Link Exchanges Are A No-No At Squidoo

I was just at the Squidu Forum and there's quite the hub-bub being raised (rightfully so, IMHO) about so-called "ratings exchanges" that seem to be popping up with some regularity. Don't use them. I repeat: DO NOT USE RATINGS EXCHANGES!

A ratings exchange is one of those, "you rate mine and I'll rate yours" deals. It is an artificial method of getting your lenses noticed. The more stars you have, presumably the higher your lens might rank. Obviously everyone wants to have their lenses ranked highly, but this type of thing is heavily frowned on by the powers that be at Squidoo. It is expressly stated in the Squidoo "Terms of Service" that this is not acceptable behaviour. If you are unclear, READ THE TERMS. They are there to clear this sort of misunderstandings up. There's nothing wrong with encouraging people to visit your work and commenting on what they think about your efforts, but this you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours is against the rules.

A lot of new members at Squidoo fall prey to these schemes from time to time and they risk getting themselves banned or at the very least, having their lenses locked, preventing visitors from finding their hard work (which is what you want in the first place: outside traffic who are actually interested in your content). You will get far more visitors to your lenses by creating unique, interesting content than by using methods like these to inflate your status at Squidoo. Don't do it. Don't encourage it. There are far more legitimate ways of getting people to visit you than trying to take shortcuts like this.

You can find a good thread about this at Squidu called Ratings Swaps Round 2?. The thread is already up to 3 pages long with 50-plus posts. Very illuminating for those unclear about the concept. Once again, you should read the forum at Squidoo from time to time because there is always something being discussed that will help you do better. This is one of those times.