all:

I don't know what terms to use to describe this. I call it link contest.

There are site like "25 peeps dot com". It encourages you to click on the icon to link to someone else's site. If the site got more clicks, it is on top of the site. So more people will click on it.

Is such thing legal to Search Engine Optimization? Isn't it sound like cheating?

What if there is a link contest web site. So you can click each other's link and get more traffic. I just thought that more traffic doesn't mean people will stay on your site. Isn't it?

Would Google and Yahoo ban those site list on site liked "25 peeps dot com"? or some other link exchange sites.

Thanks!

Search engines only "know" when their adverts are clicked.

I'm going to disagree with Chris a little in the sense that if people are using a search engines toolbar or are signed into a search engine property then they probably do know when you click something. But if you're not logged in or not using a toolbar then they wouldn't know who's clicking.

But from what you describe I don't think what that site is doing would change much of anything except on the site itself. Links listed higher will likely get more direct clicks and thus more traffic, but I think the effect if any on search results would be minimal at best.

The most likely result of what you're describing is that people who mistakenly think it's a good idea will click on each other's sites in the hopes that they will get clicks in return. Ultimately it's a lot of useless traffic that's not really interested in the sites they're visiting.

Also when it comes to search engine optimization there isn't really a legal or illegal. Things either work or they don't, but you could look at it in the sense of does it adhere to a specific search engine's guidelines or not. There's no legal or illegal though. If you try to manipulate search engine rankings they may catch you and ban your site, but they won't be taking you to court.

Originally Posted by vangogh

I'm going to disagree with Chris a little in the sense that if people are using a search engines toolbar or are signed into a search engine property then they probably do know when you click something. But if you're not logged in or not using a toolbar then they wouldn't know who's clicking.

How many people use their browser's password management feature to sign into gmail, analytics, or whatever else? All browsers can save your usernames and passwords, so I'm guessing a lot. But then I don't have the Google Toolbar ( or anyone else's ) installed, so while they can track my searches and clicks, ... maybe my travels across pages with adsense?

Originally Posted by vangogh

The most likely result of what you're describing is that people who mistakenly think it's a good idea will click on each other's sites in the hopes that they will get clicks in return. Ultimately it's a lot of useless traffic that's not really interested in the sites they're visiting.

I was not sure what terms to use. So I pick "legal".

The reason I have this question come up is that I see the trend of making money on blog, which I don't think they make fortune. I saw many people saying the more traffic they are getting, the higher chance they will click some of their "Text ad" (maybe by mistake).

So I look many sites that are attracting people with click in return. So the scenario is this.

A site allows you to list you site. When you click on someone's site, you get a credit point, so more clicks you did, you get higher points. So your site is moving up. So it's kind of like a game.

Yes. I do agree it creates a lot of useless clicks, but it's it a way to increase Alexa page ranking. I heard people saying it track your traffic. If you have higher alexa page ranking, you get better chance to be hired as blogger and make $$$.

Is that something going bigger these days?

thanks!

FindMyPages: I don't know where you're getting your info from, but it's flawed...bigtime.

First of all, blogging isn't really a profession...yet. Some people blog to try and earn money off of it, but it's not a profession as such. Anyone that would "hire a blogger" based on Alexa ranking is a complete idiot, since Alexa ranking can easily be manipulated by anyone who wishes to do so.

As far as the scenario involving "click exchanges", there really isn't any SEO benefit. More importantly, there isn't a traffic benefit, either. In order to rank, you need to send traffic from your site to another site, without necessarily seeing any traffic in return. It's a silly scheme.

The really cool thing about click exchanges is they eat up bandwidth and slow down your server, and you get absolutely nothing in return. So you can pretend you're doing a selfless good deed, except it doesn't help anybody else, either.