Forum Moderators: martinibuster
The following is the word per word link exchange email. Names were taken out, and my comments were put [in brackets]. Here goes:
<snip>
[what they mean is: We are a brand new, unranked and desperate website searching for any and all links we can get our hands on]
<snip> [what they really mean is: our purpose is to get as much sites as possible to link to us so WE can boost our site's ranking, and THEN maybe, we will actually have visitors to send your way]
<snip>
[what they really mean is: We used one of those 79$ SEO softwares to crawl 1000's of sites at the press of the button, using up your bandwith uselessly by crawling your pages until I find an email t spam your inbox with]
<snip>
[what they really mean is: we saw that your site is waaaay better then ours and were hoping your dumb enough to give us a valuable link, that will give us some link value thanks to your years of hard work]
<snip>
[what they really mean is: since we know that the chances of getting a link from you are slim-to-none, we put your link first. This will at least give you the illusion that I we are offering you something.]
it goes on to say.....
<snip>
[what they mean is: We hope that we can convince you by trying to make ourselves sound like we know what were doing.... Ahahaha....of course we're irrelevant!]
...after about 200 more words, it finally ends with the usual link copy/paste message.
Now this is what I think is wrong with the email:
1. It's terribly long. Anyone reading this, if they actually don't get tripped by the spam filter first, will never want to read this. It's too long. Make it to the point.
2. It's obviously automated. If you are going to bother searching for sites to acquire links from, take the time to review the site, and figure out why the webmaster should link to you. If you can't find a reason why, read point #3.
3. Don't just put links on link pages. Build content. Your site is what it says. If I see that you are offering nothing more then a mere link on some link page, your wasting your (and my) time. It will never bring in traffic, and the link will be worthless.
4.Content is King...and Relevance is Queen. Of course I am talking about links here. I think this is a no-brainer. If your selling potatoes, and I mow lawns, I don't think Google will ever find a connection between your site and mine. So what's the point?
So in a nutshell, don't waste your time with these kind of emails. Building quality links takes patience & hard work... but if done right will pay off in the long run.
Now I'm sure others here can add to this ;)
[edited by: martinibuster at 9:24 pm (utc) on July 15, 2008]
[edit reason] Edited. TOS Violations. [/edit]
99.75% of all requests that come to my inbox are crap and get deleted immediately.
Hunt down your own links from websites that provide real value to visitors.
I was so surprised to find yet another desperate attempt at link exchange in my inbox...
Really? Are you also surprised when pharmaceutical offers land in your inbox?
So in a nutshell, don't waste your time with these kind of emails.
But unfortunately, you did. ;) You're taking these emails too seriously if they got you so wound up you have to complain about it at WebmasterWorld.
...this is what I think is wrong with the email:
They don't care what you think. They do what they do because it works. If they followed your advice they'd start losing money. Where is the logic in that?
Building quality links takes patience & hard work...
Not necessarily. :)
It's highly likely they are obtaining quality links. I know a few newbs that manage a high quality site that have asked me about spam like this and if they should do a link exchange with them. If I hadn't been there to advise them they would have done it. Regardless what you think about those spam emails, they probably work because there are enough people naive enough to link up with them to make it worthwhile.
But unfortunately, you did. ;) You're taking these emails too seriously if they got you so wound up you have to complain about it at WebmasterWorld.
And they will send long link requests emails like the one you described out of ignorance. They don't know what you and I know. Whining about it here won't change that. Simply ignore it and move on.
I thought the whole purpose of WebmasterWorld was to make a point and be helpful by giving advice. It has nothing to do with complaining. I bothered "translating" what the lines of the email really meant to make a point that writing BS in an email is a waste of time, because most people they send it to can read right through it. So if they are going to spend time, then why not do it right?
They don't care what you think. They do what they do because it works. If they followed your advice they'd start losing money. Where is the logic in that?
I've been doing this stuff long enough that my advice is legit. They might be making money, but sure ain't gonna lose any by improving their SEO.
....I think maybe I struck a sensitive chord with some. Oh and thanks to whoever snipped my entire message. It's kind of useless now.
to make a point that writing BS in an email is a waste of time
It's not a waste of time or they wouldn't keep doing it. The fact is that there are enough naive people out there to encourage the spammers to keep sending out those emails. If it didn't work you wouldn't see those emails.
....I think maybe I struck a sensitive chord with some.
In the same way my eyes start rolling when another school board in Kansas tries to boot evolution from the curriculum. Your complaints have been made before and they don't hold water. This is why:
1. They are full of mistaken assumptions like quality links take a lot of hard work.
2. They are naive because they assume spam doesn't work
3. Most importantly, the link dev forum is for discussing how to build links, not for complaining about spam. The next time you receive spam delete it.
...thanks to whoever snipped my entire message.
You're welcome. But thanks go entirely to you for not reading the TOS and the Forum Charter. Next time read the TOS before posting and you'll see it survive unedited. And if you read the Forum Charter you'll see your thread survive without getting locked. ;)
