Link exchange
Backlinks are recommendations on the World Wide Web and should indicate to search engines like Google whether specific content is valuable to users. Therefore, all websites should strive for targeted link building to establish a comprehensive link profile. Besides purchasing links, link exchange among website operators was very popular—and still is. This means that two partners give each other backlinks.
Why links are relevant for search engine optimization
The value of backlinks in search engine optimization is based on Google's mindset: It is assumed that a page must be better and more substantial the more often it is linked to by other websites. For example, if someone finds our SEO tips great and wants others to read them, they add a link to our lexicon on their website. If these links accumulate, this is a positive sign for Google, which can indeed lead to an improvement in page ranking.
Unfortunately, the importance of links led many SEO specialists and webmasters to prioritize quantity over quality, ensuring that backlinks to their sites appeared as frequently as possible on the internet. Link exchange was often abused. Particularly suitable for this were the countless link farms, link collections, and directories where almost everyone could register. Many webmasters also arranged for link exchanges, hoping that Google would notice that their own site was linked hundreds of times on other websites. This exchange of links worked for a long time, but today it is no longer favored in link building according to the Google Webmaster Guidelines, nor is link buying.
When the penguin eats the links: Link exchange is no longer so simple
Since the major Penguin update in 2012, backlinks are assessed differently by Google. This also affects the importance of link exchange for search engine optimization. Simply using link directories and random backlinks somewhere on the internet won't yield any results with the search engine today. Since then, Google pays much more attention to whether the links are displayed on high-quality websites and whether the topics of the apparent partner site match one's own topics. For example, someone who places their website about "beekeeping" on a site about "surfing in Hawaii" cannot impress Google: More important is that link exchange is carried out with topic-relevant sites, i.e., with other beekeepers. Every link on a page must appear natural and provide a benefit to the user.
The ideal link exchange therefore takes place with high-quality websites in your own subject area that are carefully maintained and constantly updated. It is therefore advisable for an exchange to thoroughly research the internet and manually select good websites to then suggest a link exchange to the operator.
However, it is important to avoid reciprocal links in link exchanges: This means that there should be no mirrored and mutual exchange of links according to the motto "you link to my site and I'll link to yours." Anyone who still engages in link exchanges should ensure that the link profile still appears natural and organic.
Close attention required for websites: Avoid bad neighborhood when exchanging links
In principle, it also applies: Every website that might be considered for link exchange should be carefully examined. Is the page reputable? Thematically questionable areas like pornographic material or gambling should not be a link source. Even if a website itself has a bad PageRank and everything points to a penalty, e.g., due to Black Hat SEO, this means: Stay away from this page! No exchange of links! Bad Neighborhood also affects your own site and can lead to a penalty in ranking.
And finally, a note for an upcoming exchange: If a link exchange is offered to another website, the linked keyword should vary as anchor text (link text). Since Penguin, Google penalizes websites where the majority consists of specific keyword links. Keyword stuffing no longer works for search engine optimization.
Conclusion on the exchange of links
Anyone who wants to gain backlinks for their website and is looking for a partner to exchange links should keep in mind: The exchange of links is still possible, but Google views it suspiciously. Officially, an exchanged link violates the Webmaster Guidelines for search engine optimization. However, such an exchange can happen naturally – for example, as part of a partnership. Why shouldn't one partner link to the other? Especially when it benefits the user by guiding them to additional content. However, it's important to avoid reciprocal backlinks for your website.