Forum Moderators: phranque
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More than half of the emails in bounce back because the email address is now invalid! I receive only 1 reply after 1 week for 1 successful link exchange. My effort for 3 days = 1 link exchange! :(
There is one thing isn't good with Google. They honour large sites. Most large sites have been around for years. It is hard for a new site to compete, while the aged site can sleep and do nothing to be on top of the search. Most webmasters are 'dead', but their site still remain in the top 20.
This is just a fact of life. Established businesses also (in general) do better than start ups...
The trick, is to get established. This takes work...
Good luck!
Nick
I have a new site, and it is still a small site, but in under 3 months, it was #1 for a key word phrase that I had researched as being a good one to optimize for. In other more competitive key words, it is not as easy, but I've got good movement upwards :) This doesn't address the problem of incorrect webmaster addresses and seemingly defunct websites still being well listed, but I hope this might reassure you a bit?
I've worked the most not on my links, but on the design and optimization of my pages...
Patriciak
The thing is that you need to have patience and you need to continually offer to exchange links with other sites. Don't limit yourself by writing to the top 30 for your keywords. Keep going and going. Find sites that you, as a surfer, like or admire. Write to the webmaster telling them why you like their site and then offer to link. After you have got their attention and told them how you are going to help them, ask them to help you by giving you a link.
Forge partnerships with other sites that also cover your topic. It always amazes me when webmasters say, I can't link to that guy because he is my competitor. My question is can either of you ever service the billion surfers online? Don't you offer something better than your competitor that might cause someone who sees both of your sites to buy from you?
Linking and PR are long term projects. There are some links that can get you fromn a 3 to a 4 or maybe even a 4 to a 5. But if you want 6, 7, 8, you've got to be dedicated for the long haul and you've got to be creative.
The trick, is to get established. This takes work
And most people aren't willing to work. I have had my shingle out here for almost 4 years and the last year has really picked up the pace. This isn't because of better rankings either. Of course, I've done the SEO and seen results but the real results are higher sales to visit ratios, increased purchase amounts and repeat business which are a result of Staying Power and name recognition.
Those who can weather the storms and keep their prices competitive, over time will come out on top. (not just in search results either)
Google does seem to give a pass to the big guys for certain questionable SEO activities (e.g., deceptive redirects and mirror sites), but it's still the best game in town for owners of mom-and-pop Web sites.
An address taken from the website should usually work, although speaking personally I don't care much for link exchanges and usually don't reply to the many requests I get if the email looks like a form letter. Even if the linking isn't one-way, the benefit usually is.
When you say "dead" i know what you mean. I attempted to get a link exchange with one of the top-placed sites in my area of interest. Not even one of the 6 email addresses at the site (including the webmaster) was active, and it appears the site has not been touched in over a year. But it holds its rank amazingly well.
Another site against which i compete is dated 1997 and has not changed since that date. The info on the page relates only to activities that occurredin 1997 and has no interest or value currently. This page holds its position tenaciously and i have been unable to top in in some of the search engines.
It doesn't seem fair, but in the long term i do believe that hard work pays off. The quadrupling of my traffic has stayed consistent, and was not a temporary phenomenon. Work hard, because it's worth it if you believe in what you're doing.
More than half of the emails in bounce back because the email address is now invalid!
Don't know if you have considered it, but you may have been blacklisted for spamming amd these guys are using MailWasher to bounce your email back from blacklisted sites.
It does not necessarily mean that the email address is invalid, but can mean that they want you to think that it is invalid.!
I receive only 1 reply after 1 week for 1 successful link exchange. My effort for 3 days = 1 link exchange! :(
There are several good discussions on reciprocal linking in the Link Development Library [webmasterworld.com] and others can be found using the Site Search [searchengineworld.com], some of the threads I found helpful are:
I'm able to get a positive response from most of the messages I send out now. Some still go unanswered, but I guess that's to be expected.
Oh my goodness, no. And i am thankful for that, too, believe me!
