Understanding the fundamentals of how major search engines work in ranking pages, most SEO practitioners adopt link trading and believe that it is one of the best ways to build incoming links.

However, I think if the “ideal search engine world”, links should not be “traded”. Rather, linking should be voluntary – and the only reason why someone will want to do that is to get people to good content! Contributing to other people’s content is one of the most time-honored way to build incoming links!

When you write an article and submit it to article directories like ezinearticles.com, the system allows you say a little about yourself in the author’s box – this is the area where you will want to use to link back!

Here are some benefits of distributing content, versus link exchange:

  1. Links will come faster. You just need to do up your quality content once, and the rest of the effort is just getting it published in relevant websites. There is no other steps – no need to add the reciprocal link to your site, or check for compliance.
  2. The number of links in a page will be fewer. When you ask to exchange a link, you will most probably get dumped in a “links” page, which can sometimes contain thousands of other links. When you submit the article, the whole page is your content (minus the headings and stuff), so your link stands out better
  3. Links are one way. Again, there is no need to edit your website to add a reciprocal link. Some SEO experts argue that one way links are more valuable than reciprocal links.
  4. Page content is relevant. You decide the content of the since you are the one publishing the content, so at least you know that the page containing the incoming link will not be talking about monkeys when you have a website on aeroplanes.
  5. Perceived credibility. By having your content appear on other people’s website, you appear to have more authority, and can position yourself as an expert in the subject area.