I have been pushing for more article exchanges for the last year or so. I think they can be beneficial
if they are done correctly. I posted my take one article exchanges on Kathleen's site, but I will also post it again here:
By now most people know that it is very easy for Google to identify typeical links pages, link networks, reciprocal links, 3-way links, paid links, one-way links, and other link strategies. That's why article link exchanges - pages with meaningful content and links - are a good idea. I have been touting the
importance of content driven links and mini articles for over a year now.
However, there are also pitfalls to this method that you should be aware of. For example, the main theme of your own real estate agent web site is generally built around the phrase
your city + real estate. But what happens when you start adding a bunch of articles to your site about real estate in other cities and states? It dilutes the theme of your own web site. When you dilute the theme of your own site it makes it that much harder to rank well for your own suggested keywords.
The best way to combat this problem is to place your exchanged articles on a sub domain of your web site (i.e.
http://articles.yoursite.com). At the prsent time this method works because search engines treat sub domains as unique domains. Once you create the sub domain then create one link on your home page to the sub domain. This will help the search engines quickly find and index your article pages. And for those that care about that Google Toolbar PR, it will help allocate PR to those pages. Don't spam the search engines with that link. One link from your homepage is sufficient.
When writing your own article, make sure you provide sufficient content. When we exchange articles we look for a minimum of 200 words and a maximum of 500 words (I'll touch on the reasons why in a moment). For articles of 200-300 words we allow one link. For articles 300-500 words we allow two links. However, each link must be to a unique page (i.e. the home page and the MLS page, etc.). Having two links to the same page won't do your site any good. In SEO, it's also beneficial to deep link to important interior pages of your web site.
The structure of your article is also important. The main paragraph should begin with an H2 tag that promotes the primary KW phrase / link you are targeting (i.e. "Understanding The Ins and Outs of Your City Real Estate"). Tie in the first 2-3 paragraphs to your first headline. After 2 or 3 paragraphs use an H3 tag to target your second keyword phrase / link.
The H1 tag should be reserved for the webmaster publishing the articles on their web site.
The credibility and strength of your link lies with the webmaster posting your article. This is where everyone needs to work together. You cannot haphazardly post the articles on your site. Proper planning and structure will benefit everyone.
For example, let's say you start off categorizing your article pages by State. That's a good place to start. Now let's say you get 3 articles from Nevada web sites. Two of the agents are in Las Vegas, and the third is in Reno.
To provide maximum link credibility you should break up these articles on to separate pages. Keep the Reno article on the generic Nevada page and move the Las Vegas articles to their own page. On the Nevada page create an H1 tag that says something like "Nevada Real Estate News and Information". On the new Las Vegas page create a use a
unique H1 tag that targets Las Vegas real estate.
Be creative with your H1 tags and mix them up throughout the site. If you stay too generic you may tip off the search engines that this is a link page and not a true article page. Make sure you also use appropriate Title tags on each page. These can be the same as the H1 tag.
On your Nevada page make sure you place an appropriate link to the Las Vegas page. You should also make sure that your individual city pages contain direct links from your main directory page. In other words, make sure all articles are only 1-click away from the main page.
On each of your state and city pages, include a brief list of outbound links to other important (i.e. authority) web sites on that state or city. You should also write an original, one paragraph blurb about the city or state following your H1 tag.
Don't go nuts with too many articles on a single page. Try to limit your pages to 1,500 - 2,000 words of article text. It's perfectly OK to have multiple pages for cities and states. Just make sure you link those together and place their links on your main directory page.
If you're thinking this is all a lot of work, then you're right. But optimizing for search engines - especially Google - is a whole new ballgame. Google has a big push that focuses and quality and credibility of links, and it's only going to get tougher down the road. Take the time to do it right now - and ask other webmasters to do the same - and everyone will benefit in the long run.
In fact, I would bet that doing a "proper" article exchange will be
less work in the long run. Because these are content driven links it should take far less of these links to make an impact than traditional link exchanges with thousands of web sites.
Feel free to contact me with any comments or questions. If you prefer to call, I can be reached at (843) 290-0031.
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