Thoughts on Jagger: Recips Got Hammered, Trust Trumps All
*Disclaimer: the following is based on empirical observations only.
Well it appears that Jagger (1, 2, and 3) has sung its last song, and Google has settled down. Everyone and their brother (and their brother’s pet gerbil) will give you their analysis at the drop of a hat (see this – but not if you have a weak stomach). In case anyone is interested in my analysis:
1) Sites with a large base of reciprocals, by and large, got hammered. Yes, I am sure you can find an exception to this. (My guess is that a lot of the ‘exceptions’ were sites that had gained a lot of ‘trust’–e.g., older domains, and domains with other trusted links.)
2) Authority/TrustRank seems to be the trump card. Those biggie links — you know the ones, those from the PR8 authority site in your niche — are counting for more than ever. Likewise, links that should be worthless are looking more like they are worthless.
Good for you white hats — and for you gray hats that have managed to hoodwink your way into authority links 
