Lessons of the Free Link Giveaway
by Randall McCarley
September 7th, 2007
I have to say the Free Link Giveaway was a lot of fun. I got to explore sites I normally wouldn’t have which was an education in itself. I also got to see how SEO and link-building is touching sites in very different industries. Thanks again to everyone who participated.
I did get some publicity from the promotion which was nice. 
And I learned a lot about approaching people when it comes to link-building.
Most people are suspicious of free offers. And they should be, especially online where there is normally a hook.
A lot of people are so suspicious they won’t participate.
A few people are so suspicious they will become detractors. I was amazed that a few people made derisive comments or explained why these links would be worthless and a waste of time.
Having clear guidelines up front saved a lot of time. I got comments letting me know that people in the PPC and adult categories knew about the offer but saw it wasn’t going to work for them. This saved me from going to their sites and ultimately denying them.
Having clear guidelines kept things friendly. When I did have to decline a site there were clear reasons and every person I contacted understood and was ok with it. Going into this idea, the thought of denying people free links seemed a bit daunting to me… I really didn’t know how people would react and I was pleasantly surprised at how professional and understanding people were. I don’t think it would have been that way if the guidelines weren’t in place first.
People will help you do nice things. There’s probably some self-interest here as the more successful the campaign was the more it would help the participants but I got a lot of great advice on promotion, how the blog is structured and more. Some of those ideas were implemented here and some on other sites. So thanks for your generous ideas and contributions.
What I handled best was probably letting people know why I couldn’t grant them a link. This was probably because I was leery of that possibility before things started so I was well prepared. As mentioned this went much smoother than expected.
What I handled worst was vocal detractors. I was really shocked by some of the comments and claims like “link farm” and while I encouraged dialogue to get better understanding I think there was a tone in my writing that came through as “screw you, pal”. I’ll have to work on that.
So the Free Link Giveaway is complete and now you know what I got from it: a small amount of buzz, a few links thrown my way and some great lessons on managing a “too good to be true” promotion online. No matter what you do it still comes down to the people behind the websites.
I have no plans to give away free links. After all, I am not a link communist. But there are ways links can be had here… probably the same way you’d pick up links at any other site:
- Contribute
- Offer something noteworthy
- Let me know about it!
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