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How to Choose a Link-Building Agency
How to Choose a Link-Building Agency
Link-building is an essential part of any business’ SEO strategy. If you want your website to rank well on search engines, you will need backlinks from relevant sites with high domain authorities (DA). It is important to remember that link-building is about more than just creating content and hoping that it naturally generates links. It also requires relationship-building and outreach. That is why many businesses choose to outsource this process to an agency. But you do not want to choose any link-building SEO services. You need to find an experienced partner that uses the best practices.
Vetting link builders can be challenging but there is no need to worry. Here are the questions you should ask to help you find the right agency and build a long-lasting partnership.
What is Link-Building?
In simple terms, it is a process of getting other websites to link to the content on your website. If you can secure a link from a website with lots of authority, this authority will be passed on to you. And, as a result, this will help to improve your rankings in search results.
Why are Backlinks so Important?
In the eyes of Google, backlinks are essentially recommendations from other websites. If you get a link from a trustworthy site, this tells Google that your content is valuable. In other words, links provide a vote of confidence that searchers can trust your content. With a well-thought-out link-building strategy, you can increase your authority and generate more organic traffic.
Best Practices
When done right, link-building can be extremely rewarding. Getting backlinks does more than just boost authority and rankings, it can also generate qualified traffic that you can convert into sales and leads. However, it is important to find an agency that uses best practices. Otherwise, you run the risk of being penalised by Google.
Over the years, Google has cracked down on various inauthentic link-building strategies. For example, if Google detects that you are buying links to trick the algorithm, you are unlikely to enjoy the same ranking benefits. Instead, it is wise to pick an agency that works with you to develop a strategy that helps you get quality links.
Some good ways agencies get you backlinks include:
Creating Link-Worthy Content
Guest Posting
Blogger Outreach
Broken Link Building
Pursuing Unliked Brand Mentioned
Pitching Your Content to Authors & Editors
Questions to Ask Your Link Building Partner
There are a number of different link-building agencies in the UK. With so many options, it can be challenging to find an agency that will help your business achieve its goals. Here are some things to consider when searching for a link-building specialist.
1. What Sort Of Campaigns Have They Done Before?
To get an idea of an agency’s experience and expertise, look at their previous work. Ask to see their case studies to gain an understanding of how they deliver results. Reputable link builders should be transparent about their processes and be willing to share their success stories.
If they have already worked with a client in your niche and produced a successful campaign, you can be even more confident that they are the ideal agency for you. After all, they may have established relationships with key contacts, which will speed up the outreach process.
2. How Much Do They Charge?
We understand that most businesses do not want to spend a fortune on digital PR. However, if an agency’s prices are very low, the quality of the links they acquire may be too. Generally, agencies that are able to secure high-quality, organic links will offer you an affordable package. Prices can range from anywhere between £500 – £5,000. Packages will usually include a guarantee that the total value of links generated will match or be above what you paid.
As a rule of thumb, generally, you can expect to pay:
- £100 for a link from a website with a DA of 30
- £425 for a link from a website with a DA of 50+
- £525 for a link from a website with a DA of 70+
- £800 for a link from a website with a DA of 80+
- £1,200 for a link from a website with a DA of 90+
3. What Are Their Strengths?
Even if an agency can offer you a competitive rate, that does not mean that you should pick them to handle your campaign. You also need to weigh up their strengths and weaknesses. Ideally, the perfect agency will have a wealth of knowledge on SEO and link-building practices. That way, they can develop a strategic campaign that builds your authority and increases rankings. They should also keep their knowledge up to date, allowing you to get ahead of the competition and stay in Google’s good books.
On top of that, your link-building partner should be reliable and transparent about their processes, communicating with you every step of the way. Plus, they should have experience in outreach and securing high-quality links from a range of publishers and websites.
4. What Strategies Do They Rely On?
Equally, it is important to make sure that the strategies they use follow Google’s guidelines. This will help to diversify your backlink profile and ensure that you are not penalised by Google.
If guest posting is their main strategy, they may not be the right partner for you. This is because Google does not approve of large-scale guest posting. This means that any links acquired will have little to no influence on your rankings.
