Most webmasters are familiar with the concept of reciprocal linking. Reciprocal linking is the exchange of links between webmasters with the hope of improving their site ranking with the search engine. However, as more and more webmasters use reciprocal links to increase their site ranking, the search engines are also getting smarter and more demanding.

Search engines are increasingly becoming more selective with the in-bound links to your website. They are looking not just for the number of in-bound links your site may have, but also for the quality and relevance of those links to your site. In other words, webmasters can no longer arbitrarily exchange links with others if they wish to improve their site ranking with the search engines.

Thus was born the concept of value exchange.

I first heard this concept from Ken Evoy, the author of "Make Your Site Sell" and the creator of the amazing All-in-1 "SiteBuildIt!" webhosting. Ken has always been in favor of building websites that are search-engine friendly. This means your website should aim for the same kind of criteria search engines look for in ranking sites. Instead of wasting time figuring shortcut ways to beat the search engines, design your website with quality content in mind. That, according to Ken, is the only consistent way to rank high with the search engines.

Ken should know what he was talking about. The websites his "SiteBuildIt!" hosted come with automatic periodic submission to the biggest names in search engines. He uses a unique submission system that is search-engine friendly, unlike most automatic site submitters. So successful was this that most of "SiteBuildIt!" websites consistently rank among the top 5%.

Thus it was no surprise that Ken saw the importance of value exchange - the term he used for link exchange between two quality sites with similar theme. He followed this up with a free value exchange program that is available to all quality websites. The keyword here is quality. He only allows quality sites to sign up.

So if you think your site qualify, try out his free value exchange program. You'll soon be getting requests from other webmasters with quality sites to exchange links with. You can check it out at theselfimprovementsite.com/ve

Tim Ong is the creator of The Self Improvement Site, a site that focuses on personal and financial growth as well as webmastering tips and tools. He is also the author of the ever popular "Build From Within" ezine, a series of 10 powerful transformational articles.