The art of getting reciprocal links is being refined, but it is far from dead.

For webmasters who are publishing their first website, reciprocal links are of great importance. Getting one way links is no easy task, and it borders on the impossible for a brand new website that has no page rank.

Whatever can be said about the validity of page rank, it is still important in many ways. It can greatly influence those you would want to get links from.

Getting new websites ranked has to start somewhere, and reciprocal links are part of the equation.

Seven guidelines for getting more reciprocal links

1. Set up a links directory on your website. Call it something besides links or links directory.

2. Decide which categories of links relate to the content of your website and accept only reciprocal links in those categories.

3. Make sure your directory is categorized, and that you limit the number of links per page. A figure well below fifty is preferred.

4. Join a link exchange. With a link exchange all the parties that belong are looking to echange links and this will make it easier and more efficient to get links in the beginning.

5. Make sure you have a link to your links directory on your home page. Many who sign up at reciprocal link exchanges do not. Those exchanging links want to see where their links will reside on your website. If you make it difficult to find, many will just click away.

6. Look at the websites before you agree to exchange links. Avoid sites that are scraped content or made up primarily of rss feeds. Or sites who have one page with a gazillion links on it. Also consider how the site relates to your website. Is it a site you would be proud to have as a link partner? You do get to make the choice.

7. Set up an add url or link to us page on your own website. Spell out your specific guidelines. List types of sites you will not accept. Create a box with your site title(anchor text), description and your url. In your guidelines state that you need them to place your link first and notify you where the reciprocal can be found by email. If your webhost provides mailboxes, dedicate one specifically for this purpose.

Do check your mailbox on a regular basis. Notify those who you've accepted as link partners of where you have placed their link.

And lastly, on your link to us page, change the description and anchor text periodically.

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Find more information on reciprocal links and how to get one way links.