Since the whole I Follow Movement thing last spring, there have been lists of blogs published with titles like “10 High PR I Follow Blogs” encouraging readers to visit and comment, and “be sure it doesn’t look too spammy or it might get deleted.” Now that page rank has been updated, there are new lists being published, and since I’m now at PR6, I’m more of a target than ever for those sleazy link-whoring tactics. It’s not that I mind all that much – it’s pretty easy to spot and I can always delete the URL if not the entire comment.
While I certainly understand the urge to try and get as many high PR links as one can, in the end, many link whores are just lazy. All that time spent gathering links could be put to much better use writing great content, and networking with other bloggers.
Are you a link whore? Here’s a little quiz to help you answer that question:
1. Have you ever paid for a link (you can even buy links on ebay now!)? (5)
2. Have you ever left a comment just because you knew the site had turned off no follow? (2)
3. Have you ever done a press release that was full of links, but had nothing that was actually newsworthy? (5)
4. Have you ever used a trackback just for the link? (3)
5. Do you have multiple social bookmarking accounts, just so you can submit your posts multiple times? (3)
6. Have you ever e-mailed another blogger, asking to be added to their blogroll? (4)
Add up the points in the parentheses for each question you answered yes to. See how you fall on the relative scale of slut below:
0 – Congratulations! You get a halo and a gold star. 
1-5 – Okay, that’s not so bad. We’ve all felt a little desperate to build links at one time or another. Resolve to never do it again and you can have the gold star too.
6-12 – We’re starting to edge into slutty territory here. Go leave 5 comments on blogs that actually contribute to the conversation, and don’t let me catch you looking for that I Follow badge (see my sidebar) before you do it either.
13-17 – You slut! 20 lashings with a wet noodle and then go write a nice long “how to” article for your site instead of sending those e-mails to bloggers you barely know, asking to exchange links or to be added to their blogroll.
18 or more – [cue the Eagles' Desperado soundtrack] You need help! Start the 12-step program at Link Whores Anonymous immediately and remember that the first step is always to admit you have a problem. After you’ve finished, and are completely reformed, resolve to increase your page rank purely through providing great content for your readers.
So tell me… how did you do?
shameless link whore, I’m afraid. I scored a perfect 22.
I must admit that I do sometimes fall into this category, but only in the 1-5 zone. I tend to favor the I-Follow blogs I read over the non I-Follow blogs, in terms of more comments. However, I do not check their PR’s before doing it. I just care that they are I-Follow.
It is not that I do not comment on non I-Follow blogs, but that I am less inclined to do so. The I-Follow is that little extra motivation sometimes. This is why I made my own blog I-Follow. Because if it motivated me, then I felt I should allow others to do the same.
@David – I’m with you there. The I Follow does provide a little extra motivation. Thanks for reading and commenting here!
LOL I’m not a link whore – mostly because I don’t have time to even think about buying links, leaving comments on blogs I really don’t like just for a link back, don’t know beans about writing a press release, I detest link exchanges – If I want to link, I’ll link – no exchange necessary and I do belong to several social bookmarking sites, but I only joined them to be a part of the “in crowd” – If someone doesn’t send me the exact link to digg/stumble/sk*rt, I don’t have time to do anything else.
I’m a busy girl these days – too busy to be a whore
So does that mean I get to wear the button?
I haven’t been here for a while. Like your new header – fresh and nice – very ‘randa’. With regards to this post, I always believe that it’s important to leave a sincere comment and not just leave one for the sake of getting a link. I do fall within the 1-5 zone too but I’m careful not to overdo it
@Gayla- you definitely get your gold star.
@Doris – thanks for stopping by. I think most of us fall into the 1-5 range, and I agree that when one leaves a meaningful comment, it’s entirely different than leaving an empty one.
Just know, that if i had more time, I probably would have been a whore – but since reading your post? Well, I will start practicing safe blogging
Howdy, Randa! Is there a time limit like Technorati, where the offenses “fall off” the radar after sufficient time?
