Link exchanges... Oooh, what do you mean? Like book club? Movie club? Close, but not quite. Let's delve into what it is. Explore the different types of link exchanges.

Unlink FFA (Free for All), there is some benefits to link exchanges. In this article we'll look at the primary types of link exchanges.

In my opinion, all exchanges of links, be it through text, banner or whatever, should be classified as link exchanging.

• Text Link / Banner Exchanges and Paid links.
• Advertising (contextual, popups and other)
• Paid to surf (to a small degree)

OK, so I might be getting a bit to technical and clinical about the term "link exchange", but in essence, all the above is true.

1. Advertising (contextual, popups and other)

What is Adsense? It's a method for webmasters to put their links onto other people's websites. Plain and simple. So, they're exchanging one way links without having to put reciprocal links on their own websites. It's not cheap, but it's not exorbitantly expensive either. The big question always is "is it effective". Well, sometimes. But that's an article for a completely different time.

2. Paid to surf.

Some of you might have heard of these sites. Some might even have experienced them. At the core of them they're getting web masters to submit their pages (usually only one page per view by a (rumored) captive (read "sometimes paid") surfer). Truth of the matter is. That surfer viewing your page usually also submitted his own page into the system. And they (usually) get paid in credits which are redeemed by other surfers viewing their pages. And then they have options to buy credits. Again, this is for an article by itself.

3. Text Link / Banner exchanges and Paid Links

Finally I get to the point. Exchanges work by combining small parts of 1 & 2. The web master can submit their link to the general populace and everybody else (randomly) publishes these links for a given period in exchange for their links being published. Be them banners or otherwise. Then they also have an option to pay for links, which means they do not have to link back to the people who's publishing their links. Darn, that sounds just like Adsense, without the contextual part to it.

Big question is "do they work"? Yes and no:

That's an article for another time, too.

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