Question About Linking When is enough enough?

I do have quite a few links on my site now, but nearly every day I get requests to exchange links with other sites. I know links are important for search engine placement and all that stuff, but I'm wondering about maybe when is it too much of a good thing? I also feel funny about placing links to site that I know nothing about, are they honest people with good products? I don't want to send my customers to con artists or other unsavory charectors. Most of the links I have now are for people I actually know. Where do you draw the line?

Google and SEO guidelines say that the links should be "good" links. Good defined as having a better Ranking than yours, and being 'related' to your site. If your site is about "dogs", then a link to a Auto Repair Shop is not a good link. Linking 'blindly' to another site having no reltionship to yours is not a good idea. IMHO.

Lol I wish that I got requests from other sites to link back to mine! That is besides the point though, I would have to agree with jlhaslip. When you are linking to other people's sites it should be a little bit related with what you do. Because sending links to random sites doesn't look good at all, and people wont really use your links if what they click is random. So really it is no help to whoever it is you were supposed to be helping. The problem with linking sites blindly is that they could be selling bad products, or simply tricking people into giving them their money. The best thing to do is if you are linking sites to people you do not know personally is go to their website and see what they have. Browse around and click the different links. I'm not saying that if they are selling something to buy it, but just see if they look like a legit company. That is the best way to get links from people you don't know.Also about the better 'ranking' sites than yours, yes it is a good thing to have, but having websites that don't as much traffic is good if it seems like a place that SHOULD be getting good traffic. You have to help others get started as well too! Because to those higher rank websites, they are trying to help you too. -Jester

Google and SEO guidelines say that the links should be "good" links.
Good defined as having a better Ranking than yours, and being 'related' to your site. If your site is about "dogs", then a link to a Auto Repair Shop is not a good link. Linking 'blindly' to another site having no reltionship to yours is not a good idea. IMHO.

Yes, that is a bit of a problem for me. I do have several links to a physic on my site. She is my sister in law, and helps me a lot with my site, so of course, I'm happy to have a way to help her out too. I did even try to make them more "dog" orientated, she can do tarrot card readings for dog too.....

I do go and check out the offers I get for link exchanges. I've culled several because the exchange link was in an obscure place on their site, or was hard to find, or if I allready have a simular link on my site. Or if the site looks poorly done, I'm otta there!

There there is the problem of maintaining live links on my site. I do check all my links occasionally, probably not as often as I should because it is quite a chore, but I hear that dead links are actually bad for you site, so I try to keep them culled out. The dog breeding competition is tremendous, there are millions of them out there, so I have to really work hard at promotion, it's a major chore.