I only asked for a link exchange once, a long time ago and far, far away (and I didn’t even inhale!) It wasn’t even a high-ranked blog, just someone I wanted to be associated with.
Otherwise, I’m with Gayla – too busy to think about it. I just write.
I am middle of the road I guess… I did not commit the most egregious of acts but probably have thought about all of them at one point or another. Maybe I am just not trying hard enough
Scott
sigh… if I left a comment here, does that make me one?? But I got a big fat zero on the quiz. I have never failed any tests before… this is so sad!
Hi Randa – It’s been a while. Sounds like you are doing well! I think I’m a 0 but now that I’m leaving a comment here I guess that puts me in the 1-5 category.
BTW, I just discovered that my blog home page is a PR5. Who knew?
@Calvin – this is a test that is good to fail!
I am not a link whore (whew)
but does it count when someone requests a link and you give them it and then they link you on their blog as well? I did not make adding my link to their site conditional. I only return linkage if I feel it fits. I don’t pay attention to page rank. I just comment if it means something. Like this one. Honest. 
Actually, I scored a 2, because I like participating in dofollow communities and will often go out of my way to comment on something on one of those blogs. I’ve seen some great conversations start because of that extra little “oomph” that dofollow provides.
Even better, there tends to be more traffic on the good dofollow blogs and I’ve gotten some people coming to my blogs from them.
I’m so-not a link whore that I think the only links that point at my blog are from the redirect from when I moved it from my old non-domain hosting to the current domain lol!
On the other hand, does the fact that I actually don’t care if anybody reads it influence how I feel about link whoring?
And no, my blog isn’t a bunch of I’m-looking-out-the-window stuff…I actually write about stuff that I care about and that I think matter…it’s just that…lots of readers or just a few readers…what matters to me is that I get to write…when I have the time to do so.
Well … ain’t that what Trackbacks are for?
HART aka LinkWhore 1-5
Great post Randa! Just a 7 for me, but it would probably be a lot more if I wasn’t so shy about these things. I’ve written about it over at my blog, but I don’t dare to drop the link – you’ll just slam me!
I seriously like to network with other bloggers but not because it’s good for “PR” but mostly because you never know who you’re going to meet on the net and how much fun you might have blogging, etc.
I understand not paying attention to links/link-bakcs/link-exchanges and that everybody is busy, etc. BUT… you have to admit links are what make the internet world stay geeky square. Without links we would have nothing, be nothing, and search engines would resort to just grabbing pages, there would be no pages, it’s a horrible thought if you really think about it.
I like to network but that hardly makes me a link whore and certainly if I’m not interested in doing everything on the list, ya know?
Let me ask you this… if you genuinely like a blogger and you link to them isn’t it kind of a slap in the face if they don’t return the same courtesy? And if you really felt that strongly about it then why allow people the option of a comment and why bother having links at all beyond the convenience of being able to find stuff?
Well alrighty then… I’m off to see the Wizard!
@Aruni – the question asked if you were leaving comments ONLY because the site had turned off no follow. You always leave comments with substance when you’re here – so you definitely get the gold star.
@Thord – you can post a relevant link – of course! It’s those link to “come check out my pictures” that get slammed.
@Angela – I’m all for links and networking, absolutely. It’s the desperate attempt to get links back to sites that don’t have anything worth linking to in the first place that I’m against. Put the content in place, and the links will come. I turned off no follow precisely because I want to link to sites whose authors contribute here at my site.
Regarding your question about linking to a blogger and them not linking back to you, I personally feel that you should link to whoever you like and not expect anything in return. Link purely because you like them and you’re trying to provide good resources for your readers to consider. I like Veerle’s blog, and have her in my blogroll, but I certainly don’t expect her to link back to me. As much as I’d like to put everyone who has linked to me in my blogroll, there’s just no way I could do that. I still am super-grateful for everyone who is kind enough to link to me though.
