Here is the revised version of the article with URLs removed:
—
Whenever I’ve trained link builders, I’ve maintained one consistent approach over the last decade: immerse them directly in the work, allowing them to learn through experience, including making mistakes and finding their own unique approaches. I always emphasize that mistakes are expected, and they invariably happen—some more significant than others. However, I believe that making mistakes provides the best learning experiences. I continue to make errors myself and anticipate many more in the future.
This article highlights some of the most notable mistakes that my team and I have encountered. Take this opportunity to learn from our errors!
### Mistake #1: Contacting someone who specifically states they don’t want what you’re offering
Before seeking to secure a guest post or a link, check to ensure that it’s even a possibility. Many websites explicitly state that they do not accept guest posts, won’t provide text links, or only use in-house authors. This information can be located in various sections, but if it’s not easily visible (like the About Us page), perform a quick site search to verify if you’re not wasting your time and theirs.
### Mistake #2: Securing a link on a hacked site
This one is particularly frustrating! Fortunately, I haven’t personally done this (yet), but some of my link builders have. Hacked sites are not always immediately apparent. Some pages may look normal while hackers have embedded hidden pages, only noticeable via a site search. For this reason, I consistently perform such searches.
Kindly inform the webmaster if you discover a site has been hacked.
### Mistake #3: Securing a link on a non-indexed Google site
If you use Google for site discovery, this likely isn’t a problem for you. However, ensure that the specific page linking to you is indexed. Some link builders rely on methods beyond Google and may end up with links on deindexed sites.
Surprisingly, some deindexed sites appear decent at first glance, boasting reasonable metrics. While Google isn’t the only search engine, deindexing is generally a negative indication.
### Mistake #4: Engaging a site for a local client with the wrong country’s city
Guilty as charged! This ranks among my most regrettable mistakes in quite some time. Surprisingly, neither I, the content creator, nor the outreach link builder noticed this error. We were puzzled when the webmaster questioned our relevance since the proposal was pertinent to their industry—just wrong for the country.
### Mistake #5: Letting someone string you along
This is tricky since identifying when someone is toying with you can be difficult. Commonly, webmasters engage us for extensive discussions but drop communication unexpectedly. Recently, someone led us on for two weeks, engaging actively, only to later claim they’d never link to us, without reason—a simple case of being uncooperative.
### Mistake #6: Requesting links in comment sections
I’m pleased to report that my team hasn’t done this in years, but it used to happen. Some still engage in this lazy practice, providing a clear footprint seen across numerous comments sections.
### Mistake #7: Contacting affiliated sites of a client
Keeping track of every site we engage aids in monitoring. Occasionally, I find contacts among sister sites of a client, which is embarrassing. Now, I log all affiliated client sites in a “Do Not Contact” database to avert such issues.
### Mistake #8: Accidentally contacting the actual client
This, unfortunately, hasn’t happened just once. Although it’s an inexcusable mistake, it’s occurred. A link builder erred by using the client’s email instead of a targeted webmaster’s, which is plain neglectful.
### Mistake #9: Securing links where the client already has one
Having multiple links to a site in one article is understandable. But clients likely don’t appreciate their time being spent securing links on already linked pages. Despite seeming lazy, this still happens on occasion.
### Mistake #10: Inserting links into others’ quotes, guest posts, or sponsored content
This mistake is frequent among my teams. Inserting a link into someone else’s submitted quote or sponsored post without permission is inappropriate. Content changes months after publication, even with webmaster consent, remain unethical.
### Mistake #11: Replacing a sponsored link with a client’s link
One of my team’s worst historical errors was substituting a sponsored link with our client’s link—a poor practice outright. Surprising as it sounds, someone even tried asking for a link replacement in an existing article of mine recently—a clever yet misguided attempt.
### Learn from our mistakes—and yours!
We hope that you learn from your errors. Ideally, they’re minor and don’t impact others significantly. Regardless, it’s critical to discuss mistakes with your team to prevent recurrence. The above missteps occurred multiple times, highlighting the importance of proactive communication in preventing future slip-ups.
