nope. you are an exception to my rule. lol

So, are you saying that you want to exchange links and will reciprocate on your main entry page? If so, I am putting together an exchange today or tomorrow and will include you. I will need you to send me your link description today.

I am planning on putting up some links in the next day or so - an exchange with people that I have been in touch with in the last couple of days. After that, I don't expect to put up any more links until September (Enjoy the summer!).

So, if you add your name to the list as per the link at the beginning of this post - please don't expect a response until then.

thanks for the help doug.

ok i added my name. i will added my directory page to the google cache as well. i'm hoping that that will do some good as well, espeicially with links not being in the title.

when is the next big exchange going to happen ?

I am doing an exchange later today (Monday at the latest if I get too busy) and received your info on the list. I will send you an email.

You will be the "cut-off" and I will not get around to actually uploading more links until after summer. Others reading this post can keep adding their names to the list and will be eligible for the next exchange in September.

I am re-activating this thread as I intend on putting together another link trade. If you are interested you can check if your site will qualify and also fill in a short form to send us your link at http://www.realwebresults.com/linkform1.html

Doug I have a question, are most of your sites coming from the same IP block or hosted on the same C Block?

If so have you noticed this hurting any of your sites that inter link?

Also what is your opinion of what Matt Cutts has said about recip links. If memory serves me correctly he stated that recip links wont hurt you but that they will be given no weight.

The sites are on many different IP blocks and on many different servers. It is my belief that interlinking sites that reside on the same server (host) can cause problems even if they have different IPs. Having links from serveral sites that share an IP is not a problem unless those sites themselves are interlinked. None of my sites that may share an IP are interlinked.

Regarding Matt Cutts' statement - I am sure he would be happy if no one traded links as it would make his job a lot easier. The fact is that link exchanges still work although I believe some carry more weight than others. It has been widely noted in SEO forums (and I agree) that a link from a site whose links are organized as a "web directory" IS ignored.

By "web directory" I mean where they have multiple categories not related to the actual theme of the site - so if a real estate site has a links directory that has categories for travel sites and health insurance sites etc. - you probably get no benefit from the exchange.

Also, if a site uses popular links programs like Linksmanager you most likely get zero benefit from from the link as Google would recognize such programs and ignore links from them.

It IS getting harder and harder to find link exchanges that are of value but there still are some out there.

If this is the case than why do directories show as backlinks and pass PR? I have witness from another real estate forum, they offer their members a directory listing and those seem to pass as a BL and PR.

I can see where this might delute the theme of a website but I disagree you get no benefit. There are to many sites out there with purchased backlinks from sites and directories that have no relevancy to the site they are linking to. Yet I could point to a few sites that rank very high in Google that practice this type of linking.

IMHO I believe that a search engine bot/ Algo calculates the relevancy based on the text on the page, title tags, other links on the page and their text, plus the meta tags. With this being said, the new algo Jagger seems to be a lot of weight to directories again. In several real estate markets I have noticed a few directories climbing up the serps. Just my 2 cents.

You are misinterpreting what I said. I was not referring to stand alone web directory sites - I was referring to link exchange pages that are organized like a web directory and have many off-theme link categories. The "other real estate forum" example you give has all real estate links and does not include off-topic link categories.

Again you are misinterpreting my remarks with your comments regarding buying backlinks from sites and directories - that has nothing to do with my response to your original question about reciprocal link exchanges.

If you want a discussion on link purchases and directories please feel free to start a discussion in the Webmaster Issues forum - this thread is not the place for that discussion.