I have read multiple articles in recent weeks about the difficulty in finding strong media talent in the online, specifically search, marketing space. These articles are primarily written by traditional marketing vets, who are deeply rooted in online marketing and have grown up with the medium from it’s very infancy. One thing that is rarely mentioned is that the industry is currently in a perpetual state of evolution and that even the industry “experts” are learning new approaches and techniques on a daily basis. The marketing talent has not miraculously disappeared. It has just not yet been discovered.

There is no doubt that the changes in the online marketing industry will eventually stabilize and the “talent” will re-emerge. In the interim, the responsibility falls on the plate of the leaders in the industry to identify and capitalize on the traits and skills that are best suited for this emerging market.

It is far too easy to pass the buck and say that the problem lies in the pool of available talent. Truthfully, the responsibility rests on the shoulders of the leaders in online marketing to realizes and develop the existing potential to establish this medium to play on the same par as those marketing media that have had the time to mature.

Over the last few months, there has been some speculation that the value of reciprocal links as a means for improving inbound link popularity is degrading, especially on Google. Many people in the SEM industry have run complex tests to determine if this is in fact the case. The results of these tests are interesting but are far from conclusive, as are most things relating to organic search engine marketing. By taking the science out of the debate, and relying on good old common sense, I think that there is some valid logic behind the search engines devaluing reciprocal links.

The "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" approach offered by reciprocal linking have long been the easiest way to grow a site's inbound link popularity. Unfortunately, this technique encourages off topic links as well as the use of automated link generation tools. The main objective of search engines is to provide the most relevant results and links play a strong role in how the engines determine the relevance of a site. By devaluing reciprocal links, search engines have removed an easily influenced variable out of the mix that has the potential to impact their ranking algorithm.

If it is true that reciprocal links have lost their clout with the engines, does that mean people should not engage in reciprocal linking? Absolutely not! Reciprocal links from the right site can still be a valuable source of qualified traffic for both parties, which is the main goal of marketing your website... Right? Let common sense guide your inbound linking efforts and you'll get the long term ranking results you desire and your links will also serve to draw the type of users you want to your site.