5. How Do They Find Good Opportunities?
Not all links are good links. Getting links back to your site from spammy or irrelevant websites can do more harm than good. Experienced link builders will help you secure links from sites you want your brand to be associated with. We assess websites using the following criteria:
- Organic traffic
- Topical relevance
- Domain authority
- Referring pages
- Spammy behaviour
- Content quality
6. Who Will Be Leading Your Campaign?
The success of your campaign may depend on who is in charge of your strategy. So, it makes sense to ask about their experience and past achievements. It is also a good idea to learn more about the people supporting them to ensure your campaign runs smoothly.
7. Is There Outreach Process Personalised?
While automation can help to speed up the outreach process, this can result in spammy emails that do not generate results. Instead, experienced link builders will take time to personalise emails and tailor pitches to build relationships with journalists, editors and authors.
8. How Do They Track Links?
Your link-building partner should monitor and keep track of results. Link-building reports should cover:
- The number of new links built
- Whether new links are do-follow, no-follow or lost
- The status of previously acquired links
- The domain rating of built links
- URLs to where the links are
- Spikes in traffic
- Conversions
Most agencies will use tools like Ahrefs and Google Analytics to track these metrics. In some cases, agencies may offer a money-back guarantee if they cannot deliver the results you are looking for or may even offer to build free links.
9. Will They Create Content For You?
Most PR campaigns will require a blog, press release, infographic or even a new landing page. Ideally, you want an agency that can shoulder this responsibility and create the content for you. However, you will need to make sure that they understand your tone of voice, brand guidelines and overall vision. This will save you from having to go back and forth with edits and amendments.
10. How Do They Determine How Many Links You Need?
The main goal of link-building is to give you a competitive edge and boost your rankings. Instead of just determining how many links to build based on your budget, your partner will also look at your competitor’s domain authority and backlink profile. This will help them set the right expectations and develop an effective strategy.
11. Can They Offer Their Expertise?
If you are new to the world of SEO and link-building, a link-building consultant will offer their expertise and help you get started. They will develop a strategy that maps out how to grow your business through link-building and helps you understand best practices.
12. How Do They Calculate ROI?
At the end of the day, the success of your project should be measured based on your goals. For example, if your goal is to improve rankings, your partner should look at the growth of targeted pages in search engine rankings. Similarly, if your goal is to secure high-value media placements, your partner will look at the value of links acquired.
13. What Tools Do They Use?
To secure quality links, your partner should have a streamlined standard operating procedure and use the right tools. A typical link-building toolkit will include:
- Ahrefs – This is used to evaluate websites, find prospects and track results
- Haro – This is used to find reactive opportunities
- Response Source – This tool provides access to a media database and journalist enquiries
- Hunter.io – This provides email addresses for key contacts
- Mailchimp – This helps to monitor and track outreach emails
Let Us Help You Boost Your Rankings
With over 5 years of experience under our belts, we have produced a number of successful digital marketing campaigns for clients in Birmingham and beyond. When you partner with us, you benefit from:
Exceptional Customer Service
The secret to a successful partnership is open and honest communication. Our team will be fully invested in your project, providing you with regular updates and reports throughout the entire campaign.
Easy-to-Read Reports
Reports can be intimidating and difficult to wrap your head around but they do not have to be. We always provide our clients with visual reports. Plus, we report on the metrics that you care about so you can clearly see how our link-building efforts are improving your bottom line.
Combined Expertise
When you choose us as your link-building partner, you benefit from a combination of link-building and SEO expertise. You can rest easy knowing that your link-building campaign aligns with your wider digital marketing goals and will boost your rankings in search results.
Read What Our Clients Have to Say
As a triple-Clutch award-winning agency, we have years of experience working with a variety of businesses in Birmingham and the wider UK. To get a better understanding of how we can support your business, read why some of our clients have chosen us as their digital marketing partner:
Develop Your Link-Building Strategy Today
If you are still unsure about the link-building SEO services you need, speak to our team of digital marketing experts today. We will be more than happy to help you find the best strategy to achieve your goals.