linking schemes

i hear about this term quite often and what it really means has never been elaborated.

what is a "linking scheme"?

It is basically a "plan" on how to exchange links to increase your PR and eventually your positioning. An example would be a Link Farm, a resources pages, or if you have a network of sites all with links to each other in the footer of each site.

People come up with new linking schemes all the time, because some of them, you can get penalized for.

Might be other definitions out there, but this is what I believe it is.

How does Google know if your site is participating in a linking scheme? Does it have AI (Artificial intelegence), or do Google employees surf the Net looking for schemes?

Also, how can I tell if my site is being penalized, or if it just is plain unpopular? (What's the odds of being "accidentally" penalized?)

Linking schemes do not increase a given site's PageRank, and will often do a site more harm than good. Many sites that advertise link-sharing programs not only offer little value, but will distribute your email address without your permission, resulting in an increased volume of unwanted mail to you.

Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's ranking or PageRank. In particular, avoid links to web spammers or "bad neighborhoods" on the web as your own ranking may be affected adversely by those links.


Visit the official Google Guidelines for webmasters

Cheers,
Vijay Bhatter

cyberax: could you please fix your signature. 2 Links maximum. Thanks

Thanks for the advice note.

Cheers,