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How NOT to Request a Link

As you probably know, quality incoming links can improve your Web site’s search engine ranking, all other things being equal. This is because search engines often view these links as "votes of confidence" in the quality of your content.

Because of this, I’m inundated with requests to trade links. As many search engine experts agree, there’s little to no search engine benefits to reciprocal linking, although there is the benefit that more people may find you.

Generally I just hit the delete button, but this email was particularly stupid:

Dear webmaster!

I just visited your website and was amazed with it.

I would like to exchange links with you. I have seo PR7 site [stupid link trading Web site]

I can place your link within content of main page 

and would like to have [stupid link trading Web site] on your homepage

Best regards,

Jim Smith

Why did this particular email catch my ire? Well, how about the personalized "Dear webmaster!" to start. Anyone with 30 seconds on their hand could find out the contact person for our site.

Next, Jim (if that is his real name) just visited my site and was "amazed" with it. Well, that part rings true, but I get the feeling he’s just blowing smoke up my ass. With over 250 Web sites under our collective belts, how do I even know that he’s talking about flyte’s Web site? It’s quite possible, even probable, that he’s looking at a clients’ site, but he doesn’t bother to give me the Web site’s name or URL, or why he’s so amazed.

The rest of his email just shows off his intermittent use of the period key.

There is a place in the World Wide Web for reciprocal linking: when there’s a good, natural match between Web sites. It will give you little or no PageRank to just trade links with a site, so concentrate on Web sites that will drive visitors from their site to yours, not just share PageRank.

In the same way that antique stores do better when they cluster, certain Web sites will do the same. If you’re looking for quality incoming links, consider getting links from professional organizations, directories, and using article marketing.

And don’t trade links with Jim Smith.

Rich Brooks
PageRank 7

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  • http://www.marketingprinciples.com Tim Cohn

    Luckily only about 1 out 10 of those automated email spam requests are followed by the "reminder" to trade links Dear Webmaster! spam.

  • http://www.marketingprinciples.com Tim Cohn

    Luckily only about 1 out 10 of those automated email spam requests are followed by the "reminder" to trade links Dear Webmaster! spam.

  • http://www.acornservice.blogspot.com Jim Symcox

    Hi

    I just had to comment on this. I agree that quality incoming links is really the only real way to help people up the SEO ladder.

    Apart from your average stupid spammers people should also be aware of "link farms" where piles of links go who knows where and have little to no value.

    Jim

  • http://www.acornservice.blogspot.com Jim Symcox

    Hi

    I just had to comment on this. I agree that quality incoming links is really the only real way to help people up the SEO ladder.

    Apart from your average stupid spammers people should also be aware of "link farms" where piles of links go who knows where and have little to no value.

    Jim

Related posts:

  1. Can Links Help Your Search Engine Visibility?
  2. Article Marketing: Good for Link Building and Search Engine Visibility
  3. How to Increase Your PageRank
  4. Link Requests: When a Good Idea Goes Spam
  5. Incoming Links: Get’em While They’re Hot!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 13th, 2006 at 12:12 pm and is filed under Search Engine Marketing, Web Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.