How to Spot a Link Exchange Scam

The following is an analysis of a link exchange site that I believe is a scam. The name is being withheld as I don't want to promote them in any way. However the following should give you enough clues to watch for so you can spot a similar scam.

What do they offer?

They offer a list of article sites related to your keyword where you can exchange or buy links from within an article. Sounds like a good deal. Right?

However, if you submitted an article to an article directory would you want that directory to post links to other sites from within your article? No! That is the first sign that this could be a link exchange scam.

Allowing others to post links within an article can only happen if the article site's owner has total control over the articles (they own the articles) or if the article owner agreed to allow other sites to be linked from within their article. However, the main reason for an author to post articles around the Internet is to boost the rank of their own site and not their competitors, so this just doesn't pass the scam smell test.

Other Signs this is a Scam

Similar Layout:
After checking the first 5 sites in the list of articles and also one other site listed farther down it's obvious this is a network of sites because while they all have different logos they all have a very similar layout:

• Same menu links across the top
• Similar links in left menu *
• Similar bread crumb links
• Same article layout.
• Similar Title format **
• Google Ads or other article links on right
• Same location for their CSS file
• Same tracking code
• Etc.

* Not arranged alphabetically and in different order on each site
** Similar keyword phrases just arranged differently and separated by pipe character or hyphen

Domains Registered the same year
All the sites were registered the same year in 2006.

Owner's email connected to same business
The owner's email for each site was usually registered under the same company in INDIA or some other connection to India.

All Articles Copied to/from Somewhere Else
ALL of the articles I checked were copied either to or from at least one other domain not in the list provided, i.e., not under this person's control. And the domains were all related to the article in question and not article directories, i.e., looked like valid domains.

All Domains had 0 PR (Page Rank)
All the domains were registered in 2006 so their home pages should have gained PR by 2010 when this article was written, but they didn't. This is what happens when sites copy other site's articles - they loose Google's trust rank and never gain any PR.

Conclusion

Being as all of these 6 article sites all have the same layout, similar title formatting, Google ads or inside links all located on the right, the owner's email usually connected to the same business in India, the domains all purchased in the same year and having no PR, it therefore has the appearance of a network, i.e., one person owns all the article domains.

Because of so many details being the same on several sites, and such networks being anti-Google, it's therefore also very likely a dishonest practice trying to manipulate Googgle's search engine. It's also therefore logical to expect they may also have copied the articles they are offering you to place links on, i.e., stolen content.

Google can recognize networks like this because it is now a registrar of domains and has access to details the domain owner tries to keep hidden. If you trade links with such a site, with your link in the article, on multiples of their domains/articles your own site could be penalized for what would appear like you own those stolen articles. I would wager a guess that the sites linked in those link exchange articles all have PR 0 on their domains also, or will soon. Avoid article exchange sites, that use similar techniques as this one, like the plague.

Also see
A New Trend in Link Trade Requests
Exposed: A New Method of Hiding Link Trades
Guaranteed Link Building Scams
Submission Scams
How to Find the Best Directory
Directories to Avoid
and Search Engine Optimization Tips
and the Dangers of Article Submissions

Lori Eldridge
Copyright © August 1, 2010
All Rights Reserved