In addition to using membership services, you may also want to initiate some linking requests by email. Personally, I would keep such requests to a minimum, as they are time consuming to prepare, dispatch, track, and act on. The success rate is also typically poor. If you must send out reciprocal link requests to other sites, here is my recommended approach (and etiquette):
- Only seek links with related sites. The less relevant your target site is, the less likely it is that the webmaster will accept your request. Don’t waste your time and don’t waste theirs. My inbox is full of such requests and it drives me mad.
- Begin by putting a link to their site on your own site first. This removes any doubt in the mind of the recipient about whether you will keep your end of the bargain or not.
- Look for a contact form on the site (which might have a “request link” checkbox) or a link you can click to exchange links. If the webmaster is inviting link exchange, there is a high likelihood they will accept a request.
- Make sure that your note is well written and personalized to the recipient. If it reads like junk mail, it is likely to be treated as such.
- Make the active part of your request a polite one. Try congratulating the webmaster on an excellent site, highlighting the complementary nature of your own site, pointing out that you have already linked to their site, and politely inviting them to reciprocate.
- Be specific in your note about what link – and keyword-rich link text – you would like them to use. Where possible, send them the HTML code readymade, so they don’t have to do too much of the hard work themselves.
- If the email address of the webmaster isn’t obvious from the site, look up the technical contact from the site’s domain name record (which you can bring up at sites such as http://whois.sc or http://domainsearch.com).
If you have more time than sense (or business is slow), you might wish to explore the world of reciprocal link building a little further. I include for your delectation a short table of reciprocal exchange sites (itself a summary of a more complete list on my forum). Below are eight of the best known members-only services, ordered by PageRank or you can try this.
- www.qlew.org
- www.123exchangelinks.com
- www.linkexchanged.com
- www.linkmarket.net
- www.linkmetro.com
- www.links4trade.com
- www.linkdiy.com
Related posts: