Publisher Replacement Request Template

Publisher Replacement Request (fill-in)

When to use: One row per broken placement with agreed terms, observed issue, evidence, requested remedy, deadline, owners and a completion check.

Publisher replacement request sheet

One row per placement that broke its terms. Fill it before you email anyone. A row with no evidence does not get sent.

Your site: [domain] - Vendor or publisher: [name] - Order ref: [order / invoice ID] - Request owner: [name]

Per-row detail (fill for every placement)

• Where the terms are written: [order page, email, contract clause, with date]
• Agreed target URL and anchor: [exact URL and anchor text]
• Agreed link attribute: [rel="sponsored" / rel="nofollow" / as disclosed on the page]
• Agreed live period or guarantee: [e.g. replacement if removed within N months]
• Delivered and checked on: [date of the original QA pass]
• Observed issue: [removed / target changed / anchor changed / page moved / redirected / noindex / deleted]
• First seen and re-checked: [two dates, at least a day apart]
• Evidence files: [screenshot names, archive URLs, tool exports]
• Requested remedy: [one main ask plus a fallback]
• Deadline for reply: [date, and what happens after it]

Next action

• Link checker: [name] - task: re-check the placement and save the evidence by [date]
• Request owner: [name] - task: send the request email with the evidence pack by [date]
• Account or budget owner: [name] - task: approve the fallback remedy and log the result by [date]

Completion check

• Every row quotes the agreed terms and says where they are written.
• The issue was seen on two dates, and each date is recorded.
• Evidence includes the live state now and the delivered state before.
• The remedy is one clear ask with a fallback and a reply deadline.
• No row asks for a paid link without rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".
• The outcome is logged in your backlink tracker and vendor scorecard.

Issue Types and How to Prove Them

When to use: Name the issue exactly, confirm it with the right check and save the evidence a vendor can verify.

Issue types and how to prove them

Name the issue exactly. "The link is gone" starts an argument. "The link to /guides/x was removed between 2 and 9 Nov" starts a fix.

How to check

• Run the post URL through the Redirect Checker. It shows every hop, each status code and the final URL.
• Run your own domain in the Backlink Analyzer to see your strongest links and their anchors. If the page isn't listed, that alone doesn't prove the link is gone.
• Open the post, view source and search for your domain. Copy the exact <a> tag into the evidence.
• Compare with the archived copy you saved at delivery, or with the Backlink Delivery QA Checklist record.

A note on paid links and attributes

Google asks that paid placements carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". See Google on qualifying outbound links.

So frame an attribute issue as "differs from what was agreed and disclosed". Never ask a publisher to remove the qualifier from a paid link.

If an old order promised a "dofollow" paid link, don't claim that as a breach. Fix the order terms instead. Google's spam policies list buying links for ranking as link spam. Both pages checked 12 November 2026.

Evidence Pack Checklist

When to use: What to attach to the first email: agreed terms, delivered state and observed state now.

Evidence pack checklist

Send the evidence with the first email. A vendor can then check it in minutes, not ask for it in a week.

Agreed terms

• Order or invoice ID, date and the text that lists the placement.
• Agreed target URL, anchor, attribute and sponsor label, quoted.
• Any guarantee wording: replacement window, refund terms, response time.

Delivered state

• Delivery date and the URL you were sent.
• Screenshot or archived copy from your QA pass, with the link visible.
• Status code and indexable state on delivery day.

Observed state now

• Screenshot with the date and URL bar visible.
• The current <a> tag from the source, or a note that none exists.
• Redirect chain and final status code.
• Meta robots value, if the page has noindex.
• A second check on a later day, to rule out a cache or a temporary error.

File naming

Use one folder per request: [vendor]_[order ID]_[YYYY-MM-DD]. Name files by what they show, like delivered-screenshot.png and now-source.txt.

Before you send, confirm your own target URL still works: run it through the Redirect Checker and check for a 200. Run a Website Audit on your site to catch wider problems.

Remedy and Deadline Picker

When to use: Pick one main ask, a fallback and a reply deadline for each type of issue.

Remedy and deadline picker

Ask for one remedy, name a fallback, and set a date. Open-ended requests drift for months.

