Hey David, I do understand the hesitation you have on participating on link exchanges but if done correctly, it can be very beneficial. In the “Like exchange” post there are about 40 pages that have been listed. I went through all of them and liked the ones which are of interest to me. Therefore, I will be more inclined to participate on these pages since they pertain to topics which interest me. I think if everyone liked the pages that they are interested in and left the rest, there would be a greater benefit to the like exchange. 

Regardless, there is a value in numbers and providing people with your page(s) link will get you exposure. Maybe those who liked your page in the forum don’t participate but depending on their Facebook securities, their friends will see that they liked your page. This could turn into a domino effect of friends of friends liking your page because they have interest in what you do.

@karenataylor I am in your camp. I’ve mentioned in other forums I dont’ autofollow, and actually set aside time daily to review new followers. It may be slower this way, but I am also not really a “numbers” player. I’m not e-commerce or product-driven.

So, perhaps the business niche you serve needs to be your guide if you should be numbers driven.

While I get it that more followers and follows mean your exponential reach expands, I don’t like finding too many tweets that are irrelevant.

This year, Google, Facebook and others promise to rev up efforts in trying to put an end to all forms of discoverable spamming, gaming systems, and black hat ways or any other way that systematically and fraudulently siphons money from their ad clients and others.

The Justice Department also has taken a keen interest because of mounting advertiser complaints that these big companies have been deliberately letting illegal activities inflate ad bids and ultimate prices for advertisers in order for the big boys to profit, too.

The Sherman Act, anti-trust, and RICO (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) are words used during these investigations. Under RICO, anyone associated with or profiting from a RICO enterprise can be prosecuted and all profits and associated property may be confiscated in ad rem proceedings. The confiscation laws make it quite possible for the government to take your property and ask questions later, as long as that property or money or profits are reasonably and adequately tied to some “enterprise” they’re indicting.

In addition, Google’s tired of sharing Adsense money on websites that fraudulently steal their revenue in this way and has said so explicitly. If you are earning Adsense revenue on your site and you have participated in a mass link exchange with unrelated sites, you put you and your business squarely within the sites of the big boys and federal justice investigators if one of your link partners has stepped over the line, dragging you with them. Advertisers are paying ad rates based on targeted viewers. Link exchanges often help inflate the numbers, netting you additional profits for Adsense shares and losses to advertisers who were misled by your deliberate solicitation of untargeted viewers to your site.

Ask yourself what an advertiser asks. Is a visitor to my site there because of the relevant keywords that led them here or for some other reason? Any other reason is probably misleading.

Any site that demonstrates a pattern of soliciting visitors to visit other sites for any reason other than related to relevant keywords can also be suspect to the Justice Department or the big boys. So link exchanges should cause instant alarm for any site. Still, many sites ignore the dangers and allow and/or even promote the practice.

Investigators can easily follow breadcrumbs from one fraudster to the next. Even if you’re innocent or have no fraudulent intent, the legal fees in defending yourself could shut you, your website, and business down. As a prevention measure, Google or other big boys could just shut you down themselves with no warning and without access to appeal. Poof, overnight you’re business and entire means of income could just vanish!

My opinion? I’m not ever going to be leaving any suspicious non-keyword-related bread crumbs that lead back to my sites. Not if I can help it. Link exchanges always look suspicious. It seems the Justice Department and Google might finally have caught on to this.

@davidgadarian

Know what you mean, David. If Google shuts you down, ain’t no moula to pay attorneys to defend yourself from governments. Isn’t it odd most of us are probably more afraid of Google than of governments now? More afraid of Google than competitors? Makes the Ma Bell breakup look like child’s play as far as monopolies go. Boy, has the tide turned. Just hard to predict where the ensuing tsunami will break shore. For me, all the more reason to stay pristine to pass the white hat/white gloves test. IMHO, at least.