linking to client sites

[gambler]

Heard a lot about avoiding link exchanges between client sites, unless perhaps, they happen to be totally related. Design firms that specialize in industry-specific SEO tend to link all of their client sites together because they are related, but can anyone explain what the actual danger of linking unrelated (or related) client sites to each other would be?
I have a link back to my design site at the footer of every site I develop, I'm actually more worried that SEs will penalize me or clients for three way linking if they link to each other and then both link back to me, since some are on my portfolio page. Why should I not interlink client sites?


please guide me to right direction
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[chatking]

Originally Posted by gambler

I have a link back to my design site at the footer of every site I develop,

It is not a problem

I would say because it's been used to create link-farms in the past, and can throw up a a flag. Even if they're industry specific, it can look dodgy. That's probably why you can't link to client sites -- This message may have been cut off and the rest will only be shown to members. To become a member, click here --

[kimono]

Let's say you link your client sites together, to your site or even to thier sites from yours. Let's say one of those sites gets flagged for a manual review. If they can establish a "relationship" between the banned site and any of the other sites through any "questionable" SEO practices or relationships I'm sure they will poke around . So why expose yourself and other clients to risk when you don't need to?
Now I'd never reccomend that anyone set up a fake SEO website with a few months or years history to offer up as a sacrifice in a reinclusion request when a client does get banned. -- This message may have been cut off and the rest will only be shown to members. To become a member, click here --

[Barry]

Hi gambler
The bottom line is, don't link unless there is a real reason to do so. Most times, the link farms of the past were an obvious attempt to inflate popularity.
If there is a logical and real reason to link one client site with another - a very related product or service that would benefit customers - I would not let any Search engine dictate that and would link either way. -- This message may have been cut off and the rest will only be shown to members. To become a member, click here --

[bestguy]

Because you may be removed from Google's or MSN's index. I have a site that was removed from msn's index for being "part of a link exchange" which they consider to be spam and it is also penalized by Google.

Of course, we had linksmanager with tonnes of reciprocal link exchanges with unrelated sites and co-op links which are usually unrelated in the footer so that's pretty spammy. Link exchanges between related sites on a small scale shouldn't be a problem but I think I'm a little scared away from reciprocal links altogether and would hide them with javascript or, if they're on a separate page, block the page with the robots.txt file. -- This message may have been cut off and the rest will only be shown to members. To become a member, click here --

[funnysoul]

The sites which i am proposing to be linked while seemingly unrelated businesses, are all a part of a business leads group called LeTip. We are the West Orange County chapter of it and we only have about 50 members, not all of whom even have websites.
Is it possible to get a definitive answer from Google on this? I would hate and avoid at all costs to harm anyone in my groups
Please shed some light on this -- This message may have been cut off and the rest will only be shown to members. To become a member, click here --

[nikhil]

Google or for that matter, any search engine will not dive definite answer on that ever
if you ponder on it briefly you will realise that it would give spammers a green flag on that particular question.
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