Guest column by Jerry Minchey, SearchEngineUThere are a lot of ways to get incoming links, such as:
- Get listed by the directories.
- Write articles for ezines and newsletters.
- Provide useful content so people will link to you without you asking.
- And the technique we are going to talk about today . . . Ask other sites to link to you. I'll go into the other techniques in another article.
Sample Link Request email message
Create personalized custom letters and send them manually one at a time. (My comments are in parentheses. The actual lettler is the text outside the parentheses.)
Subject: Link request (Look at their website and see if they request a special subject line when requesting links.) (Start of actual email message text:)
From: Jerry Minchey at http://www.SearchEngineu.com Personal email address: JMinchey@xxxxxx.com (This tells them that this is NOT spam. Spammers don't leave their email address.)
Cell phone: (Use a cell phone or a number where you can almost always be reached. If they want to talk to you, they may only try one time.)
Dear Jim, (Take the time to find the site owners name)
I found the information on your site at http://www.YourSite.com to be informative and professional, particularly the section on (fill in something to show that you have actually visited the site).
I think your visitors would all appreciate help getting their websites ranked higher on Google and other search engines. We are a subscription website, but we offer a ton of useful search engine optimization information to non-subscribers as well. (Show them an advantage to having your link on their site.)
I would like to request a link to our Home page at http://www.SearchEngineU.com from (Describe their page you want a link from. Home page, main product page, etc.) at http://www.yourSite.com/resources.htm. (List the URL of their page you want to be linked from. Maybe give them two suggested pages. Find two on-topic pages that have a reasonably high Google PageRank if possible. Of course, their Home page is always nice, but their Resources page may be where all of their other links are from.)
You can link to us by downloading our logo and code from: http://www.searchengineu.com/public/department25.cfm or just creating your own code. (You should have a “Link to Us” page with simple step-by-step instructions on your website showing people how to link to your site. Refer to it here.)
I have subscribed to your newsletter and look forward to receiving it. (That is, if they have one. This shows that you have looked at their site and find it of value. Stroke their ego.)
(And if you are proposing a reciprocal link arrangement, include the following statement:)
I have already added a link to your site. You can see it at: http://www.searchengineu.com/public/department25.cfm
I think the visitors to your site will appreciate your help in providing this valuable resource for them and of course, it will be greatly appreciated by me.
If you can provide the link, an email to confirm it would be appreciated.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I can be reached by email at JMinchey@xxxxxx.com or call me anytime on my cell phone at xxx-xxx-xxxx.
Thanks for your consideration, Jim. (End any request with the person's name. It works much better than starting the sentence with their name.)
Sincerely,
Jerry Minchey
P.S.Remember, adding this link to your website will take you less than two minutes. And your thoughtfullness in adding this valuable resource of additional information will be greatly appreciated by your visitors.
(Always add a P.S. to your email message restating what it is you want and why they should take the time to do. They may just scan your email message, but they WILL read the P.S.)
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