, USA and Canada... I have huge IP block in London, rent a big(ish) one in USA and a small one in Canada so that's not a problem to mix and match them. Any I am not into spamming search engines it was just an idea for getting listed higher

Many of my sites run on the same IP address as I don't see the point in having 50 apaches running on a server when 10 do the job nicely and even that could be put to a few if wanted. So running sites on the same IP is not going to get you killed in your rank at Google.

Indeed you're right supercod. My point was 300 sites of a similar IP address linking to each other irrespective of content or theme would get a site blacklisted, from what I've read.

If it didn't get blacklisted, then maybe the PR value isn't as strong?

Cheers,

You can have a PR6 with only 2 or 3 incoming links, but those links would have to be good quality. You (Darren) have incoming links from sites with PR's like 7.

Incoming links are the main calculation behind PR, but not all links are worth the same.

A link on the home page of Amazon would no doubt do you more good than 10 links on pages with a PR of 5.

Themeing is important, but not fool proof. I have seen sites change content and subject, but not change incoming links The links have been totally out of the new context. PR has not changed.

If you get links on well PR'd pages you will accumulate PR. Although you have to remember that the PR that page is giving out is divided between all the outgoing links. So a lone link on a PR5 page is worth more than having a link on a PR 6 page but sharing it with 20 others.

www.google.com/technology/index.html

so reading this my objective would be to get listed on news.bbc.co.uk and I am sorted ok a bit simplistic, but basically it's better to have 20 9/10 links than 2,000 1/10 links as I see it.

So for me to have 6/10 I must have a balance of links coming in, and yes I know that's not the only thing that gives you a rank but if you ask me with Google it looks to be a very important part of it overall.

news.bbc.co.uk would be a good start :O)

An incoming link from FreebieFriends would be an easier start. Could you keep up with JayJay's ratings is the question? :OD

Not ranked by traffic any more, so don't tell me it would be too easy for you!

Sorry for the plug people, but Supercod always says NO, so i've got to cover all the angles :O)

Saying no is a habit I developed from always being told no when I first started out with Free UK Stuff 1998 (when I was doing other projects that will remain nameless, it was easy to get links from some of the big names in the industry).. because of Free UK Stuff it was a case of right I will show you lot, I will be bigger and better and you are not getting a link from me LOL

So now everyone is tarred with the same brush..

Freebie Friends, If it's not ranked by traffic, what is your benchmark also is it reset every month or on going?

I see some send no traffic well 1 or 2 yet because they have a high rating they get up higher, who is it working now then?