Well it looks like the value of link exchanges is about to change with Google no longer encouraging website owners to continue using the process. In fact the message is clear, do so at your own risk!

As you can see from the following email extract, Google is now frowning upon some practices including link exchanging. So much so, it is possible your website could become black listed until actions are taken to reverse these now unacceptable SEO practices.

The Game has changed since Google began sending out emails to Webmaster Tool,s accounts that essentially said: “You’re caught”.

The email explains that Google has detected unnatural links to the webmaster’s site and that they encourage them to make changes to the site so that it meets their quality guidelines.

Once the changes have been made, Webmasters are being asked to submit their site for reconsideration in Google’s search results.

The Fallout
We’re seeing rankings in free-fall across the board, with many affected webmasters reporting that their site has been entirely de-indexed by Google. Of course losing rankings is bad enough, but for businesses to get de-indexed is the kiss of death, especially if it was your SEO agency that did the dodgy linking work.

With this kind of cheap SEO, corners are cut at every opportunity. Rather than take the time to build quality, natural links, many cheaper SEO providers will opt to buy these worthless links that can now cause your website to be dropped by Google entirely. Just like anything in life, you get what you pay for.

Authorship is definitely the new Page Rank
We all knew Google was transitioning away from Page Rank as the dominant ranking factor, but until now, many did not realise the important role authorship plays in a world where paid links do more harm than good.

Authorship makes it easy for Google to separate good authors from junk, in turn cleaning up their SERPs and providing searchers with more relevant, useful websites.

Now the alternative to all this Bull S**** is to use DNO the SEO Revolution instead.

The ability to secure Page-One rankings without a single link or having jumped through the thousands of SEO hurdles is becoming more attractive very day.