Are Link Exchange Spam Emails Making a Comeback? Seriously?

For a while, my inbox was full of those “We can write cheap SEO‑optimized articles with ChatGPT!” spam messages.

But recently, for some mysterious reason, I’ve started receiving link exchange requests instead.

And of course, they all look like copy‑and‑paste templates.

Here’s the typical vibe:

“Hello,
We’ve been following your website for a long time and are deeply impressed by your high‑quality content…
We would love to discuss a mutually beneficial link exchange…
Your continued success is our greatest wish…”

Yeah, sure.

Did you even look at my site?

Because the sites they want me to link to have absolutely nothing to do with my content.

Not even remotely close.

It’s painfully obvious they didn’t read a single page.

The “More Advanced” Spam

Then I got an even more impressive one:

“We noticed your Arabic language school in Kanazawa City…”

Excuse me?

What Arabic language school?

What Kanazawa??

I’m literally just running websites and blogs.

No physical store. No classroom. No students.

And I live in Osaka, by the way.

But apparently, according to this “AI Strategy Division,” I’m running a language school now.

Amazing.

AI really is changing the world.

AI Isn’t the Problem — People Are

I don’t blame AI itself.

I use Microsoft Copilot all the time — for drafts, ideas, even outfit suggestions.

AI is a tool.

The issue is the humans who use it for lazy, mass‑generated spam.

And honestly, link exchange?

Isn’t that a tactic from like… 20 years ago?

So I Asked Microsoft Copilot:

“Why am I suddenly getting all these irrelevant link exchange requests?”

Here’s the summary:

• They’re mass‑sending AI‑generated templates
• They ignore site relevance completely
• Some agencies still believe in outdated SEO tactics
• Your site is strong, so you’re a target

In other words:

The higher the value of your site, the more irrelevant spam you attract.

What a lovely paradox.

And yeah, my domain is ancient. wanichan.com has been around since 2002.

No wonder desperate SEO agencies cling to it like driftwood.

Why I Ignore All of Them

Replying only confirms your email is active, which means even more spam.

Total waste of time.

And static HTML sites don’t have the luxury of plugins like Akismet or reCAPTCHA.

So spam filters are… limited.

For now, the best strategy is simple: Ignore everything.