Hey, since you are here we’ll just assume that you are in for 0-100 ride for your link exchange efforts.
Link exchange is one of the most successful link-building methods & with a higher conversion as compared to any other method. At the end of the day, whenever you ask someone to give you a backlink, they respond with “What will I get in return ?”. And giving links in return is faster & cheaper than paying for it or writing content & hoping for a link.
Linkly as a link-building network has a strong set of link exchange opportunities & we have seen those work much better than any other method. Will tell more about Linkly helps you build backlinks later in the blog.
Let’s first start with what is link exchange:
Link exchange AKA backlink exchange refers to a barter deal where one website gives backlinks in exchange for another backlink to their website.
And, there are only 3 kinds of Link Exchange:
1. A-B Link Exchange:
As the name suggests, website A gives a backlink to website B and in exchange website B gives a backlink to website A.
They are also known as link swaps or reciprocal links.
A 2020 Ahrefs study shows that almost 73.6% of websites have reciprocal links
Hearing about A-B link exchange, makes one think about Google penalty & how it can be detrimental to the overall link exchange profile. However, the same Ahrefs study above stats that even Ahrefs themselves have 19.25% reciprocal links. As you can see, it is not wise to completely avoid this strategy forever.
But you have to be aware of one thing which we talk about later in the blog.
2. A-B-C Link Exchange
In A-B-C link exchange, Suppose Mr. ASEO has 2 sites, website A & C, he collaborates with Mr. BSEO who has website B only. Now to do A-B-C link exchange, they can do it in a way where A gives a backlink to website B, website B gives a backlink to website C and website C gives a backlink to website A and this ensures no direct link exchanges.
Since A-B link exchange could look like a complete barter to Google and might come across as a blatant attempt (’Link Schemes’ as Google likes to call it) to boost SEO. For long term growth & your peace of mind, A-B-C link exchange could be your best bet. But if some website is able to only A-B link exchange, don’t avoid it just because A-B-C link exchange is better.
Doesn’t mean that A-B link exchange doesn’t work, it just means that you need to do it in a limited way.
3. Guest Blogging
Guest blogging for link exchange can be understood with the following example:
Suppose yourself to be an SEO expert and we reach out to you regarding this article we are writing to ask your views on link exchange.
Now, by publishing your expert opinion we get credibility and you get a backlink.
Guest blogging can be done through 2 methods:
- Link Insertion
- Guest Posting
Guest posting requires that you write content to publish on another website. Obviously, to score a link back to your website.
Whereas, link insertion requires that you “insert a link” in existing content.
Why should you get into the hassle of getting backlinks? Why are they important?
*According to Ahrefs “*If you have a brand-new website, it’s (link exchange) best to kick things off by building a few dozen foundational links.”
What if there was a network of websites just giving backlinks to each other, well that’s what a PIN is, A Private Influencer Network
A few years ago Glenn Allsopp aka Viperchill published an article explaining PINs and other link-building methods and the image above is what he used to show PIN in action.
A good example of PIN working would be
TechCrunch, Mashable, Copyblogger & Problogger all grew through regularly promoting each other.
To see PIN in greater detail and action, refer to Glenn’s article here.
Another fancy term agencies like to use for link-exchange is “Relationship based link buidling”.
This basically means a long-standing relationship for link exchange where there can be a delay in Website A and Website B for the exchange instead of both websites giving backlinks immediately.
E.G. Website A can give a backlink today and website B can hold it for a month or longer for publishing it with more relevant content and no hassle.
Is Link Exchange safe?
Now, Google’s stance on reciprocal link exchanges or link exchange isn’t a complete black or white but they do drill down on websites using “excessive” link exchanges. However. there’s no clear definition of what excessive means.
But, looking at the choice of words used “excessive” implies that Google does acknowledge that Link-Exchange (up to a certain limit) is bound to happen.
However, remember that exchanging a link or two with a related website cannot put you into trouble. Your focus must always be on relevancy & quality. Remember, backlinks from high domain authority websites matter. The key is moderation. And using the right link exchange tactics.
Read this – https://backlinks.linkly.digital/what-is-link-exchange-how-to-get-it-right/
Are paid backlinks a better alternative then?
Authorityhacker in one of their surveys mentioned “74.3% of link builders pay for links. We knew this number would be high, but didn’t expect it to be this high.”
In the same study, they also mentioned “We broke down the specific amount being paid and found that the average cost of a paid link is $83.”
Now paid backlinks aren’t illegal (It is also an exchange instead of being a barter one it’s just a monetary exchange) and can be a good way to get backlinks from a website with higher DA but only if the budget allows since they get real expensive. Some backlinks are sold more than the cost of an iPhone ! & it is a really bloated market TBH
Also, in the study mentioned above authorityhacker also found out that “paying for links yields only an extra 2 links per month.”
Therefore, you can’t rely on paid backlinks completely until or unless you have really deep pockets and are willing to spend left, right and centre. If you ask our biased opinion, we are not fond of buying $1000 worth of backlinks, instead, if you write content pieces worth $1000, you can definitely build more backlinks & leads.
Well, then, how do you get backlinks for free?
If I search “how to get free backlinks” on Google, I get 37 ways in top 3 ranked pages only.
Now, Spoiler alert not all of them work for everyone and the chances are very high that not even 10 of those 37 are gonna work for you.
What works then you ask?
Let’s categorize this based on your DA.
DA 0-15
If your DA falls between 0-15, there aren’t many options available on the link exchange front.
While you can engage in link exchanges with websites of similar DAs, your options are limited. In this stage, pillow links, links from public profiles, nofollow but quickly indexed backlinks are what you need. Like social posts on Quora, LinkedIn, Reddit. Make profiles as per your niche, like a techie related tool can make a github repo, SAAS tool can make a profile on G2, Capterra, trustpilot & others.
If you’re a subject matter expert, you may also explore HARO based link building.
DA 20-45
In the DA range of 20-45, link exchanges become more viable. Aim for an A-B-C link exchange instead of just an A-B link exchange (facilitated by Linkly.digital) to avoid suspicion from Google.
Avoid starting backlink exchange conversations with websites having a DA more than 10 points higher than yours, as they may be less receptive, leading to wasted outreach efforts.
Write the part on exactly steps on how to builld backlinks and things to take care of like Don’t be adamant & focus only on DR, if everyone wants a higher DR website the system just won’t work. Try to be ok with similar or slightly lower DR websites if they are in your niche & their content will make a lot of sense.
Consider the fact that if some websites’ DR is low, after some time if it increases, the value of your same backlink will also increase.
Guest blogging remain viable options. Additionally, consider providing backlinks to websites with lower DAs.
DA 50+
Now, this is the holy grail of SEO. With a DA of 50+, numerous link exchange opportunities abound. Nonetheless, it’s still prudent to seek backlinks from websites with slightly higher DAs and reciprocate by providing backlinks to those with lower DAs.
At this stage, you can scale back SEO efforts on platforms like Quora and focus more on A-B-C exchanges and guest blogging.
Now, sorry for the gatekeeping the best method to link exchange, Linkly.
Linkly is a community of 3500+ SEO link-builders exchanging links with websites of relevant DA, DR, and Niche and the best part is that they are all white-hat websites.
With Linkly, you can post or access a link exchange request by filtering through all using 10+ filters to find a perfect opportunity for your link-exchange and reaching out to them on the website itself.
Check it out here: linkly.digital
We hope this blog has provided valuable insights for your SEO endeavors. Feel free to explore our off-page SEO tool suite here to automate your off-page SEO efforts.