Why I won’t link back to you
November 26th, 2008In my “day job,” I get a lot of reciprocal linking requests from all sorts of sites. Some of them are actually about a topic semi-related to our field. And some aren’t at all. They almost always say the same thing:
“Hi! I was browsing your site at [name redacted] and was very impressed!
I linked to it from my page on [something entirely unrelated] at [entirely unrelated site].
If you would like to link back, please use this text…”
And guess what… I never respond to these emails, let alone link back.
Why, you ask? Could it be snobbery, elitism, even psychosis??? No, and here’s why: 3 reasons I won’t link back to you…
1. Your website looks like 1998… on a bad day.
Ever see these sites that are so bad, you almost can’t stand to read them? I’m not just talking about “not top-shelf design.” I’m talking about horrible design! Why would I want to do that to people who come to my site?
2. Google Adsense (or Yahoo… or….) owns your site.
Why would I want to link to a page where 80% of the content is ads? Hey — nothing wrong with ads. But if you’re just starting a site, why not try to start off providing good content and then monetize it after you’ve generated heavy and reliable traffic? And when you do, try to keep your site from looking like advertisers threw up all over it. Besides, I hear Adsense payouts aren’t what they used to be. You may need to choose another model.
3. Your site is unrelated to mine.
I’m still not going to link to a well-designed site with an appropriate amount of ads (a very small percentage of link requests) if the subject of the site has nothing to do with my industry. No point to it. ‘Nuff said about that.
The three reasons above should be pretty much universal for any website owner considering if they should honor a link exchange request. But let me give you a one more that is specific (but not unique) to my situation…
4. Our site doesn’t advertise complementary products/services.
The purpose of my corporate site is to sell what my company makes. That’s it. Why would we distract our potential consumer from that theme with an advertisement about something else? Thus the reason for no outbound sites to other businesses.
Although the last reason is not universal to all sites, it does raise the excellent point: you probably shouldn’t bother asking a site for a reciprocal link if they don’t have any links on their site.
“So how should I get links?”
Excellent question! Try creating great content that actually informs and entertains the reader. Content that eases their pains and frustrations in your area of expertise. Then link to a few other top sites in your category — just because it could help your readers, not because you’re getting free traffic in return.
If you have a blog, refer to other blogs in your point and expand on the discussions in their posts or comments. Make sure you’re linking to them when you do it. Get involved in the conversation, and actually have something worthwhile or interesting to say.
If you do the above on a well-designed site, you’ll be on your way. Good luck!







