Reciprocal link request from credit card merchant

Page my website is on is loaded with links to adult websites

[GaryK]

As the site in my profile grows more popular I am getting more requests for reciprocal links. BTW, I run the site as a hobby and make NO money off of it at all. I like it that way.

Anyway, I got a request today from a credit card merchant asking for a reciprocal link. When I checked the page my link was on over half the listings were to adult content.

The page he wants me to link to is his home page but I'm still concerned that if Google or any search engine finds a link between my site and those darned adult sites that I could drop in the SERPs like a rock thrown into the water. Currently I am #1 for my two keyword combo and #3 for my one word keyword on Google.

There's no benefit to me to having a credit card merchant link to my site or for me to link to a credit card merchant. In fact I don't even have a formal links page on my site. I link to important sites, like PHP, Microsoft and w3schools, via my content, not a special links page.

Here's my question:

Is it best to ignore these requests, or write back with an explanation of why you refuse to link to them in hopes it might get them to reconsider the types of sites they themselves are linking to?

[Yidaki]

Since he asked for reciprocal link, you can be pretty damn sure that your link will get removed soon if you don't link back. I call this: self cleaning. :)

Do NOT answer the request nor tell them you criticize what they do / to whom they link.

[kevinpate]

I'd just let it go myself. You can't control who may decide to add a link to your main page or to an interior page, but you do have a say on which sites you give a link.

Call me a purist, call me naive, call me uninformed, hey, you even call me smart if it floats your canoe down the river, but my take on your question is simply this:
Any external link that doesn't have a reasonable benefit to your site users is not worth the (admittedly minimal) time needed to add the code and upload the revised page.

[GaryK]

Kevin, I'll call you smart. My visitors are looking for the MS browscap.ini file and nothing else. Nobody even looks at the webcam that points at a waterway behind my condo. ;)

Yidaki, I hate to be rude and ignore e-mail sent to me. Do you really think I should ignore the e-mail completely? How about thanking them for the link and telling them I don't have a links page to add them to? It'll probably get me purged (the self-cleaning you mentioned) but at least I'll feel better from a social standpoint. Or, based on your experience should I really ignore the e-mail completely?

[Yidaki]

Gary, since your site is totally unrelated to this credit card merchant site and since the links they already established are also unrelated (adult) it smells like a automated link request. My guess is they don't even know what your site is about, they never looked at it.

>I hate to be rude and ignore e-mail sent to me.
>at least I'll feel better from a social standpoint.

You have good manners. But i don't think that the link requester cares about good manners or social standpoints ...

[percentages]

>I hate to be rude and ignore e-mail sent to me.

It is part of owning a website. These people are "ruder" IMHO by sending automated link requests which are simply a waste of your time.

Many people feel bad about not responding to emails, those that are very successful on the web learn that there is so much junk transmitted that there really isn't anything to feel bad about.

I wouldn't enter a business relationship (which includes a reciprocal link) with anyone who isn't prepared to talk to me on the phone at the very least. If they didn't send you a phone number to contact them, then they are most likely up to no good and you certainly don't need to feel bad about dumping them without explanation ;)

[GaryK]

With help from all of you I am learning so much my head sometimes seems like it's going to explode from all the incoming knowledge.

I'll ignore these e-mails from now on, and I won't feel bad about it. Well, yes I will, but I'll get over it. ;)

Thanks.