A link exchange is “you link to me, I link to you”. On a small scale that happens naturally all the time. On a large scale it’s one of the link schemes Google explicitly warns about.
When it’s fine
Two businesses that work together linking to each other. A blogger linking to a friend’s post because it’s good, and the friend returning the favour. Nobody would call that manipulation.
When it isn’t
- “Link partner” pages with dozens of unrelated sites
- Swap networks where everyone links to everyone
- Three-way schemes (A links to B, B links to C, C links to A) designed to hide the exchange
- Exchanges agreed purely for rankings, with no reason for readers to click
What to do instead
If you’re going to spend time arranging links, spend it on links that make sense for readers: a guest post, a relevant resource, a partnership. See link building strategies.