I know, swapping links is going down the pipes, and swapping links indiscriminately with random sites is not really a favoured option for gaining Google rank anymore. However, I still put trust in some link swaps and hence I tend to look at every request that comes through. That doesn’t mean I look at every site, but definitely every request.
The thing is, if I’m running let’s say a mobile phone website and someone wants to swap links with me, I want to have a look and see if there’s anything in it for me. Usually there is not. Often the site in question is selling pretty much exactly the same thing as me and doesn’t have any pagerank and indeed will be offering a link on a page 3 levels down through the site. Those ones tend not to get an answer.
Sometimes the link request is from a ranked site offering the same rough range of stuff. If I sense an opportunity to bargain a little and get my link onto a better page then I’ll make the offer.
The best ones are from ranked sites that are in the same field but not offering the same stuff. So if I’m offering mobile phones and someone wants to swap links from a ringtones site (it would have to be a good one) or a mobile insurance site (again, good ones only) then I see that as a good place to swap links. It associates your site with the right market, and as long as the site you are swapping links with appears in good standing in Google, then it’s probably safe to link to them.
Finally you’ve got the link requests from completely unrelated sites or sites that are offering a 3-way swap but structure the email so that hopefully you wont notice. I don’t even look at the sites in these cases and dump the emails with an unceremonious schlurrp.
Yes, one way, high quality inbound links are the way to go, but sometimes you don’t have the budget to buy or much to offer in return for these links, so at least link swapping offers a way to be identified in a certain marketplace. Just be careful who you swap with.
