Is there any value in responding to the email and to providing a link to the website from your site? If you have a website it’s likely you’ve received emails like the email below:
I have visited your website yourdomain.com and I was wondering
if it would be possible to get a link to my partner’s website on it?
I’ll place a link back to you on our website, your link will be placed exactly here:
If you agree, then please link to me….
Please don’t forget to send me the title of your website after you
place my link so I can do the same.
Years ago getting reciprocal links was a pretty common practice. It was thought that search engines would rank sites better if they had numerous inbound links. It may still be true that sites with numerous inbound links will rank better than those without inbound links, but modern SE’s recognize if the links are relevant or if they are just exchanged links. So rather than respond to or initiate reciprocal links with unknown sources, a better strategy for obtaining inbound links might be to find relevant directories or businesses that are a source of referrals for your business in the “real” world and if appropriate ask them to link to your websites. Inbound links can also be generated through the social networks – join a discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook and you’ll likely see a spike in traffic to your website