3 for 1 link offer

[Jimbo]

I'm planning to build 3 websites - different IPs - with real content, to enable me to offer 3 links in return for 1 quality link to my main site. Appreciate that G might not like this, so would need to be fairly clandestine.

I imagine people already do this, though there isn't too much discussion of it. Any thoughts from the gurus here? In particular, how do I attract numbers of sites (so I can filter out the rubbish and still have a decent selection) without attracting the attention of the great G?

[Brian Turner]

No problem at all with building 3 sites with real content - the first pitfall is simply not to link them together simply for the sake of link popularity.

As for offering 3 links in return for a quality link to your site - do you mean as in for link exchanges?? If so, I'm curious as to why you feel the need to set up 3 sites for this, rather than 1?

If you are chasing link exchanges - word on the street is that link exchanges were seen to be killed in October by a major Google update - Jagger.

It seems to have applied a filter which devalues link relationships between sites. In other words, if two sites are seen to link to each other, the links are discounted. I also have it on authority that "3 way links" (ie, site A links to site B via Site C) are also easy to spot.

So...setting up sites for the purpose of link exchnages - if that is what you're proposing - may not be very helpful for ranking in Google at all.

Hope that helps.

If I've misunderstood, please feel free to clarify.

[Jimbo]

Hi Brian,

1. The reason for offering 3 for 1 is simply that these will be new sites, hence PR0 for some months - whereas I would want to exchange with established sites with some PR, hence the need to make the offer irresistible!

2. Thanks for the heads-up on Jagger. I had thought that a triangular linking pattern would get through the filters, but if not . . . how are people addressing the need for inbound links? Clearly, it's possible to build a more natural-looking linking pattern, but potentially quite complex to administer

Jimbo

[Brian Turner]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

1. The reason for offering 3 for 1 is simply that these will be new sites, hence PR0 for some months - whereas I would want to exchange with established sites with some PR, hence the need to make the offer irresistible!

You may improve your chances a little - but a lot of webmasters are very PageRank focused, and those with sites worth linking with will generally insist that you have a respectable PageRank value to start with. They are likely to consider that 3 PR0 links as worthless as 1 PR0 link.

Also, be careful with link exchanges - personally I would recommend you be discerning with who you are linking with. There are a lot of very low quality websites - scraper sites and "made for AdSense" sites out there - who aggressively seek link exchanges to boost popularity. Not necessarily good neighbourhoods to link to.

I'd hate to sound like Google on this, but do try to be selective and try and make quality connections. Probably a much better idea to develop your sites first, and then ask for link exchanges once the appropriate linked-from pages reach PR3+, to denote a sense of quality and value to other webmasters.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

2. Thanks for the heads-up on Jagger. I had thought that a triangular linking pattern would get through the filters, but if not . . . how are people addressing the need for inbound links? Clearly, it's possible to build a more natural-looking linking pattern, but potentially quite complex to administer

Google seem pretty determined to seek and devalue linking patterns they deem to be of least value.

I agree, it's getting harder and harder to develop any kind of quality linking, but it can be done, with patience.

I would definitely suggest you look to long term goals for your sites to encourage long-term success - the more established you can make them, the greater the sense of value in people offering links to such sites.

Hope that helps.