Googles Jagger update which has just finished has put an end to the bad practice of getting links to generate an increase in page ranking BUT links were never designed for that purpose, they were placed on websites by webmasters to provide useful information for visitors. Then reciprocal linking evolved which Google supported and gave higher page rankings to sites with more links as these sites were of value because other sites linked to them.

All was well until link marketing came along, people realised what google was doing and that they could increase the ranking of a site by increasing the number of links to it. Link farms were born together with hosted link directories and sites paid many thousands of pounds to generate links.

All google has done is to penalise sites that used link marketing i.e. linking to any and every site based on that sites page rank - google always said that this was bad and they have now put a stop to it.
One way links are next on the list for Google to attack as they mainly come from blogs and guestbooks where entries are made by automated software with links back to the senders website.

In short if you are only looking at links as a way to get to the top of the search engines FORGET IT - this is wrong, links are a resource for your visitors and back links are a similar resources that will bring visitors to your site, this is why you must be very selective about who you link too.

Google changes its algorithms so often these days that you must play by the rules eg NO doorway pages, multiple domains, link farms, hidden text etc and concentrate on site content and related links - if you do that then you will get to the top as Google and the search engines will like you.

Many people are panicking because the have spent lots of effort trying to trick google and now realise that they have waisted their time, many have been de-listed or banned.

This is how Google Page Rank works

Any website at all can link to your page(s) without adversely affecting your PR. This is because generally you have no control over who links to your site. But the PR of the page(s) that link to your page(s) has a great deal of influence on your page's PR.

For example, if a webmaster decides to link to your page from a page on her site with a PR of 6, this will help your page's PR be higher than if he links to your page from a PR 4 page.

In other words, it isn't just how many links you have to your page, but also the "importance" of those pages that helps boost your PR. A dozen links from PR 6 sites is often better (at least for the sake of PR) than 100 links from PR4 sites.

How do you determine a page's PR (even your own)? If you use Internet Explorer, you can download the Google Toolbar for free.

After you have downloaded and installed the Google toolbar, restart your browser. You should now see the toolbar near the top of the screen. Click the word Google on the left edge of the toolbar. Click Toolbar Options on the drop down menu. Place a checkmark in the box beside PageRank Display. Now click the OK button at the bottom of the page.

Your toolbar is now configured to display the PR value of the current page. On the right-hand side of the toolbar you will see the word PageRank.

Below the word PageRank is a bar that is either gray (no PR for the current page), all white (the current page has a PR of 0), or part white and part green. The more green in the bar the higher the PR.

If you place your mouse pointer over the bar under the word PageRank you will see the numerical value of the current page's PR.

Why should you reciprocal link?

Your goal is to become a "hub site" by creating valuable content and exchange links with as many quality related websites who you hope will link back to you.

Ensure:

· They have a home page link to thier links pages.

· They aren't using hidden text, hidden links, doorway
pages, etc.

· The "theme" of their sites compliments yours and
vice versa.

The theme of your link partners' websites is very important as a "Hub Site" you should aim to collect on your site all the information available on your product/s which will include links to other sites.

For instance, if your website sells jewellery, your theme would be "fashion". You should make an effort to exchange links with other "fashion" related sites, such as dress makers, wedding suppliers, and sites that sell gifts.

Do not exchange links with a direct competitor however or you will lose sales to your competition. For example, if you sell chocolates don't exchange links with another site that also sells chocolates. Instead, exchange with a site that sells flowers or other products that compliment yours without directly competing with you.

Set a goal of exchanging links with a minimum of 50 other websites that meet the above criteria and you'll be well on your way to a great Google listing.