What is so wrong with link exchanges?
Above all other considerations, the common form of link exchange associates you closely with morons. I mean real, completely mindless, utterly incapable of creative thought, morons.
Here’s another real-world issue to illustrate how incredibly moronic the people who indulge in link exchanges really are. I have a little ‘hobby’ site that simply acts as a place to share some of my articles and tips about web marketing. It has been around for a couple of years, but only gets updated when I can find some spare time an increasingly rare occurrence.
Over the past years, I must have been sent thousands of link exchange requests. It is hard to know for sure, because I started to filter out link exchange requests from my email within a couple of months. At least a dozen still slip through the filters each week though. This is despite a clear statement on the site in question that says, This is not an invitation for emails about link exchanges.
I’m certain that thousands of link exchange requests from hundreds of webmasters have been filtered or ignored because not even one of those folk had a brain. You see, the reason I know these people are so incredibly stupid is that the same site has a testimonials page, with links to the sites of all the people who have provided a testimonial.
Yet, I have never yet received one email request to have a testimonial added. Not one of those hundreds of webmasters ever had the ounce of sense needed to work out that providing a testimonial could get them a link without them having to give me a link at all.
Dont be as stupid as the majority. Avoid link exchange tunnel vision and come up with a real link-building strategy. Please dont waste your time with email request for link exchanges when I am far from being the only person who filters those out of his email automatically. Think it through - any site worth getting a link from has doubtless had more than enough link exchange requests to have begun filtering them out.
If you really want to build up links and link popularity, if you are serious about link strategies, then read this very informative discussion about linking strategies at Cre8asite.
That is one fo my favorite threads over at the forums. Great stuff.
It’s understandable to want to try to build relationships with people who own other web sites with businesses that compliment yours. It may even make sense for those businesses to exchange links.
But try to build a real relationship there, first.
Comment by Bill — April 19, 2004 @ 12:25 am
That discussion has been one of my favourites at Cre8asite too, Bill. I liked the fact that we were able to help Marie to get a new handle on the task and to actually feel good about it.
Like many folks, she didn’t like the idea of pan-handling for links, but hadn’t realised how many better alternatives there were available. It was a delight to see her get excited about the possibilities. Good too to highlight some of the places where aspiring writers can be found.
Comment by Black_Knight — April 19, 2004 @ 8:34 am
While link exchanges have their place, there are so many other ways to attract natural links, that get overlooked.
I get constant questions about linking, from readers of my blog. I tell them to keep posting good quality items, that people find helpful and informative, and the links will arrive all by themselves.
I think the real issue is everyone wants to get strong link POP in a hurry, and with minimal effort. Nothing worthwhile in life works that way.
Thanks Ammon for a great insight into thinking linking.
Comment by Wayne Hurlbert — April 22, 2004 @ 5:16 pm
The strategy seems to be different at first glance but it does not seem to work. By posting a testimonial for a competitor, we are getting a back link from related-theme web site but at the same time, ratings for his web site will be improved… So we need to be cautious
Comment by Amit Doda — November 27, 2006 @ 5:47 pm