linksrotation

Link rotation, sometimes written as linksrotation, is the practice of serving traffic to different URLs that represent the same resource by rotating among them. The technique is used to distribute load, increase redundancy, or enable testing and tracking of performance across destinations. It is distinct from static linking because the actual destination presented to a user or system can change over time or per request.

Rotating can be implemented in several ways. DNS-based round robin alternates IP addresses at the domain level. HTTP-level rotation uses redirects or server-side routing to select a destination for each request. Client-side rotation can rely on JavaScript to modify the link target or load content from another URL. In practice, rotation is often tracked in analytics.

Common use cases include load distribution across mirrors to improve availability, testing landing pages without altering external links, and managing outbound affiliate links. It can also help monitor performance across multiple hosts.

However, link rotation raises SEO and user-experience considerations. Search engines may view aggressive rotation as manipulative, risking penalties or reduced credibility. Rotating links can complicate analytics and attribution, and may create broken experiences if destinations become unavailable.

Best practices include limiting rotation to non-critical resources, documenting the logic, ensuring destinations are reliable, and using telemetry to measure performance. For SEO, use canonical links where appropriate and disclose rotation to users.