You may have read previously how against reciprocal linking I am – but perhaps I should clarify – I’m against dodgy reciprocal linking. That is, when you exchange links with a website you have nothing to do with in the hope of raising your search engine ranking.

There are lots of legitimate reasons to link to another website. Here’s my favourites:

• Existing business relationship.
  Companies who you deal with regularly and whose service or product you can vouch for.
• Relevant or useful.
  Ideally these are within your industry or region. For example, if you’re a bed & breakfast operating on the Blue Mountains you might link to a region guide.
• Complementary.
  A product or service which goes with yours. For example, if you sell air conditioners, you might link to an electrician who installs the models you sell.

It’s much better to write some good quality text around your link rather than just having a list of links off to the side in a links page. Visitors are much more likely to visit the links this way, and it enables you to be seen as a helpful expert in your area. For an example, see the blog post I wrote about Flying Solo. How boring would it have been if I just stuck it off the side in a links page!