Link exchanges - Should we use 'links.html' for our page?

[americanwahm]

I am positive that I have read before that it is not a good thing to name your links page 'links.html' and I have advised many not to do it.

Yet I see people who should know better doing it.

Can I get a professional opinion? Does Google and other SEs disrespect links from pages called 'links' ?

Thanks!!

[rmjvol]

I don't think they do today. But I've seen them mess around with pages with "link" in the url before. So I'm convinced they've at least thought about it.

I don't use the word "link" in my file names anymore. Since they imply that they consider reciprocal links pages to be spam, it probably wouldn't be too difficult to add a little routine to nuke all those pages with "link" in the file name.

Good luck,
Ross

[Sharon & Roy]

::: Why isn't it Wise to Include the Word "Links" in My Web Pages? :::

Link exchanges - Should we use 'links.html' for our page?

I am positive that I have read before that it is not a good thing to name your links page 'links.html' and I have advised many not to do it.

Yet I see people who should know better doing it.

Can I get a professional opinion? Does Google and other SEs disrespect links from pages called 'links' ?

Hi Kelly,

You may want to read this thread and then compare those numbers with what they are currently.

But before we display the numbers, we'd like to be quick to say that even if there is no evidence that Google and other search engines disrespect links from pages named "links" that doesn't mean that every site owner/Webmaster is aware of it.

Therefore, for those site owners/Webmasters who will not be willing to exchange links (or to even one-way link) with other site owners who have decided to name their files, subdirectories or subdomains with the word "links" in them, it would be wise to avoid naming your pages with the word "links" in them.

filetype:php inurl:links

http://www.google.com/search?q=filetype:php+inurl:links

(The number on the right is that page's PageRank)

::: 04/21/04 :::
1 http://www.php.net/links.php 9
2 http://www.papertiger.org/index.php?name=links 6
3 http://www.macosxhints.com/links.php 6
4 http://www.linuxjournal.com/links.php 7
5 http://playak.com/links.php 6
6 http://historicaltextarchive.com/links.php 6
7 http://www.iogltd.com/links/links.php 5
8 http://www.eurekalert.org/links.php 8
9 http://sf.indymedia.org/process/links.php 5
10 http://www.vintage.org/links.php 6


::: 08/23/04 :::
1 http://searchenginewatch.com/links/index.php 8 (New Ranking)
2 http://www.php.net/links.php 8 (-1 Ranking & -1 PageRank)
3 http://www.papertiger.org/index.php?name=links 5 (-1 Ranking & -1 PageRank)
4 http://playak.com/links.php 5 (+1 Ranking & -1 PageRank)
5 http://historicaltextarchive.com/links.php 6 (+1 Ranking & = PageRank)
6 http://sf.indymedia.org/process/links.php 5 (+3 Ranking & = PageRank)
7 http://www.macosxhints.com/links.php 7 (New Ranking)
8 http://www.eurekalert.org/links.php 8 (= Ranking & = PageRank)
9 http://www.caacs.com/links/viewlinks.ph ... mnastics_W 3 (New Ranking)
10 http://www.pluralism.org/resources/links/index.php 6 (New Ranking)

PLEASE NOTE: Currently the #1 page above is from the #1 authority site about search engines and SEO in the world. There is no more authoritive site than SearchEngineWatch.com and it has a subdirectory with the word [ links ] in it and yet it has a PageRank of 8 and ranks EXTREMELY high in all of the search engines.

