Managing Your Link Exchange Pipeline

Pipeline Stages

Treat link exchanges like a sales pipeline. Every opportunity moves through defined stages so nothing falls through the cracks.

Stage 1: Prospect

• New link exchange opportunities identified via Slack, email, or outbound research
• No contact has been made yet
• Action: Run initial screening using your qualification checklist

Stage 2: Contacted

• First outreach message sent or received
• Waiting for response or actively in conversation
• Action: Follow up within 3-5 business days if no response

Stage 3: Negotiating

• Both parties have expressed interest
• Discussing terms: pages, anchor text, placement, and timeline
• Action: Confirm all details in writing before proceeding

Stage 4: In Progress

• Agreement reached, one or both parties are placing links
• Action: Place your link and notify the partner, then verify their placement

Stage 5: Live

• Both links are placed and verified
• Action: Add to your monitoring schedule for ongoing checks

Stage 6: Completed / Archived

• Exchange has been live for the agreed period or has been terminated
• Action: Archive the record and update partner scoring

Pipeline Management Tips

1. Review your pipeline weekly — move stale prospects to “archived” after 30 days of no response
2. Set capacity limits — do not negotiate more than 10-15 exchanges simultaneously
3. Prioritize by impact — focus on partners with the highest relevance and authority scores
4. Track conversion rates — measure how many prospects convert to live exchanges
5. Use Linkorite to automate status tracking and get alerts when follow-ups are due