I was forced to write this post as I we are getting more and more link exchange offers through e-mail, cautioning us not to consider it as spam. What should be considered as e-mail spam and what should not in regards to link request e-mail. Let us answer these questions that are destined to come up sooner or later for virtually every e-mail user.

Even though, the number of resources, dedicated to link exchange gradually increases, there are still reasons why webmasters might contact another site’s owner directly. The thing is that such link exchange directories might have a very limited or no sites at all that belong to a category in need. Whereas the more thematic the link partner’s website is – the higher the value of the link. Besides, many link exchange partners are not ranked according to their PR, Alexa Rank or domain age. Let alone their SERPs. Thus link hunters are forced to do this job manually.

Here I should say a few words about link search software. ARELIS, being a very popular one, deserved its good name by the ability to browse and automatically select link partners within a selected subject field, requiring minimum human interference. I personally know people who would assert that with the help of this tool a layermen might perform no worse than a seo pro. That might be right, as long as the quantity concerned. As for the quality of such “link partners”, it is left in abeyance. Using harvesting software to search for e-mails and then sending hundreds of e-mail in a minute is fraught with serious consequences. Calling it spam is quite righteous, and webmasters who exercise this should realize that.

Naturally, resorting to direct search and contacting of potential link partners is the best way out of the situation. Targeted websites should be: subject related, user friendly, informative and should have a corresponding category for outbound links. There are typically instructions and an e-mail created for link exchange purposes. Making a separate e-mail, like links@domain.com, will most likely save you from link exchange spammers. This is a most defensible case. Since this practice is still uncommon, many website owners who decided to make pages specially catered for outbound links forget to add link exchange instructions and e-mail. No wonder you will be getting spammy requests forwarded to your main e-mail, given in the “Contact Us” section. If you have external links on the website, people will naturally be offering you exchange. Calling it “spam” would be not righteous from the point of view of common sense. Using this line of reasoning, adding well composed link exchange instructions and a separate e-mail is an inseparable detail of every links swapping website and is a sure way to avoid spamming.