Dear [Insert Name Here], I would like a Link

So, last night I opened up my inbox and found this:

SUBJECT: link exchange offer

Hello Webmaster,

My name is [REDACTED]. I am doing link exchange for one of my client. I visited your website and interested in Link Exchange on your site.

I will add your website link on quality websites. I have more than 200 websites for link exchange.

If you are interested, please send me a list of your websites.

Best Regards,

[REDACTED]

I’ve removed the name of the SEO who sent me this, but emails like this are exactly why link building is the most challenging part of search engine optimization. Of course, it’s not just spammy, depersonalized and error-rife emails that are to blame. Webmasters are increasingly aware of the value that search engines place on links (value that’s already trending downward as more and more people try to game the system, depending on who you listen to), and ego-driven bloggers can wildly overvalue their own worth when haggling over compensation for a link or media placement.

But we can’t control that; we do have power over the communication that we send out to bloggers and webmasters, though.

The sad truth about snagging really valuable links is that it isn’t free. You have to invest – sometimes just time, but also product where appropriate. The best way to generate links, hands down, is to give someone something worth talking about and let them do so. That benefits you and your brand, and it benefits the people linking to you, as well – they’re going to get traffic, some free swag from you, and a shot at gaining a few links of their own. Everyone wins.

Maybe more importantly, bother to know something about the person you’re contacting; maybe their name, the topic of a recent post, etc. Prove that you understand why their site is relevant to yours and not just chosen at random because of its PageRank or Alexa data. As the Web gets more social, the payoff for real, human contact is only going to get greater.