Remedy fields

• Main ask: [restore / 301 / replacement / refund]
• Fallback if main ask is refused: [remedy]
• Replacement must match: [topic fit, traffic or authority range, attribute, disclosure, live period]
• Replacement needs your approval: [yes, before publishing]
• Reply deadline: [date]
• Fix deadline: [date]
• After the deadline: [escalate to / dispute via / log and stop buying]

Rules

• Use the terms you have in writing. Don't invent a guarantee after the fact.
• Approve a replacement site before it goes live, with the same checks as the first order.
• Accept a qualified attribute as compliant. It is not a reason to refuse a fix.

Request, Follow-up and Close Emails

When to use: Three short emails built from the sheet: the request, one follow-up and a close.

Request emails

Three emails: the request, one follow-up, and a close. Keep each one about facts the other side can check.

Email 1: replacement request

Subject: Order [ID]: placement on [site] no longer matches the agreed terms

Hi [name], the placement from order [ID] on [post URL] has changed since delivery on [date].

Agreed: [target URL, anchor, attribute, live period]. Seen on [date 1] and [date 2]: [issue].

Evidence is attached: [list of files].

Please [main ask] by [deadline]. If that's not possible, we'd accept [fallback].

Thanks, [name], [role], [company]

Email 2: follow-up (after the reply deadline)

Subject: Re: Order [ID] placement

Hi [name], following up on [date sent]. The placement still shows [issue] as of [date].

Could you confirm [main ask] or [fallback] by [new date]?

Email 3: close

Hi [name], we haven't heard back on order [ID]. We're closing this request as [unresolved / resolved with X] and noting it in our vendor records.

If you can still [main ask], reply and we'll re-check the page.

Don't

• Threaten. Facts and a date do more.
• Ask the publisher to drop rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" from a paid link.
• Send to a general inbox when the order named a contact.

Need help sorting out a vendor dispute or a whole link profile? Book a free consultation with Anatolii Ulitovskyi.

Spreadsheet Header (CSV)

When to use: A paste-ready header row and allowed values to run requests in Google Sheets or Excel.

Paste-ready spreadsheet header

Paste this row into cell A1 of Google Sheets or Excel, then split text to columns by comma. One row per placement with an issue.

request_id,vendor,publisher_site,order_id,order_date,terms_source,post_url,agreed_target_url,agreed_anchor,agreed_rel,agreed_live_period,delivered_date,observed_issue,first_seen,rechecked,current_target_url,current_anchor,current_rel,final_url,status_code,evidence_folder,main_remedy,fallback_remedy,reply_deadline,fix_deadline,request_owner,sent_date,follow_up_date,outcome,closed_date,scorecard_logged

Allowed values

• observed_issue: removed, target_changed, anchor_changed, attribute_differs, moved_redirected, noindex, deleted, site_down
• agreed_rel / current_rel: sponsored, nofollow, sponsored_nofollow, none
• main_remedy / fallback_remedy: restore, redirect_301, replacement, refund, credit, goodwill
• outcome: open, restored, replaced, refunded, credited, refused, no_reply
• scorecard_logged: yes, no

Sheet tips

• Flag rows where rechecked is empty. They are not ready to send.
• Sort by reply_deadline so follow-ups go out on time.
• Group by vendor. A pattern of issues belongs in the Link Building Vendor Scorecard.
• Copy final outcomes back into your Backlink Tracker.

Worked Example (fictional cookware shop)

When to use: Three filled rows for an invented cookware shop: a removed link, a moved post and an attribute change that needed no request.

Worked example: Marrowpine cookware

Example only. Marrowpine is an invented cast-iron cookware shop. Gostlow Media and the Kettlemoor journal are invented too. All sites, URLs, names and dates are made up.

Site: marrowpine.example - Vendor: Gostlow Media - Order ref: GM-2207 - Request owner: SEO lead

How the rows were filled

• Row 1: the QA screenshot from 14 Sep showed the link. Two checks two days apart showed it gone.
• Row 2: the Redirect Checker showed the post moved. The category page has no link to Marrowpine.
• Row 3: nofollow is still an accepted way to qualify a paid link, so no request was sent.
• Email: one request covered rows 1 and 2, with both evidence folders attached.

Outcome (fictional)

• Gostlow Media restored row 1 on 10 Nov and set a 301 for row 2 on 11 Nov.
• The SEO lead re-checked both on 12 Nov and closed the request.
• The vendor scorecard noted one fix within the deadline and one moved post.