Sorry guys, I know this has probably been done to death, but what do you reckon is the best way to approach a webmaster for a link back to your site? Obviously nicely, but I don't even hear back from 99% of people. Do you reckon it's just cause they get asked so much or because they think your site is s*ite?
It's hard to say what they think of your site or what's going through their mind if they don't respond, however, one of the best ways to get links from a webmaster is to flatter them, and make it seem natural. Compliment them on their website/article/blog/etc.. and then when they respond, continue with a natural conversation, and then the link will come naturally. People like to be complimented on their work, especially web designers and the such. You usually won't get a link by requesting it in the first e-mail.
Hi AFM, Cheers for the reply. That might be a good tactic I guess - people always like hearing good things about their work. Also, never thought of sending follow up emails. I guess it maybe that the first one just got caught up with the rest of their inbox. Do you have much success getting responses (and ultimately links)?
Yeah, I usually have a good response. Of course I still have E-mails that I never get replied back on, and people who just straight up say 'no', but I have found the my highest rate of success has come from building links that seem natural, even when asking for them. Try asking for the link on the 2nd or 3rd E-mail after striking up a conversation and building up a relationship first. Manual link building can be a long process but is definitely worth it.
Hit the "contact us" or "contact webmaster" link that will be on most sites. Then just ask, it's that simple. But If your site has 100 visitors per day and the site you are seeking a link on has 10K visitors per day, then expect no reply..
I do hit the contact button, but like I says 99% of the time. No reply, can't blame them really. And I think you have a good point with the old visitor ratio, but the whole point of trying to get backlinks from these 10k day sites is to try and increase your own stuff.
It can take a long time for a webmaster to build up his traffic,, And then some hard work and long hours trying to keep it.. So ..."Yes".. I too can see why they might not want to trade links or give a link to a site that might have no traffic. I try to trade with sites the same size as mine or if I lucky, one that may be a little bigger,, I would say that is what we all do..
So basically, the consensus is that until my site is bigger, there's no point trying to get webmasters to link to me? If thats the way it is, then thats the way it is, at least I won't spend too much effort in the coming weeks pursuing that one! Cheers for the input guys
When asking for a link offer them something in return. Maybe a written article, a review, anything! Think of it if you were in their shoes and I asked you for a link, you would probably want something in return.
Another problem is that most relevant sites are blogs with no "contact us" link on it. I sometimes try through the comments section but that's a fail too 99% of the time. Ithat's if they allow comments at all. I might just do that, offer them a review back in return, good idea. I'm a bit lost when it comes to getting more inbound links from relevant sites.