Asking a partner for a link

Partners do not file requests at each other. Once two sites are partners, either can ask for a link whenever they have a page worth linking, as many times as they like. The Partners page says so: "Ask a partner for a link any time — no new request needed."

Ask for a link is on each active partner's row in Partners, in the row's menu, and at the top of the partner's own page. It opens a four-step builder.

Step 1: which of their pages?

Their shared list, searchable. Pick the page your link fits best, or paste any page on their site.

Some rows carry a note about where the page lives and what access your partner has to it. A page they edit directly is quick. A page where a publisher has to apply the change takes longer, and Rankbench will remind you at the review step.

Pick for relevance rather than for the page with the best figures. A link from a genuinely related article is worth more than one wedged into their strongest page.

Step 2: which of your pages should it point to?

The page that gets the link, described as usually the one you are trying to rank.

Any page of yours works; it does not have to be in your shared list, because this is the destination rather than the host.

Resist pointing everything at your homepage. A specific page, matched to the specific article linking to it, is what makes the link mean something.

Step 3: which words should carry the link?

The step worth slowing down for.

Rankbench fetches their page and shows you its text, so you select the words that should become the link, in place. That way you are proposing something concrete rather than describing it.

Two ways in.

Link the words that are already there. The words already on their page become the link. Nothing else changes, which is the least invasive request you can make and the easiest to say yes to.

Add a new sentence. One sentence goes in after the one you picked, carrying the link. You write it, and the builder tells you to write it so it sounds like them rather than like you.

If their page cannot be read, which happens with bot protection, the builder says so and lets you type the words and paste the sentence yourself, with their page open beside you.

What wording to choose

Descriptive, and about the destination. If the page is a guide to invoice automation, words to that effect are right.

Avoid your exact target phrase repeated as-is. Many sites block exact-match anchors in their rules, and it is the single most common reason a link request comes back with different wording suggested.

Avoid "click here" and "read more", which say nothing to anybody.

Step 4: ready to send?

A review of the whole thing: which page, pointing where, with which words, and how it goes in. Plus an optional note.

The page reminds you what happens next: they decide whether to place it, and nothing appears on their site until they do.

After you send

They are notified and it is their move. They can accept and place it, suggest different wording, or decline.

If they suggest different wording, you can accept theirs or send yours back, which is a normal negotiation rather than a problem. See answering a link request for their side of it.

Once it is live, the link is checked and then kept under watch. See how Rankbench keeps watch.

Where to go next

The partner ledger is where every link with this partner is tracked.