::: #3 on Yahoo for ... search engines worldwide :::
Results 1 - 100 of about 2,430,000
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=search ... +worldwide

::: #3 on Google for ... search engines worldwide :::
Results 1 - 10 of about 2,680,000
http://www.google.com/search?q=search+engines+worldwide

::: #3 on MSN for ... search engines worldwide :::
Results 1-10 of about 473,856
http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?FORM ... +worldwide

::: #11 on Teoma for ... search engines worldwide :::
http://s.teoma.com/search?q=search+engines+worldwide
Showing 1-10 of about 1,482,000

filetype:html inurl:links

http://www.google.com/search?q=filetype ... nurl:links

(The number on the right is that page's PageRank)

::: 04/21/04 :::
1 http://www.liv.ac.uk/Chemistry/Links/links.html 8
2 http://www.liv.ac.uk/Chemistry/Links/intro.html 7
3 http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/mineralogie/links.html 7
4 http://travel.state.gov/links.html 9
5 http://www.boat-links.com/boatlink.html 6
6 http://www.uscourts.gov/links.html 8
7 http://www.crayon.net/using/links.html 7
8 http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/struct/links.html 8
9 http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/links.html 7
10 http://www.biozone.co.uk/links.html 7


::: 08/23/04 :::
1 http://www.liv.ac.uk/Chemistry/Links/links.html 8
2 http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/mineralogie/links.html 7
3 http://www.1-sun-web-site-promotion.com/links.html 6
4 http://www.boat-links.com/boatlink.html 6
5 http://www.uscourts.gov/links.html 8
6 http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/struct/links.html 9
7 http://www.biozone.co.uk/links.html 7
8 http://www.crayon.net/using/links.html 7
9 http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Oas ... links.html 5
10 http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/links.html 7

filetype:htm inurl:links

http://www.google.com/search?q=filetype:htm+inurl:links

(The number on the right is that page's PageRank)

::: 04/21/04 :::
1 http://www.jan.wvu.edu/links/adalinks.htm 7
2 http://www.cohums.ohio-state.edu/deall/ ... -links.htm 7
3 http://www.philosophers.co.uk/links.htm 6
4 http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/links/dplinks.htm 6
5 http://killeenroos.com/links.htm 6
6 http://www.nonviolence.org/links.htm 6
7 http://www.htmlhelp.com/links/validators.htm 8
8 http://www.htmlhelp.com/links/tutorials.htm 7
9 http://www.ciia.org/links.htm 6
10 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/medweb/links.htm 7


::: 08/23/04 :::
1 http://www.jan.wvu.edu/links/adalinks.htm 0
2 http://killeenroos.com/links.htm 6
3 http://members.aol.com/pjpohly/links.htm 0
4 http://members.aol.com/Sentai/BP-LINKS.htm 5
5 http://www.newsblues.com/links.htm 6
6 http://www.htmlhelp.com/links/validators.htm 8
7 http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/links/dplinks.htm 6
8 http://www.nonviolence.org/links.htm 5
9 http://www.chemsoc.org/links/links.htm 8
10 http://www.ciia.org/links.htm 6

PLEASE NOTE: Currently (08/23/04) the #1 page above has a PageRank0 but yet it displays Results 1 - 10 of about 564 linking to http://www.jan.wvu.edu/links/adalinks.htm and it is also noteworthy to mention that 4 months ago the page was a PageRank7.

Also, the #3 page above has a PageRank0 but yet it displays Results 1 - 10 of about 205 linking to http://members.aol.com/pjpohly/links.htm and it is also noteworthy to mention that the page is a subdirectory of a subdomain on the AOL.com domain.

filetype:asp inurl:links

http://www.google.com/search?q=filetype:asp+inurl:links

(The number on the right is that page's PageRank)

::: 04/21/04 :::
1 http://www.microsoft.com/typography/links/default.asp 6
2 http://www.thejakartapost.com/resources/LINKS.ASP 6
3 http://grizzlyweb.com/links/1news.asp 7
4 http://grizzlyweb.com/links/magazine.asp 6
5 http://www.leg.state.mn.us/lrl/links/links.asp 7
6 http://www.leg.state.mn.us/lrl/links/health.asp 5
7 http://www.bio.org/links.asp 7
8 http://www.mcrel.org/resources/links/lesson.asp 6
9 http://www.mcrel.org/resources/links/sc ... essons.asp 5
10 http://www.bt.cdc.gov/links.asp 7


