While it is important to have your link listed in sites that are similar to your own, there is still some SEO merit in being back linked with unrelated sites. One does not need to always get links from sites that are in the similar niche or topic to rank better in search engines. There can be many different ways to still engineer a site to get good ranking from unrelated sites. As with any internet marketing scenario, a thumbs up or a recommendation is still a positive thing even if the source of the positive feedback is from someone unrelated to your industry. Likewise, a site that receives a back link from another from a different field or category will still be rewarded with exposure and search engine ranking. However, while it has its own merit, you should still make an effort and a priority to exchange links with websites in your same field or industry.
