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Getting startedCreating your Rankbench accountReading your site before you sign upAdding your first websiteProving your site is yoursWorkspaces, the switcher and your viewYour dashboardHow Rankbench tells you thingsRankbench Pro and billing
Your workspace and accountYour website and its settingsWorkspace settingsPeople and rolesInviting a website to RankbenchYour profile and accountThe assistantThe audit log
Site audit & search growthThe SEO overviewRunning the site auditThe site health scoreThe Fixes tabFindings, and how to read oneWorking your fix listThe kinds of fix, and how to triageEverything Rankbench looks forInternal linksTopicsPages nothing links toPast auditsConnecting Google Search ConsoleThe Search tabCompetitorsAuthorityThe page connections map
Guest postsGuest posting on RankbenchSubmitting your first guest postImporting from Google DocsWriting in the Rankbench editorReview and sendWhen the editors ask for changesTracking your guest postsThe Content LibraryOpening your site to guest postsWriting your guest post rulesReviewing a submissionFinal review and the Approver rolePublishing and the live check
Link exchangeLink swaps on RankbenchSetting up your site for swapsPages you sharePages you published elsewhereFinding a site to swap withSending a swap requestReviewing a swap request you receivedAsking a partner for a linkAnswering a link requestWhen the page is published somewhere you cannot editHow Rankbench keeps watchThe partner ledgerPlacements and agreements from older swapsThe automatic backlink exchangeAutomatic exchange settings and creditsReading your placementsCollaboration requests on published articles
Content calendarThe content calendarSetting up your calendarWhere the keywords come fromReading the calendarSteering a day before it is writtenThe day page and the editorRefreshing your topicsConnecting where it publishesPublishing and what happens nextBrief and settingsCovers and the pictures insideAll articles, and the rewrites the audit asks for
TutorialsHow to add your website and get it workingHow to run your first site audit and ship the fixesHow to connect Search Console and win more clicksHow to write a guest post that gets acceptedHow to accept guest posts on your site without losing qualityHow to do your first link swapHow to keep your links aliveHow to plan and publish a month of contentHow to invite a teammate, a client's site, or an agencyHow to get started with the automatic exchangeHow to use articles you published elsewhere in link swapsHow to get answers from the assistant
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  5. How to get started with the automatic exchange

How to get started with the automatic exchange

Updated September 11, 2026 · 3 min read

The automatic exchange trades links continuously, inside articles your content calendar was going to write anyway. It suits you if you publish regularly, want links, and would rather not spend an afternoon a week negotiating them.

Note

Before you start: articles planned in your content calendar, and Rankbench Pro. The manual link exchange stays free for everyone. See how to plan and publish a month of content.

Step 1: Choose your settings before you switch it on

The exchange doesn't ask you each time, so the settings are where you do all your deciding.

  1. Set Minimum host authority. Higher means fewer, stronger links and a longer wait. Zero accepts anyone. If you're unsure, start in the middle.
  2. Put direct competitors in Blocked domains, one per line. It works both ways: you won't host their links and they won't host yours.
  3. Put subjects you won't publish about in Blocked topics.
  4. Decide whether to Mark links you host as sponsored.
  5. Leave review of each hosted link switched on for the first month.
The automatic exchange explaining what it does before you join
The page explains what the exchange does, and marks where you are in the checklist.

Step 2: Turn it on

Nothing is placed on your site until you do. You start with a balance of credits. The rules are short: one link per article, and no money changes hands.

The exchange summary with the credit balance
Your credit balance and what the exchange has done so far.

Step 3: Review your first hosted link

Your calendar writes an article as usual. Because review is on, it waits for you instead of going out.

  1. Check the link sits somewhere sensible. A link about warehouse software in an article about hiring is a match you wouldn't have made.
  2. Check the wording reads like your prose. It should be a sentence, not a slot.
  3. Publish if both are right.

Tip

Once a dozen placements have landed where you'd have put them yourself, switch review off and let it run.

Step 4: Earn your first credit

Credits move only when a link has been checked and found live on the page. Not when the placement was agreed, and not when the article was written.

It works the same the other way round: a link to your pages costs you a credit only once it's confirmed. So a placement that quietly failed has cost you nothing.

Step 5: Read your placements

There are two lists: links from other members pointing at your pages, and links inside your own articles pointing at theirs.

The placements list with both directions and their states
Each row shows the article, the other site, its state and an estimated value. Use the value to compare, not to forecast traffic.

Not live yet is normal for a new placement. The needs attention panel holds links that aren't where they should be, usually because the article was edited or the page moved.

Placements are checked when they should go live, then again soon after, at a week, a month and a quarter. Most failures happen early. If a link is restored, you're told.

Step 6: Check in at the end of the month

  1. Your credit balance. Falling means you're receiving more than you host, which is fine if you know it.
  2. The mix of sites linking to you. If your authority floor is too low, this is where it shows.
  3. Your authority reading in the SEO section. It moves over months, so look for direction.

You can pause at any time, during a rebrand for example. Existing placements carry on; new matching stops.

What to do next

  • Settings and credits
  • Reading your placements
  • How to do your first link swap, the manual version, which stays free
← How to invite a teammate, a client's site, or an agencyHow to use articles you published elsewhere in link swaps →

Still stuck?

Open Rankbench and the page this article describes — most screens explain themselves as you go.

On this page

Step 1: Choose your settings before you switch it onStep 2: Turn it onStep 3: Review your first hosted linkStep 4: Earn your first creditStep 5: Read your placementsStep 6: Check in at the end of the monthWhat to do next
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