One online method of free advertising and promotion that has changed over the years is link exchanging. Some people believe link exchanging doesn’t do much good. In my experience, if done properly, link exchanging can improve your search engine rankings, increase your web traffic and get you more sales.

There are actually three different types of link exchange:

1. Reciprocal Linking - This is when you place a link on your site and they in turn place your link on their site.

2. One Way Links – This would be when you get your link on a site but do not have to place their link on your site. Example: your article used on a site. These types of links are very powerful for SEO.

3. Three Way Linking – This is a link exchange among three domains instead of two. This type of linking seems more natural and can be more effective in improving your page rank.

Below are the latest tips on how to manage your link exchange program:

Look for quality sites: When exchanging links was first introduced, people would paste their links anywhere that would take it. We have since learned that this is not the correct way to exchange links. Look for quality sites that are relevant to yours. For example: if you own a pet care site, exchanging links with a cosmetic site wouldn’t be very effective. Exchange with sites that have to do with pets, pet products, etc.

Build your links slowly: Take your time submitting your links to directories, etc. If you submit too many, too fast, this will red flag Google. This can happen when you use automated link submission sites. Manual submission is always better for your ranking and will not "anger Google". ;-)

DO NOT exchange with link farms: Link farms, also referred to as FFA (Free for All) sites are sites that just list every type of link they can get their hands on. Do not place your links on these types of sites as it could do more damage than good to your site.

Submit articles for one way links: Writing and submitting articles is always a powerful promotion method. Not only will it build your reputation and give you free advertising, it will give you a lot of one-way links as well.

Post on blogs/forums to get more links to your site: Posting comments on blogs and getting involved in forums is a good way to get more links back to your site. Do not post frivolously, be sure to write helpful and involved posts. Give advice and answer questions when you can. Do not just post, I agree or that sounds good, or other such posts.

Check to make sure your links are not removed: Once you do a reciprocal link exchange with a webmaster always do periodic checks to make sure they do not remove your link or let their domain expire. If this does happen, you will want to remove their link from your site too.

Link exchanging, as with any effective promotion method, takes work, diligence and commitment. It is free and it can do a world of good for your website and business. But learn the proper way to conduct your link exchange campaign and you will be delighted with the results!