I can't believe it takes 3 days to send out 30 e-mails. Maybe 3 hours but even that is stretching things a bit.
This is true as I am writing customize email email for each, I didn't use a template. Somemore I try to suggest where the link should be place in their site to make them easier.
An address taken from the website should usually work, although speaking personally I don't care much for link exchanges and usually don't reply to the many requests I get if the email looks like a form letter. Even if the linking isn't one-way, the benefit usually is.
Yesterday, I check out all the old mails in my mailbox (2-3 years ago) and surprisingly I saw many email requesting me to exchange link and most of them has be ignore by me. I think this is what should I get as a 'punishment'. But I visit back those site that ask for an exchange, most are 'dead' as well, 404 eror ... :) Internet is changing fast.
So I have give up on this link request as most sites in my categories are already retired with their sites.
Directories link is good, but some offer a reciprocal link in a CGI link back (they are using CGI sciprt). I don't think this kind of linking can pass in any PR, do you think it is worth the effort and the outbound link to them?
Coconutz, thanks for all the threads, I will read them all now.
Directories link is good, but some offer a reciprocal link in a CGI link back (they are using CGI sciprt). I don't think this kind of linking can pass in any PR, do you think it is worth the effort and the outbound link to them?
I've noticed a few in my backlinks, so I guess they are passing PR:
www.website.com/cgi-bin/search.pl?category=Custom_Widgetry
www.domain.com/cgi-bin/shop/links2.cfm?Category=Traditional%20Widgetry
Keep in mind that there are other benefits to linking than just PR. We get close to 40% of our traffic to our website from links.
It's not necessary to mention a link exchange with every website you contact, I usually suggest that our site may be of interest to their visitors and would appreciate their consideration of adding our site to their resources. You'll be surprised at how many sites will post a link to you without asking for a reciprocal link.
If a website would be of interest to my visitors I may suggest a link exchange, post a temporary link to their site, ask them to review the description and suggest any changes. I won't phrase the message in such a way as to make them feel like they're obligated or expected to post our link in return or mention that if they don't post mine I 'll remove theirs. I don't respond to these types of messages, and I wouldn't expect a reply.
So I have give up on this link request as most sites in my categories are already retired with their sites.
Look in similar/related categories, use one of the large directories for ideas on related subjects, move up or down in the categories.
Don't waste you time posting links on FFA link pages, guestbooks, etc. If the website has a page that you can automatically add your link to and then refresh the page to see your new listing, don't waste your time. The only eyes these pages get are others looking to post their link.
Link development is not something that I would expect to complete in a couple of weeks or a month, but consider it an ongoing project, and needing regular maintenance. Links go dead, content changes, your links can get dropped, and your competitors are not idling waiting for you to catch up. Any links that you add now may not show in the results until the January update.
Link development is not something that I would expect to complete in a couple of weeks or a month, but consider it an ongoing project, and needing regular maintenance.
Good advice.
Build your content as mentioned before, add information to your website that your visitors might be looking for.
Look for those secondary and specialty directories you may list your site with. Lots of business directories out there too.
Think about it - if you write articles, use them on your website, you build content. If you submit them to other sites, you get a lot in return:
You receive a link back to your website
You become an authority on your topic
You promote your website
You build your content
If you write, start adding articles and informational pieces about your topic. If not, there are sites out there that have free content/articles available to you.
Be creative in ways to produce links, it takes hard work but will be worth it.
Some webmasters aren't dead they are just living in the past. I recently sent out some advertising queries. Got back one rate card with $25 cpm banners and $50 cpm newsletters.
I responded:
Your rate card looks old and nolonger competitive with industry norms. Are you planning a revisal soon?
Their comeback:
Interesting comments. We are not interested.
Never been told that before by someone selling advertising.
I tend to agree with cornwall, try using another e-mail account. Also see if your in any of the spam databases.
How to see if my email is in a spam database?
Look up
ORDB
Spam Cop
VISI
Follow the onsite instructions to see if you are there, and how to get off it if you are!
