Is it fine to exchange backlinks with niche relevant sites?

Is it fine to exchange backlinks with niche relevant sites?

I don't think this is really white-hat.

Yes, it's OK as long as you don't link from A to B and B to A.

I don't see a problem if you do it a few times (well, depending on the size of your site).

Newspapers tend to inderlink with each other a lot and I don't see them getting penalised.

Some very big websites were punished by Google in past Google updates. They might not detect it for small websites and you are safe only till they do not detect.

Google has said multiple times that any type of link exchange is not allowed. So you should not do it.

Try ABC method

It's perfectly fine to exchange backlinks with niche relevant sites. In fact, it can be beneficial for both parties involved. By exchanging links with other websites in your niche, you can help improve each other's search engine rankings and visibility. This can lead to more traffic and exposure for both websites. Just be sure that the link exchange is reciprocal, and that the link you're exchanging is relevant to your website's content. Otherwise, it could harm your website's reputation and ranking."