{"id":2238,"date":"2022-11-08T19:37:06","date_gmt":"2022-11-08T19:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mintseo.com\/?p=2238"},"modified":"2022-12-20T08:35:57","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T08:35:57","slug":"abc-link-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mintseo.com\/abc-link-exchange\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Way Link Exchange (ABC Linking) | Is It Worth It?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is a 3-Way Link Exchange (ABC Linking)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A 3-way link exchange, also known as the ABC link exchange, is a link-building technique that involves a 3-way exchange of backlinks between different domains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website A links to Website B<\/strong>, and, in exchange, Website B links to Website C<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Do ABC Link Exchanges?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The most straightforward way to build backlinks is to ask other websites to simply swap backlinks with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You insert a link to their website<\/a> on a blog post, they do the same for yours, and both of you benefit from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Win-win, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, except for the fact that Google discourages link swapping<\/a> and might penalize you for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ABC linking is the easiest way to circumvent this. Instead of directly exchanging links between two domains (something that Google can notice), you do the exchange between three separate domains instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This way, there\u2019s no clear evidence of an exchange taking place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are 3 Way Link Exchanges White Hat?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Technically, no – a three-way link exchange can also be categorized as a \u201clink scheme,\u201d and hence, it\u2019s discouraged by Google:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Meta:<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Practically speaking, though, it\u2019s very<\/strong> unlikely for Google to actually spot or penalize a three-way link exchange, making it a very effective link-building technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To add to that, according to Google, you shouldn\u2019t be doing any link-building<\/a> in the first place – your content should be SO<\/strong> good that people link to you organically without you having to nudge them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since \u201cjust wait for people to link to you<\/em>\u201d is not a practical marketing strategy, it can safely be discarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to do ABC Link-Building Effectively<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Want to try your hand at ABC link exchanges? Awesome!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are, however, right and wrong ways to do it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First off, we\u2019d recommend you stick to doing exchanges with websites that have similar stats as yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re trading away a link from your website (which is a DA 40), then you should expect a backlink in the same DA range<\/a> for it to be a fair trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Moz<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019d also recommend you not overdo it with the link-building<\/a> or link exchanges<\/a>, especially if you\u2019re just getting started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you just launched your website yesterday<\/a>, for example, then it would be a bit odd to have 10 backlinks pointed towards this single blog post<\/a> (when your homepage has 0 links).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, be careful with the anchors you use in the links you get from ABC exchanges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A direct match anchor is good for SEO, but it can also be suspicious for Google if all the links<\/a> you\u2019re getting have a direct match anchor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, try to change things up with the anchor texts. With this article, for example, backlink anchors could be a mix between:<\/p>\n\n\n\n