Isn’t answering this question dangerous? Like, really, really dangerous?
Anyway, taking liberties and playing semantics…I’m at 12.
That makes me a Slippery Slut;-)
I know Randa, I’m just messing with you.
Anyone really interested can find my blog via my name anyway, so…
I do like to link to other bloggers and return the favor whenever I can because for me – it’s just not all that difficult to do something quick and simple. The positive that can come from acknowledging somebody’s positive efforts can be tremendous. Maybe I personally take it too seriously but then again I’m sensitive that way. BUT, some of what you pointed out does help me to realize with the billions of blogs out there it’s time for a re-prioritization. After all, we can’t make the time to read everybody’s blogs, right?
I will say this.. I don’t like linking back to blogs that take 3 months to update no matter how much I like you. LOL I am passionate about linking to those that are passionate about the same things I am though. But that’s just me. Thanks for sharing.. I do appreciate it!
Gold Star’d!
I hate comment whore’s, people who leave spammy comments. I am 4th on Courtney Tuttle’s “D-List” and get hundreds of comments a week :S
Let me play devils advocate on this comment that you made:
“I personally feel that you should link to whoever you like and not expect anything in return. Link purely because you like them and you’re trying to provide good resources for your readers to consider.”
Those that truly believe this deep down to their core wouldn’t care if all their “friends” all of a sudden didn’t link to them any more?
It wouldn’t phase you?
It wouldn’t bother you in the least bit?
Not even a little bit if all your “friends” decided that’s it’s just not all that important?
@Angela – I don’t link to someone just because they’re a friend, and I don’t expect someone else to link to me just because they’re a friend either. I really try and keep my blogroll to a relatively limited list of sites that are related to the topics I cover here (or my own sites, of course). If people don’t link to me at all then maybe I’m not providing enough quality content to be linkable I guess. I would never want someone to link to me just because I was a “friend”. I have some friends who have blogs on unrelated topics and as much as I might enjoy reading them and personally like them, if it’s not related to what I’m writing about here, I’m unlikely to add a link to the sidebar.
I think there’s a difference between maintaining a practice of linking and then suddenly changing.
I’m kind of like Randa in that respect. I have links in my sidebar that I use as a reference tool and want to share them because I find them useful and handy. I don’t think most of them link to me which is ok – it’s purely a reference.
Link exchanges just don’t work in my opinion — too much time, energy and hurt feelings go into them. If someone removes your link while you’re linking, you will wonder why – so why bother in the first place?
Just my policy. If I like ya, I’ll link to ya. If I don’t I’m not gonna – at least not in a way you’d want me to
First of all, thanks (again!) for the I-Follow movement. I just rejoined, after having turned my back too long.
I’ve had my share of slutty link whores, even before I killed off the nofollow. A lot of them have been link bots, so when that happens, I simply remove the link, and place the email address they used in the body of their comment. Mean, yes, but after a while it seems to have got the point across. Or maybe the spammer just found new pastuers, how can you really tell?
Funny enough, despite being no-follow for many months, I am not experiencing the large number of link-whores on my site. Mind, you I am not looking for them, nor are all the comments I get of high quality, but I do not get the flood of whores.
I guess I do not rank high enough for them.
As I said before, I joined no-follow because I think it is the right thing to do, and I want to offer some incentive to comment. Hopefully as my traffic increases, I will get more quality comments.
David
I prefer safe blogging and nothing extra!
Hi Randa,
This is a great quiz, but I think some of these need clarification. For example, I’ve bought a link before, but not for PR/SEO reasons. I bought the link because I thought it would generate an RoI, which it did by a factor of 4. In other words, I bought the link for trackable advertising value, not untrackable SEO value.
That’s my only issue with the quiz though, and it makes a great point (albeit one most people are bound to miss.)
Well, I scored a big fat Zero, but knowing that you are a PR6 and have turned off no-follow… hehe, just kidding.
