miked

The accepted wisdom on this site and others seems to be that linking between your own sites on the same server is bad: Google sees it as link spam, with no real value.

Why is this the case? I can see the point (guarding against networks of link farms), but surely some linking between sites would be valuable. For instance, a webmaster may have sites on budget cars, cheap petrol and budget car insurance. I'd think it quite legitimate to link between such sites, as there would be a clear benefit to the site visitor.

So I'm interested in your opinions. Is some form of limited interlinking of the type I've described OK, or is interlinking completely verboten?

Mike.

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Caz

Its perfectly fine to have links in the way you have described.

Obviously be sensible, if you feel you are pushing it, then you probably are. If you are using any of the G set of products and running a clean ship, you will never have a problem with Google at least.

khalid

Caz I disagree, interlinking is not ok especially with sites on the same server.

If the Big G can round up all your sites into one circle it'll be sure to give you a slap.

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Caz

Hi

we will have to agree to disagree, if you run a clean ship and the links are merely form one site to another and vice versa, it wont harm you diddly.

This obviously shouldn't form the only part of your link building startegy

dlone

Should be all good as long as you don't take the mic with number of sites/links

miked

Heh. This difference of opinion pretty much sums up the debate I've seen elsewhere.

I don't see why limited linking between related & relevant sites owned by the same person/organisation should be penalised, but whether they should be is different to whether they are...

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Edwin

Interlinking STRONG sites is generally fine, if the links are relevant. By strong, I mean sites that are well-promoted and have plenty of third party backlinks. The more popular the sites, the safer it should be to link them together. While PR is an inexact value at best, all other things being equal it should be safer to link together two PR5 sites than two PR4 sites, two PR6 sites than two PR5 sites, etc. Basically, if each site alone has already been deemed an "authority" by Google, then a few on-topic, relevant interlinks shouldn't cause problems.

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jwm

it will depend in part on the relative numbers of inbound links. If you have hundreds of links to a site and a couple of interlinks then you should be fine. If the interlinks are a large portion of your total links then you are asking for trouble.

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fletchbog

Interesting discussion I have just added links between the sites in my sig as they are all related to the same subject. I could do without being punished by Google as they are not all indexed yet!

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jj1

One of my competitors ranks well for most "quick house sale" search terms and his sites' backlinks mainly consist of a network of "quick house sale" sites on the same server with the same whois info also a few conservatory/patio/building sites links from the same server. Some of those sites have prr1-2 just with his own network of links.

The official Matt Cutts info I've seen is that interlinking is Ok if of value to user (ie relevant) and that a few probably won't trip a flag.

Personally, I have a "designed by" link at the bottom of customers' websites with a link back to may site - and my main website design site has gone up with each site I've added.

Haven't yet though plucked up courage to interlink all customers' sites.

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