::: 08/23/04 :::
1 http://grizzlyweb.com/links/1news.asp 6
2 http://grizzlyweb.com/links/radio.asp 5
3 http://www.microsoft.com/typography/links/default.asp 7
4 http://www.thejakartapost.com/resources/LINKS.ASP 6
5 http://www.beds-uk.org.uk/links.asp 4
6 http://www.asia-links.com/scripts/postn ... s_list.asp 6
7 http://www.motorcycle-insurance-uk.org.uk/links.asp 6
8 http://www.dpreview.com/misc/links.asp 7
9 http://conferences-uk.org.uk/links.asp 3
10 http://www.bt.cdc.gov/links.asp 7

filetype:aspx inurl:links

http://www.google.com/search?q=filetype ... nurl:links

(The number on the right is that page's PageRank)

::: 04/21/04 :::
1 http://www.firstcoastnews.com/links/def ... oryid=5232 4
2 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/links/default.aspx 7
3 http://www.agora-gallery.com/links/artLinks.aspx 6
4 http://www.csreurope.org/links/default.aspx 6
5 http://www.agacgfm.org/links.aspx 5
6 http://www.eurodad.org/links/default.aspx 5
7 http://www.csharpfriends.com/statics/links.aspx 5
8 http://www.gop.com/About/Links/Default.aspx 7
9 http://www.webmm.ahrq.gov/links.aspx 5
10 http://www.wheretobetonline.net/links.aspx 5

::: 08/23/04 :::
1 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/links/default.aspx 4
2 http://www.agora-gallery.com/links/artLinks.aspx 5
3 http://www.laminatewoodfloor.com/Links.aspx 4
4 http://www.trendmx.com/website-promotio ... rocal.aspx 5
5 http://www.csharpfriends.com/statics/links.aspx 5
6 http://www.rockinsoftware.com/Links.aspx 5
7 http://www.builddirect.com/aboutus/links.aspx 5
8 http://krcorg.sts.winisp.net/Lists/Links/AllItems.aspx 4
9 http://www.csreurope.org/links/default.aspx 6
10 http://www.microsoft.com/typography/links/default.aspx 7

::: The following charts show which pages have a PageRank of 6 or higher within the top 100 pages for each query. :::

filetype:php inurl:links

http://www.google.com/search?q=filetype:php+inurl:links

(The number on the right is that page's PageRank)

::: 04/21/04 :::
1 http://www.php.net/links.php 9
2 http://www.papertiger.org/index.php?name=links 6
3 http://www.macosxhints.com/links.php 6
4 http://www.linuxjournal.com/links.php 7
5 http://playak.com/links.php 6
6 http://historicaltextarchive.com/links.php 6
8 http://www.eurekalert.org/links.php 8
10 http://www.vintage.org/links.php 6
11 http://www.pluralism.org/resources/links/index.php 6
12 http://databank.ncss.org/links.php 6
17 http://www.hotels-paris.com/links.php 7
19 http://www.disasternews.net/links.php 7
22 http://www.all4you.dk/FreewareWorld/links.php 6
24 http://weblog.cemper.com/links.php 6
26 http://www.eprints.org/links.php 6
27 http://www.eelstheband.com/links/index.php 6
28 http://www.uni-protokolle.de/links.php 6
30 http://www.linuxelectrons.com/links.php 6
32 http://www.ieabioenergy.com/links.php 6
33 http://www.dancesafe.org/links.php 6
34 http://www.dragonrosecastle.net/flames/links.php 6
35 http://www.comenius.com/misc/links.php 6
40 http://winpt.sf.net/en/links.php 6
41 http://www.vbulletin.com/links.php 7
43 http://www.opensource.org/halloween/links.php 7
45 http://www.zend.com/links/links.php 7
46 http://www.datafuse.net/links.php 6
47 http://gmane.org/links.php 7
48 http://www.soccer.com/channels/links.php 6
52 http://www.engrish.com/links.php 6
54 http://www.wilwheaton.net/links.php 6
61 http://codewalkers.com/links.php 6
65 http://www.hotbands.com/links.php 6
70 http://www.humaneventsonline.com/links.php 6
71 http://www.ideapractices.org/links/index.php 6
72 http://www.argmax.com/links.php 6
79 http://vbulletin.newtek.com/links.php 7
80 http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/links.php 6
81 http://www.michaelmoore.com/links/index.php 6
82 http://www.iam.org.uk/Links/index.php 6
86 http://www.snpo.org/resources/links.php 6
91 http://www.phpkitchen.com/links.php 6
96 http://www.tonmo.com/links/index.php 6


