Partner Qualification Process

Overview

A consistent qualification process prevents your team from wasting time on low-quality exchanges. This guide establishes clear criteria so every team member evaluates partners the same way.

Three-Stage Qualification

Stage 1: Initial Screening (2 minutes)

Run a quick check on the basics before investing more time:

1. Verify the domain has a DR/DA above your minimum threshold
2. Confirm the site has organic traffic (at least 1,000 monthly visits)
3. Check niche relevance — is there topical overlap with your content?
4. Ensure the site is not on your internal blocklist

If the partner passes Stage 1, move to a deeper evaluation.

Stage 2: Detailed Assessment (10 minutes)

1. Analyze the proposed linking page’s traffic and keyword rankings
2. Review the site’s backlink profile for spam signals
3. Check the site’s content quality — is it well-written and regularly updated?
4. Verify the site is not involved in large-scale link exchange schemes
5. Score the partner on a 1-10 scale across relevance, authority, and traffic

Stage 3: Final Decision

• Score 8-10: Accept immediately and prioritize the exchange
• Score 5-7: Accept conditionally — negotiate for better page placement if possible
• Score below 5: Decline politely and add to your “not qualified” list

Maintaining Your Qualification Standards

• Review your scoring criteria quarterly based on exchange performance data
• Track which score ranges produce the best results for your site
• Adjust thresholds as your own domain authority grows