Google has become more audience-oriented day by day. Just think about Google’s last update about helpful content. No matter what you do, the first priority would be to create helpful and engaging content for people. 

Do reciprocal links help SEO? This is the most asked question of people in SEO. However, the simple answer to this question will be, “It depends.” Sounds good?

Well, you can benefit from reciprocal links if you do it properly. On the other hand, it is surely going to hurt your website if you are not careful enough.

Now, you may wonder what to do and what not to get the most out of the reciprocal links. I guess it’s right, don’t I? 

In this blog, we will take you through.

• What are reciprocal links? 
• What is the value of reciprocal links?
• How can reciprocal link building hurt SEO? 
• What should be considered about reciprocal link building?

So, let me know. 

What Are Reciprocal Links?

At one time, reciprocal links used to be pretty popular. However, you can consider reciprocal links as exchangeable links between two websites. Here, one website links to another website in order to get backlinks from one another. 

But, the websites’ owners need to ensure they cover almost the same topic or sell similar types of products or services. 

However, here, if the main intention is only to exchange links in order to rank higher on the Search Engine Result Pages, it won’t provide you with real values. Therefore, exchanging links considering the users. 

And you only get backlinks from other authorized websites if you can make stunning content for your audience. What if you exchange links with spammy websites? We will come back to this later. 

What Is the Value of Reciprocal Links?

As mentioned above, you can get the most out of the reciprocal links if your intention is right. Google likes content that is useful for readers. Now, if you add links from different sources in your article, it is more like;y to increase reader engagement.

Once you are able to create value for your readers through your content, you can rank higher on the SERPs. So, in this sense, reciprocal links are not bad at all. 

How Can Reciprocal Link Building Hurt SEO?

This is the important part of this article. You should be pretty much careful about creating reciprocal links. But, in what case? 

There’s no doubt that Google likes websites linking to authentic sources. But, if you are not quite natural and accurate regarding reciprocal link building, it may hurt your website.

If your website has more abiding backlinks, it is beyond the guideline of the Google Webmaster. Further, linking to irrelevant content or web pages will reduce your website’s domain and page authority. Google won’t let you confuse people by providing irrelevant information. 

What Should Be Considered About Reciprocal Link Building?

Just make the content as natural as possible. Don’t do anything with the content that won’t create any value for your audience. Try to exchange links from authorized websites. If they don’t link back to you, it is OK! Your goal is to create value for your audience.