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OD and reciprocal links
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 9:58 am
by Ben McNevis
I guess most already know this but I've only just noticed:
Although OD will show a link to your own website provided that you provide a link to them, the link that they provide is tagged:
"rel=nofollow"
so it is ignored by search engines.
In the interest of fairness, I've just changed my links to them to have the same tag.
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:09 am
by pambon
I was unaware that the link has to be reciprocal. Haven't seen it mentioned anywhere.
I have always given my website and/or apartment name
in various places on my listing, pointing out that more info can be found there so hopefully it is working round it.
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:23 am
by GRL
We have never had a link on our web page from them but should we ever be forced to I now now what to do
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:46 am
by kevsboredagain
I can understand a large listing site not wanting their search results polluted by unknown, unverified, personal 3rd party websites. However, doing the same on your own site is simply cutting off your nose to spite your face. The disadvantage to your own SEO will be way higher than any perceived affect you believe you have on Owners Direct.
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:46 am
by Ben McNevis
Maybe it doesn't have to be reciprocal any more. It was under the old OD before the HA invasion.
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:48 am
by Ben McNevis
kevsboredagain wrote:... However, doing the same on your own site is simply cutting off your nose to spite your face. The disadvantage to your own SEO will be way higher than any perceived affect you believe you have on Owners Direct.
I can't imagine it would have any effect at all. Why do you think Google would penalise?
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:21 pm
by kevsboredagain
Google won’t penalise you but you are doing it yourself. If you search for “Owners Direct blab bla” where bla bla are some terms related to holiday rentals, you’ll find mostly OD pages at the start but then quite a few privately owned sites. These private sites are being listed because they mention Owners Direct in some way. By telling Google to ignore the link, you remove this chance of being found for search a search.
Clearly this will have a very minimal effect on your business but the only person such an action harms is yourself. It will also have a tiny effect on the SEO of Owners Direct, as external links boost their relevance but again, if you list on OD, you also harm yourself once again.