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Webmasters Getting Creative With Their Link Removal Requests & It Works

Barry Schwartz on March 28, 2014 at 9:14 am

The new link building is link removal as some would say. Especially with all the craze around links and how they can get you penalized, link removal requests have become a thing all too familiar to anyone who runs a web site.

The challenge, like with link building requests, is to get the webmaster you are sending the request to, to actually read your request and then remove the link. That challenge is nothing new to those in link building. Adding a link is just as hard for webmasters are removing a link, but removing a link may be more insulting and perceived as negative.

One company, a diamond e-commerce site named brilliance.com got creative with their link removal requests. They sent out emails that read like a pirate, talking about how a link on their web site “might be making the seas stormy” for the company. They attached an image of a ship in stormy Google seas. Here is a picture of that email:

The response was great, Shai Barel of Brilliance, told us. He even sent us some responses he received from the email. They include:

Ahoy Ye Matey website removed.

I appreciate the way you approached bloggers about this so I will waive my typical fee and remove the link.

What a great removal request! Brightened up my day for sure…

Are you getting creative with your link removal requests? If so, tell us how in the comments.

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on SEM topics.