Anyone who’s tried to get into search engine optimization has probably tried to conduct a reciprocal link campaign. Rumors abound that they don’t work, will be devalued, or are pointless - but the fact of the matter is, results are what counts. Right now, reciprocal links still give you a better position in the search engines, and at the end of the day that’s what matters. So how do you get people to exchange links with you?

Many people have difficulty with this - it’s hard to get people’s attention when they’re getting dozens of requests a day. First, make sure that you’ve put the link up in a place where they can recognize it and where they can get to it easily. No weird path names, no hiding it behind fourteen other URL’s. Second, make your e-mail title something snappy. Many people will try something totally unrelated to a link campaign - something that will make a person want to open their e-mail. It can’t look spammy - no “important offer you can’t refuse” stuff. You need to put something that they will think is different - “question about your (insert subject) site” might be a good idea. Or, try a reference to their content. Just don’t get too out there - “Abraham Lincoln had a helper monkey” or something of that sort might get people to look at it, but they may not take your link offer seriously. Just make sure that the link offer is a good one, and one that will get their attention when they see the e-mail in their inbox.