When it comes to content based link building strategies, sometimes the simpler the approach you undertake the better. When you come across another site that has content that compliments yours then you can simply drop the webmaster an email and request a link exchange. This is pretty straight forward and most of us are familiar with this form of requesting links.
When a publisher is putting together a contractual business relationship with another publisher, it’s pretty straightforward. All that needs to be done is to make the link to the site as a term of the agreement. For example, when granting a 3rd party the right to re-sell one or more of your products, part of the terms is that they provide a link back to your site.
However, if you are requesting a link from a site that you don’t know the game significantly changes. You will have to decide whether you want to contact a site or not based on the following criteria.
- Lower Value Sites – Likely not worth your time to contact these sites, with no customized content and a heavy reliance on large volumes of links.
- Medium Value Sites - Contact via email. No custom content, low – moderate effort level.
- High Value Sites - Content developed to support site and campaigns. Contact by email. Good value here as site share common ground.
- Very High Value Sites - Shared common ground with customized content. Email to contact. Occasionally phone and in-person visits occur. Excellent link value here.
Creating an Email Pitch
If you want to make a request there are just a few simple rules that should be part of your link pitch
- Keep it short and simple – This is an unsolicited email and the recipient isn’t going to bother with anything that’s much more than a few lines.
- Make a clear and concise request - Be articulate. A large percent of unsolicited email is deleted without ever being read, so make sure your request is clear.
- Articulate why the link is deserved - This usually entails pointing out tools on the site, excellent content, major endorsements, etc.
- Follow the CAN-SPAM Act guidelines – As long as you follow the CAN-SPAM act guidelines, sending unsolicited email is not illegal. However, violations can actually land you in jail. Keep that in mind!
Link Requests on Social Media Sites
Did you know that you can reach out to people on social networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Facebook? The process is similar to emailing but there are a few distinctions that need to be mentioned.
- Publishers are able to send out communication to friends on the network. If you’ve taken friending serious, rather than friending everyone that comes along, you will be able to keep this communication informal.
- Publishers are able to join groups on the social network that are relevant to their market space, and then post messages on the group. The group will allow them to reach out to new people that share similar interests.
- Messages that are broadcast using a network can’t be personalized, so you need to make sure your message is fitting to a mass broadcast.
- Be careful not to broadcast too many messages or do a poor job of targeting your messages.
- You can send personalized messages on a 1 to 1 basis.
If your looking for additional links then contact a SEO Professional at Business Web Designs.