I only comment on blogs when I have something valuable to say (or at least I think it’s valuable). In the beginning I did pay attention to who was following links, but that’s too much work. And there’s way more to leaving comments than the SEO purposes! Conversation is number one, naturally, but in addition, saying useful and interesting things gets the attention of regular readers and commentors as well as the blogs author (hopefully).
I scored a 4 but I’m definately a link whore … see.
this is hysterical!! I scored ZERO but only because I launched my blog last week. I am learning the ropes in the world of blogging and I could already see myself racing toward a score of 22+
thank heavens I found this site and it slowed be down before I even started down the path of becoming a link whore!
great site
I scored 2 because of my love for “u comment I follow blogs.” I try and say interesting things, really I do!
I’d like to say, for those who think that the link benefit of posting means nothing to them, they could post their witty and insightful comments without including their URL.
The person who does that is the link saint (as opposed to the link whore.)
[...] Are You a Link Whore? [...]
A 2 here, as with others I like to share the link love with dofollow sites.
Ok, i scored 17. But the thing is that nowadays is almost impossible not be addicted in links. That is the only way to find the road to traffic for your new website. In my opinion every single one of us at some point got involved in the whole links thing. Blame google for that. Finally i really believe that if you don’t leave spammy comments on a blog you deserve the link, cause you are providing fresh unique content to the blog thus helping the owner rank for more search terms.
Just my 2c
I came to your blog by following a link in the footer of a template I liked. I stayed because I found this Link Whore article amusing.
I’ve e-mailed bloggers about trading links before, but it is because I have stumbled on a blog I like and think my traffic and their traffic are probably similar enough that our readers would like the links.
I got here because I decided to dofollow and I needed a button. Recently found out I have PR4 (I have no idea how) so I thought I’d share the love. Anyway, I saw this post on your sidebar and I couldn’t resist taking the test. I scored a 6. Ooh. I’ve yet to get desperate enough to email people for links, but I don’t think I’d get offended if they asked me. I don’t know what I’d say though if I don’t like their blogs.
“Your blog sucks” usually works.
I think it’s kind of sad that sites are more and more often being judged by their Page Rank. I used to have a PR 4 blog, but a short while ago it dropped to a PR3 — most likely due to Text-Link-Ads on my site. The content hasn’t changed, and new content is being added several times a week, so I see no reason why it should have dropped. I’ve heard of this happening to several prominent bloggers lately — all who offer great content. But because Google is pissing around with rankings, their “perceived value” is going down virtually overnight.
good to fail!
How do i collect my gold star? Im a 0! You have brightened my day now i feel positively angelic!
Didn’t score that many ………… but please don’t delete this post!!!!!
i scored a 0 there but does getting an extra motivation in commenting in i-follow blogs rather than no-follow blogs count? if the spam gets too much I guess it’s time to turn this off. i once had ifollow 6 months back with my main blog but i got spammed by via-gra and other products too much and my akismet plugin cant stop them thus i turned it off.
I’m guilty, but I am too much of a coward to add everything up. I don’t buy links, but I do so many other things that probably push the envelope.
I feel regret and remorse, but I certainly will not repent!
I scored 4 points, only saying “yes” to the last question. But as much as I’d like be proud of myself, my low score is probably mostly out of ignorance. I’m so new to all of this that I don’t even know what this quiz was about. *frown* But soon… soon I shall be educated. Hopefully, I will stay grounded and not turn into the dreaded linkwhore. Hopefully.
Edit: How can I get that limited-time comment edit option? I love it!
OK… I have to admit, i am a link whore. I scored a 22. I feel dirty after going through that. I really do not try to spam. There must be a place to get help. Save me.
Well, I also seem to be a link whore
Hmmm, I think most people that want to increase their PR are LW lol
Are You a Link Whore? at Randa Clay Design…
Ever since the whole “I Follow” Movement took off last year there has been no shortage of lists with titles such as “10 High PR I Follow Blogs” encouraging readers to visit and comment to get free links.
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