I have to step back in now and "explain myself" - and I probably should have been more clear originally
HOW and WHY I use "3-Way Links":
Here is a good example: I met Barb on a discussion forum. She had a website on "the law of attraction". I linked to her main page from my webpage about "". She linked back to my Think and Grow Rich page from her "" page. Instead of just trading links with each other from generic "links pages"... instead, we 'swapped links' in a way that provided a relevant resource for each of our visitors.
Another example is a link exchange between Adriana and I. We both have several websites on various topics. I linked to one of her product sites from a specific (related) page on one of my product sites. In exchange for that quality link, she linked to one of my other websites from another relevant site of hers.
Those were both just "two way" examples, but I've done the same type of things with 3 or more links. These are quality, natural links in my opinion - and offer a legitimate resource to the visitors of those particular pages. They are usually "deep linking" methods - meaning we link to specific pages from specific pages... not from main page to main page, or links page to main page.
And yes, if there were no such thing as Google... I would still engage in this linking strategy - because it actually results in targeted traffic.
Would this still be considered a "linking scheme", Sharon & Roy? Or can you define the difference between what I am doing, and what I should or shouldnt be doing?
Thanks! Great info as always