I do a lot of consulting work for small business owners, particularly in link building. One of the first things I do when I start link building for a new client is find out if they have a link exchange page. Typically, this is a “resources” page, where the client offers a reciprocal link partnership with sites that feature similar services or products.

The primary reason I target the existing reciprocal links for new clients is I find it to be an area of great, untapped potential. Point being, most business owners aren't professional web marketers, so they aren’t versed in linking strategy. As a result, they fail to leverage the full value of their reciprocal link programs. So by focusing on the link exchange page first, I can pluck the low hanging fruit and see dividends almost immediately.

For the record, reciprocal linking is still a fairly controversial topic in the SEO community. But my feeling is that there are clear benefits to exchanging links for small businesses, provided you adhere to the following guidelines:

• Don't overdo it - set a limit on your reciprocals (no more than 10% of your inbound links)
• Stay relevant - only swap with sites that are similar in theme and content
• Keep it clean - steer clear of spammy link requests

Link Exchange Analysis Checklist: Make Each Link Count

My analysis of a client's reciprocal links consists of a detailed appraisal of the link exchange page to evaluate:

• The status of each inbound link
• The quality of the website on the other end
• Ways to harness the untapped potential in each link

The goal of this appraisal is evident: to maximize the equity of each link. Most of the mistakes I uncover with reciprocal link analysis are often quick fixes, which is great because my efforts often yield swift results in the SERPs for my client.

Here's my detailed checklist of things to look for when evaluating your clients resources page.

1) Verify that the reciprocal link is active.

All too often, the site on the other end of the link exchange is not holding up their end of the bargain. Sometimes this is accidental (site redesign in progress, link didn’t get added, etc), which is easily solved with an email to the site’s webmaster. However, sometimes I find the link removal is an intentional bait and switch, where once they get a link on your site, the partner site deletes your link. Sure, it’s dishonest, but it happens all the time. And they’re able to get away with it easily because many people never review their link exchanges. Don’t let this be you.

2) Make sure the reciprocal link is being followed.

Just because the reciprocal link from your site is present on the partner’s site doesn't mean it's being followed. Sometimes exchange partners are using a CMS platform for their websites, where a default "nofollow" setting is applied to outbound links, and they may not realize it. There are also occasions I’ve seen where the partner has intentionally added a “nofollow” tag to reciprocal links to control the flow of link juice.

Whatever the case, shoot the partner site an email letting them know that the link to your site is “nofollow” and not passing PageRank. Request to have the link followed. You might set a deadline and say if the nofollow isn't lifted in seven days, you'll remove their link from your site.

3) Check the quality of the reciprocal link.

Often, when links were exchanged initially, the client was one of a handful of reciprocal links on the partner's resource page. Now, your client’s link is one of hundreds. The key here is moderation. Too many outgoing links on a page dilutes the value of the link. My rule of thumb is to severe relationships with link partners who exceed 30 links per page. Sure, maybe my ceiling is too low, but I'm selfish and I want as much link equity and PageRank passing through my client’s link as possible.

Again, email the party that by lumping your link in with so many others, the value of the partnership has diminished and you're removing their link from your page. Fear not, there are plenty of other partners at the link exchange dance. Find someone else to exchange with who won't abuse the swap.

4) Confirm that the link exchange partner’s site is still relevant to yours.

I’ve seen plenty of instances where a business on the other end of the link exchange has gone under or the domain has changed hands and is now owned by an unrelated affiliate site, or even worse, a porn or online casino. As a result, linking to these sources could potentially harm my client’s domain trust and authority.

This is an easy fix and a no brainer: delete the outgoing link immediately, no email necessary. Again, it’s worth repeating:  when engaging in reciprocal linking, my advice always is to link to websites that are relevant to your content and your audience. Follow these guidelines and your domain trust should stay safe.

5) Check the anchor text on reciprocal links.

As I said before, most site owners and designers aren't search marketers, so they may not comprehend the importance of anchor text in links. What I often see with new clients are flat URLs or the company name as the anchor text on the partner’s website. Here’s a great opportunity to add some relevance to your link. Ask the site contact to modify the link to include keywords in the anchor text. That way, you can capitalize on the contextual page association and thereby boost your PageRank.

Bonus tip: Request to have a title tag added to the link. For those unaware, a title tag is the call-out you see when you hover over a link. The HTML is <a href=“www.yoursite.com” title= “Your Site.com carries only top-of-the-line products. Get a FREE sample today!”>. The advantage here is you can add additional, crawlable text and keywords and even include a call to action. I know the SEO community at large is split on the value of link titles. But my feeling is, if it's good enough for Wikipedia, it's good enough for me.

6) Push for deeper reciprocal linking.

One of the hardest things to do for any website is to build deep content links. Where a website may need thousands of links to the home page to compete with competitors, it may only take a handful of deep links to boost a deeper page’s rank in the SERPs. Check the link destination on the partner’s site. More often than not, the link points to the default page. Take this opportunity to contact the exchange partner and request deeper links from their site with relevant anchor text.

Bonus tip: Even if the destination URL is a deeper link, verify that the link is not a 404 error. I’ve seen plenty of instances where pages on my client’s site were moved after the exchange, or file paths and names have changed, and now the link on the partner site to your client’s site is broken. Remedy this and get that link pointing in the right direction.

Low Hanging Link Building

With so much of link building focused on ferreting out and acquiring new links, the idea of auditing your client's existing reciprocal links is often overlooked. But nonetheless, it's an area of high reward that's right under your nose. My advice to link builders with new clients is to get your client's house in order. Because like “charity,” link building should begin at home.