Direct Links vs 3 way Links?

[TravG]

Below is a response I made to a question why I only like to do direct links verses 3 way links. Anyone have any other feedback?

I am by no way the authority on this, and some may dissagree with me, but i use to research this topic and there are so many different philosophies out there on link building that I just adopted my own.

I only do direct links really for 2 reasons:

1. By doing a direct link, the website linking to me is generally a creditable one and the content is good and gets updated often. (if doing a 3 way link the website that folks are linking from generally gets much less attention than their main site. In some cases they hardly ever get crawled and the link is meaningless)

2. If you are linking from your site to a quality site, then Google will not punish you for that (my opinion). Would google punish you for linking to google or say cnn or espn? I think not.

The main reason people do 3 ways is to preserve page rank ( I would assume) and it very well could work and be benificial, however I would rather make sure the website linking to me is a good one, and will in turn maybe? give up some pagerank by linking back to their site.

Again, this is just my opinion and I'm sure they are others who may agree or dissagree and maybe we can get some more feedback from others?

[RBS]

I am not an expert either, but i think you are right and totally agree with you.

In my experience, most times some one wants a 3 way link, you get a link from a bad site.

On the other hand when you get a link from the same domain that you link to it will be a decent site in many cases.


And also i believe that 3 way links are a way to try and cheat google to think your site is only getting 1 way links.

And i don´t think it´s good SEO strategy in the long run to try and cheat google. (i even think google will find your 3 way links, they are not stupid)


Thats just what i think, and would like to hear what others say aswell.

[Randy72560]

Yup you are 100% right. 3 way links are deseptive and potentially harmful if you get busted. To play it safe just never do anything to deceive the SE's. Google is pretty savvy and they also have human auditors. Page Rank sculpting is over and has been for some time.

[universal4]

I think you are WAY off on why people do 3 way exchanges....and disagree.

It may be why some people do a 3 way exchange but not all.

Many of us have numerous sites, and some affiliates have dozens or more sites.

Some affiliate prefer NOT to do straight linking and therefore, many affiliates offer a 3 way exchange to combat the challenge when a webmaster refuses to do a straight exchange....and at no time does that always mean the second or third site is automatically one that is only a crap site or one that doesn't get updated.

When I do exchanges, I look at the content on the page I am linking to, and the content on the page that i linking back. I try to match both incoming and outgoing links to theme reguardless if it is a direct exchange or a 3 way.

When the exchange is a general exchange, (IE: an exchange page for an exchange page) then I think it matters a bit less about theme, but I still try and make sure the anchor and description matches the link incoming and outgoing.

Sure, those doing exchanges in most cases are trying to increase the link popularity of their sites, but many of us don't even bother looking at what the pr is, and are more concerned about quality, content etc...

I also take a look at the kinds of exchanges that a site has already done, and if they are members at the GIA or here, I also look at the kinds of exchanges they request and also whether they are active members of the community or if they just hang out here to do nothing but request links and self promote their sites and services.

This is the main reason why so many newbies do not receieve the kind of responses from the long statnding private members here as the response a long time member will get from an exchange request.

Rick
Universal4

[Randy72560]

Some affiliate prefer NOT to do straight linking and therefore, many affiliates offer a 3 way exchange to combat the challenge when a webmaster refuses to do a straight exchange....and at no time does that always mean the second or third site is automatically one that is only a crap site or one that doesn't get updated.

And why is that? Because they want the appearance of a one way link. So instead they want to try and trick the SE. That is the main issue with 3 way link exchanges. It is deceptive.


Ok well lets look at it like this, and keep in mind how it is viewed is not up to us.

Essentially, a 3 way exchange is a deceptive way to try and fool the search engine into thinking you have a 1 Way link when in fact it is a round about exchange. This can and usually is viewed as deceptive by the SE's.

The main goal of a 3 way to to make it appears as if you have a one way link, when in fact you do not.

Now I'm sure there are exceptions, but 99% of 3 way links are intended to be deceptive

[pgaming]

3 way links are intended to be deceptive

Certainly agree on that point. For myself I never do cross linking but if I did it would be a natural process. If I find a site that maybe useful to my visitors I will link to it. If another website finds my sites useful they might link to it.

My own experience has shown this to work very nicely.

greek39

[universal4]

I agree Randy, if that is why a person prefers a 3 way exchange instead of direct exchange.

My reasoning is usually not for that reason.

An example, if I am looking for incoming links for blackjack, from blackjack related sites, and the person exchanging with me is looking for roulette links, I will offer up links from a roulette site, or other site with roulette pages but will want my incoming to be pointing at my bj site or pages and this will often create the need for 3 way exchanges.

Granted, this situation may not be as common as I'd like to think and the percentages probably match your reasons more....

Rick
Universal4

[TravG]

No doubt there is probably a use for 3 ways, but in my experience it has always just been a little shady. When someone e-mails me a request for 3 ways anymore I do not even reply to the e-mail.

Universal your logic makes sense, but you are probably one of the few who really do try to use it correctly, and I just hate to waste my time trying to figure out if the request is liget or not.

[arkyt]

When ever I get an email requesting a 3 way link exchange it immediately gets filed in the circular basket aka the trash can... that makes up the majority of exchange emails I get these days.

I don't care to add a link from my quality site(s) to a POS site, in return for a link from a totally unrelated POS site. Anyone who wants good old reciprocal links is free to contact me.

[ck8795]

And why is that? Because they want the appearance of a one way link. So instead they want to try and trick the SE. That is the main issue with 3 way link exchanges. It is deceptive.

Not always. I think it depends, I have a few three way link swaps but it's between people I know and not random affilaites. I find the randoms who email are pretty spammy seo company's anyways and dont reply. But if an affiliate I know says hey I have a great article on site A for you and here's one that fits well on site b do you want to work a link deal out - sure why not. I cant believe the number of poker and casino affiliate who outsource their linking to the wrong company's or the affiliates who assume everyone is a n00b when they send out those emails

Ridge - What is the difference between "Because they want the appearance of a one way link. So instead they want to try and trick the SE" and buying links

[jijaybajay]

i'm not interested in 3 ways linking for any reason.

[wejwebb]

My feelings on this issue are mixed.

I try to avoid three way links. Because they get picked up quite easily by G for example.

I concentrate on straight 2 way exchanges, article exchanges, and guest blogging / authoring for one way links.

If I was being an idealist I would also have the mindset that producing good content should get you one way links and that I should also link to what I believe to be good content... without expecting any link back.

But, I am in the sports betting industry and it is very competitive. I just don't think it is realistic to expect any one way link from any of my competitors.

I am always open to different kinds of partnership to enhance my visitors experience.