I know that you can get the best links by building them manually so.... I was thinking of setting up some sort of directory on one of my sites, hiring someone and giving them access to that directory to manually go around and find other related sites, add their site to my directory, and then send the webmaster an email requesting a link exchange or submit to their directory. I would do this myself, but I figure it could be outsourced for pretty cheap. Does anyone have any experience doing what I am talking about or know a good company/individual who may be able to satisfy my needs?
A lot of link builders come off so spammy... I get a ton of emails for my sites every day with link exchange requests for pharmaceutical sites that don't quite relate. I also have a way for people to submit links directly to my site so I know they didn't spend too much time looking at my site... I wonder if there are any quality services out there...
I actually build reciprocal links as a full time job, and it is true that it is the best way to build quality links, but it is also very time consuming. I don't know what the rules are in this forum for advertising my company's services, but if you're interested feel free to PM me.