Backlink exchange

A backlink exchange is any arrangement in which websites trade links instead of earning them independently: direct reciprocal swaps, three-way loops, link-exchange platforms or article exchanges. Whether it is acceptable depends on intent and labelling: trades meant to manipulate rankings are link spam; disclosed partner content with qualified links is advertising.

Updated: 2026-10-16 · Glossary: Links and link building

Common formats

• Direct swap: A links to B, B links to A. See reciprocal link.
• Three-way loop: A→B→C→A. See three-way link exchange.
• Exchange platforms: catalogs or credit systems where members place links for each other. A review of how they work is in Backlink exchange platforms.
• Article exchange: sites publish full articles about each other, usually with one or two links. Compared with guest posting in Guest posting vs link exchange.

What the rules say

Google's spam policies list excessive link exchanges and exchanging goods or services for links among link spam. The same policies note that links for advertising and sponsorship are fine when they carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". Google's guide to qualifying outbound links explains the attributes.

Why it matters for small sites

An exchange is attractive because it costs no cash. The safe question to ask is not “will this link pass PageRank?” but “would I publish this for my readers if no link were involved?” If the answer is yes and the link is labelled, the risk is low.

How Satelo fits

Satelo is an article exchange with guard rails: articles move in circles, never A↔B within 180 days; each article is at least 1,500 characters and written for the host's readers; it is labelled as partner content; links use rel="sponsored". Payment is in satellites, not cash between sites. Satelo is not a link seller and does not promise dofollow links or rankings. Details: How Satelo works.

Related terms

• Reciprocal link: A reciprocal link is a pair of links where site A links to site B and site B links back to site A, usually by agreement (“link to me and I'll link to you”).
• Three-way link exchange: A three-way link exchange (also called ABC linking) is an arrangement where site A links to site B, B links to C, and C links back to A, so no two sites link to each other directly.
• Guest post: A guest post is an article written by someone outside the site and published on that site under the author's or a partner's name.
• rel="sponsored": rel="sponsored" is a value of the HTML rel attribute that marks a link as advertising, sponsorship or another kind of compensated placement.

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