::: 08/23/04 :::
1 http://searchenginewatch.com/links/index.php 8
2 http://www.php.net/links.php 8
5 http://historicaltextarchive.com/links.php 6
7 http://www.macosxhints.com/links.php 7
8 http://www.eurekalert.org/links.php 8
10 http://www.pluralism.org/resources/links/index.php 6
11 http://www.linuxjournal.com/links.php 7
12 http://www.vintage.org/links.php 6
13 http://www.disasternews.net/links.php 6
19 http://www.michaelmoore.com/links/index.php 6
24 http://www.all4you.dk/FreewareWorld/links.php 6
25 http://www.engrish.com/links.php 6
26 http://physorg.com/links.php 6
29 http://www.ieabioenergy.com/links.php 6
32 http://www.weaknees.com/links.php 7
34 http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/links.php 6
38 http://www.localwineevents.com/links.php 6
40 http://www.zend.com/links/links.php 7
42 http://www.asianart.com/links/index.php 6
43 http://gmane.org/links.php 8
52 http://www.tobacco.org/links.php 6
53 http://www.spywareinfo.com/links.php 7
56 http://www.eprints.org/links.php 6
58 http://www.iam.org.uk/Links/index.php 6
59 http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/links.php 8
61 http://www.oregonstateparks.org/links.php 6
66 http://www.seismo.nrcan.gc.ca/links/index_e.php 6
67 http://www.unpo.org/links.php 6
71 http://www.campus-watch.org/links.php 6
76 http://www.worldsteel.org/links.php 6
78 http://www.opensource.org/halloween/links.php 7
85 http://www.realbeer.com/links/index.php 7
87 http://www.aircoach.ie/links.php 6
89 http://www.hcirn.com/links/index.php 6
90 http://weblog.cemper.com/links.php 6
93 http://www.culeasefs.com/links.php 6
94 http://www.apva.org/apva/links.php 7
95 http://www.gbcacm.org/website/links.php 7
96 http://www.wacac.com/links.php 6
99 http://213.232.94.135/dv/links.php 6
100 http://www.alga.asn.au/links/councils.php 6

Your Friends,

Sharon and Roy Montero

[john925]

I have also heard that it can be a bad thing to have the "links" text in your url so I named filename something else.

If Google ever did ban the use of "links" in urls then I would not have to worry about it.

[flyer727]

Where does this nonsense come from?

1. SEs don't care what your file names are.
2. SEs don't see links pages as automatically bad. The whole web is built on links.
3. If SEs don't like a page for whatever reason, they can drop it, regardless of its name.

If they started banning pages because they are named "links", then people will just start calling those pages "resources" or "directory" or whatever, so if the SE wants to not list those pages, going by the filename is a pretty lame way to do it.

I'm not sure if I'd want a link from someone who believed that nonsense, because they're probably not capable of generating much traffic anyway.
It sort of reminds me of the idiots who won't link to a PR0 page. (Well, how is the page supposed to get PR without links, and who knows how popular that page / site might be in the future. Plus of course every page has PR 0 at first.)

[john925]

It could be alot of nonsense. But I heard it from some of the forums and I just thought that I wouldn't use links in my url just to be on the save side.

[stephfoster]

I think some people get worried because they hear about links pages from certain automated systems not getting ranked and that gets translated somehow to all links pages being bad.