Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Okay, now Im a bit confused. A lot of times Ive heard that link requests are dead. They don't work (at all) anymore.
However, I also know a friend did quite well requesting links and know some of the best known SEO bloggers have articles on how to request links, etc. from either 2006 or 2007.
So I guess, if your content is good and unique enough it still works if you do it right and send personalized request to the right people?
Do you usually ask for a link in the first e-mail or do you take your time and ask for feedback for ideas, etc. and only then follow up with a link request? Do you spend more time/send more e-mails (before the link request) if the link you're pursuing is a really great one? Whereas you only send out one personalized e-mail with a (polite) request for a link if you think the link would only help a little?
What kind of closing rates do you expect from (personalized) link requests? More or less than 1%?
P.S.:
Is it possible that the people who say link requests dont work anymore only happen to be in a niche (say SEO or computer stuff)where people have become opposed to linking out, b/c they're link greedy (instead of thinking of linking to good stuff as something that should be done on the web)?
Or because they simply do it wrong and send out unpersonalized link requests hoping to get links to content that exists on the web many times already?
[edited by: martinibuster at 5:32 pm (utc) on Nov. 26, 2007]
[edit reason] Fixed URL. [/edit]
I've kind of found myself in a great position and in a country where SEO is pretty new. It's been around for years but only coming to the fore now. I targeted the sites that ranked highly but the ones that didn't really seem to know too much about SEO (they've heard of links but don't really know how they benefit you)
So I actually find that I get more than 50% of my link requests responded to postively. ost of them are willing to exchange links, either reciprocal or 3 way links. I keep my approach very subtle and friendly.
I find that people who've been doing it for years, start getting to pushy and too arrogant and their emails actually piss me off. Try the soft, SALES approach.
Gooday,
Your site has realy caught my attention and we share the sam interestd. I have a thought and something that could work if done properly and be of great benefit to both you and I.
BLA BLA BLA BLA
To avoid giving away to much :)
It also depends what industry you're in.Sometimes you've gotta be hard, tactful, easy going...
WizardMan
I get maybe one in 5 or 1 in 10, something like that. If you're getting 1% you're not targetting closely enough.
I spend more time finding the right sites and then reviewing them than I do writing or sending emails. When I send the email I know exactly what page I want the link from, who I'm sending the email to, I've looked at and reviewed their site, and have a hook into asking them for a link.
Blasting high volumes of link emails may work (I don't do them, so I don't know), but my suspicion is that if you do get links, they'll be low quality. High quality links from high quality websites require some research and work.
Is it possible that the people who say link requests dont work anymore only happen to be in a niche (say SEO or computer stuff)where people have become opposed to linking out, b/c they're link greedy (instead of thinking of linking to good stuff as something that should be done on the web)?
Your site has realy caught my attention and we share the sam interestd. I have a thought and something that could work if done properly and be of great benefit to both you and I.BLA BLA BLA BLA
To avoid giving away to much :)
Somehow, I don't think you can risk giving away too much here :)
The important thing is that you cannot get an link for free, so you need to give something important so that you can get a link in return.
There are many people out on the internet who are not much aware of SEO and Link Building, you need to find them out and thats how you can get a backlink.
Look for some non popular websites. Or websites that their owners dont care about. You can find them belive me.
However, what you say about trying to find these kinds of people sounds interesting and I havent thought about it this way before. Ive realized that people in some industries are probably very opposed to giving out links, whereas in fields where webmasters don't know about SEO or link building still seem to link out kind of freely.
But trying to look specifically for people like that (independent of the field) sounds like a good idea thx :-)
But once i started sending emails, the response was good. You wont get too many interested people, but few who are interested might help you a lot.
What i would suggest is dont lose hope. Go on and you will surely find some one, who will link back to you.
If you web site is good, then your website wont get banned, but be sure you take links under the radar (slow and steady) Good Luck!
