What does Google Think of Link Exchanges !

  Have you every received an email from people that you don't know asking you to do a link exchange? Please consider the following before you decide to do the link exchange, so you will better understand the relationship between Google, link exchanges and you.

Link Exchanges: A short rundown.

   The more links that a web site has pointing to it, the higher it will rank in Google. This is the plain and simple reason people want to you exchange links with them.

  The single most important part of your SEO ( search engine optimization) is in fact, the number (and quality) of the links that point to your site. Thousands of e-mails are sent out daily by SEO companies asking people for links, their goal is to increase the number and quality of the links that point to the websites and blogs of their customers. The higher your Google page rank, the more requests you will get.

Link exchanges: The danger 
  
   The old bait and switch, and link exchanges:  More and more, people are asking for link exchanges to what looks like a normal website. The site is transformed into a scam site after they have gathered enough backlinks.

  This bait and switch tactic is becoming more and more popular among spammers, I will explain why in a few, it is not a good idea for you to link to these sites that Google refers to as "spammy". It might be a good ideal for you to go check out sites again if you have offered links to people you don't know.

  Link Exchanging with bad Neighborhoods: You can get your site penalized for linking to the wrong kind of site. Just like in the real world, there are bad neighborhoods on the internet. On the internet a bad neighborhood is a site that the search engines consider spammy or untrustworthy  in some way.

  Link exchanges are not liked by Google and most search engines: If it is your goal to get more visitors from  Google, then you must know that Google considers link exchanges a violation of their guidelines and they will penalize your site if they think you are in anyway involved in them. But don't take my word for it you can read Google's link exchange policy here. But if you have already made the link exchange error, there is a link on that page where you can resubmit your site, and get a second chance. 

  Google sees link exchanges as a effort to deliberately manipulate their system of page ranking. this is why they are so strict on these link exchanges. That system is how they make very large advertising bucks, by delivering search results that keep people using Google.

Make all your links legit:

  You should link to people when it is appropriate for you and what you want. If there is a site, article, post or any other resource you want to share with your readers then by all means link to them.

What are your thoughts on link exchanges?

  It is always good to hear your opinion on link exchanges and what experience you have had with them. Please take a moment and share them with us.

The Business That Tweeted Wolf!

 I think most of us have read the story about the boy who cried Wolf. The story goes that little shepherd boy just for fun would raise the alarm in his village by crying wolf. The villagers naturally would come running to save the boy, only to discover that the boy was only playing games with them. Well not surprisingly one-day a wolf really did come in when the boy cried for help there was no villager that would come.

Especially in social media marketing, I see a lot of businesses crying wolf. I have noticed a lot of people that send out messages on twitter, with the request please RT, with a link to their site. Well when I first see this,I check out the link. Is this the launch of a new product or service? Is this a link to a special announcement? Do they want me to RT a special offer? No. It is just a leak to a blog post they wrote, in almost every occasion.

Here is the problem with this approach. When these people really do have something to announce or launch, they will get a lot of resistance from their followers. By always requesting a re-tweet on all their work, they cheapen the request.

Conversely, when you seldom ask your social network to help you share something, they respond extremely well. That's where the magic is!

A while ago, I sent out a link to my followers and asked him to re-tweet it. All day I saw people re-tweeting that link everywhere. The link was to a site that had information on a missing child. The beginning of the Tweet said please RT. So I got people's attention, because my followers are not used to seeing anything from me that asked for a re-tweet.

Form as much integrity and confidence as you can with the villagers in your social network. Be a foundation of true value and assistance. Then, from what I have seen, if you need their help was something a important they will gladly want to help you and in great numbers too.