One important aspect of search engine optimization is link building. Links to your website found on other websites is a good way of making your pages rank higher. Incoming links to a website play a major role in determining its Page Rank. And Page Rank is the prime method used by Google for establishing the importance of a website.

Reciprocal linking has become an important technique used by web owners. It has proven to be an efficient way of building links. It helps bringing in targeted audience visiting one site to click on a link to another related site. It also helps in providing users additional content to go through.

Reciprocal link building is one of the oldest tricks in the trade. The World Wide Web has been weaved to what it is now through reciprocal linking. However, now the game of this method of link building has gone foul. There are many web owners who create websites that are link farms, or pages and pages of links that do not contain any valuable information at all. Also, they request and exchange links from sites that are totally unrelated to their theme. These practices have ruined the reputation of reciprocal linking.

Web masters should understand that being linked with unrelated websites can actually lower their own site's rank. Major search engines like Google even penalize websites whose links are found on unrelated websites or a part of link farms. Such practices are considered to be Black Hat SEO techniques and can spell doom for your site and, eventually, for your business.

Of course, if used in the right way, reciprocal link building can prove to be quite advantageous. Given below are a few tips you can put to use if you are considering reciprocal linking for your website:

1. The very first thing to make sure with reciprocal link building is that your website is linked to all the relevant sites. The websites should have content that is similar to the theme and content of your own site. Also, keep a close watch on the websites you are exchanging links with to make sure they are not using hidden tactics and misusing your links. Ensure that your links are positioned in places that are highly visible and your visitors can see them.
2. When you are considering a website for reciprocal linking, check their Page Rank and visibility. See if linking with these sites can actually help you higher your ranks. This is because low quality reciprocal links can mean harm for your website. Also, take care to check and see that these websites are not banned by the search engines.
3. Ask your link partners to use the keywords and key phrases of your website. This will add more value to your reciprocal link exchange.
4. Ensure that the incoming links from your link partners link to the relevant pages of your website and not just the main landing page.

Follow these techniques and you can be rest assured that you are using the right and most ethical techniques for link building.