This weeks discussion is an extension of my post from last week about buying links successfully.  I want to know what your “red flags” are when you build links.  I’m not concerned whether your purchasing them, trading them or even receiving them “naturally”.  What kind of factors would concern you enough to warrant attempting to remove an existing link to your website or just avoiding the link opportunity all together?

Below are a couple “red flags” in my book that what would scare me when looking to build one off links.

• Websites that aren’t indexed in Google and aren’t new sites.
• Websites that have issues with their entire site being indexed in Google.
• Does the website link out to questionable or “bad” niche sites?
• What type of links does this website have coming in? Are they quality, full of spam or from questionable neighborhoods?
• How many outbound links does the particular page i’m targeting already have?
• Dropped domains – especially ones that have been picked up and the theme radically changed.

These are just a few qualities I look for when building links to my clients and personal websites.  I have been told several times that I am far too picky about my link building prospects but I argue its a good technique to last the “test of time”.

So what are your “red flags” when building links?