Link building outsource advice
-
I have been limping along doing link building myself for several months now. Creating relationships, asking for links, writing some articles and press. So far, decent results, but I need to take it to another level.
I used SubmitEdge's 400 manual directory submission product, but still not seeing many links coming from it.
So, I would like to hire an onshore SEO to help me with link building. After getting several quotes from reputable companies, I found the process very frustrating.
I know this business is not about guarentees, but they all want $600-$1000 per month for a fairly open ended service. All they tell me is that they will submit to directories, social media sites, shopping sites, and some niche sites. No guarentees of how many (or what quality) of links I'll get, or even how much time they even plan to spend.
Any suggestions on what I should expect? and any suggestion companies?
-
Best thing you can do is check fiverr and maybe digital point and be VERY VERY selective in who you hire. Test them on a site you don't care too much about and be detailed in the tasks you give them. Stay away from mass submission type stuff; directories, articles, etc.
I'd look for someone who can truly do niche linking or competitor offset links for you (in house). Maybe someone on craigslist you can train.
-
Thanks so much for your input Kristi and Mike. I've had the similar experience with offshore link building.
But what about some of the reputable SEO firms and their link building product. I know there are lots within this forumn. I would like to hire someone to help me compliment what I can't do with my team, but I need some transparency in the practice. Looking to partner with someone that can compliment what I am already doing.
Suggestions?
-
I know your pain. Been there. My experience was not good. Tried 2 of them. Even though they promised relevant, gramatically correct English postings, they did not deliver. I believe they were acting as middle-men to low-cost labor offshore who did not write solid English nor know anything about the niche my product was in. Plus, they did some questionable things with links that if done on large scale would probably get my site banned. Fortunately I was able to stop it before it got out of control.
The only way I would use an outsourced service again is to pre-approve every post/article in advance (at least for the first 50 or until I got very comfortable with their work). And that's tedious enough (and time consuming enough) that I'm not sure what value they're adding at that point. I could hire my own low-cost labor and then do the same approval process and then post them (cutting out the middle man).
It's really hard when site owners give testimonials like "my SEO firm is great" because the site owners are often unaware that their outsourced SEO firm is using black/grey hat tactics (eg JC Penny). If you're going to hire someone and pay them hundreds/month then take a long time to interview them. Ask for customer references. Ask for data on improvements they've made for their customers (what were the rankings before they started, and how did they improve over the months?). They should have multiple examples of monthly improvement for multiple clients, and then explain to you which white-hat techniques they used to achieve those results. If they refuse to share client references (where you can get on the phone and speak to some of their clients) or data then move along and look elsewhere; there are a million scamsters out there...
-
I have tried both types of services. The open-ended "directories and social media sites" are not worth it. Honestly, I would hire a college intern looking for SEO experirence and a possible future job and train them the way YOU want it done. Meaning, high quality relationships built, real emails sent with personality, guest posting articles that they can create, etc.
It would be much more value than the bigger open ended companies, unless you get a great recommendation from someone on who to hire.
The truth of it is that those bigger type companies who you would be paying are also hiring the cheap interns who don't care about your business and don't know who you are. If you hire them directly, at least they will care more.
Good luck!
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
link building problems
Hello everyone
Link Building | | mkeshavarzmozprodt
I am not sure about the way Moz rank websites but sometimes I think it's a bit confusing. As an example, it kept changing in 3 days by going up and down. In addition, It is not compatible with my Ahrefs ranking. Would you please tell me which one is more correct and accurate in terms of my website authority?
It would be my pleasure if you take look at it first. Thank you in advance.
https://www.englishdon.ir/0 -
Link building for a new site... where do I start?
Hi all, I'm new and have just launched my website. I need to start building my backlinks and I need to know how I can go about getting started? I read the beginners guide but still stuck on where to start? Any advice Thanks
Link Building | | edward-may0 -
Link Building Recommendations Please
Hi - I am responsible for a small but growing number of websites for companies that serve the elderly population. I need help with link building for these websites and I'm looking for suggestions on finding one or two professionals to whom I can outsource that work. 1. Can you recommend anyone for this need, someone I can contact who you know to be qualified and professional? 2. Can you give me an idea of what such services should cost? Thanks!
Link Building | | tcolling0 -
Most significant link building factor
Am I right in thinking the most important link building factor is the number of unique linking root domains? Multiple links from a domain won't help me so much?
Link Building | | SamCUK0 -
Suggestions needed on link building campaign...
Getting links has become very difficult task for me. Recently i have started a website on Depression and Anxiety. My campaign steps: 1)Hired a doctor to write stuff on my website. 2)After that we did 100 more articles for article marketing. 3)Submitted content to top article directories.. All links to only 1 anchor (domainname.com). I haven't promoted my domain with main anchor anywhere. DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO 😞 Can anyone suggest me some link building methods so that i can do Good SEO for my new site?
Link Building | | artemmin0 -
Should I optimize/link build all my pages at once?
I'm currently starting to optimize about 30 area specific pages for a property maintenance company and was wondering, what's the best way to link build multiple pages at once? Should I link build for all of the 30 the pages at once, or maybe focus on 5 individual pages - get them ranking well, then focus on the next 5 and so on?
Link Building | | guy_andrews0 -
To hire a link building company.... or not?
I am doing a lot of the niche partnership link building but I am looking for a company to compliment some of my work in other related areas. Need some advice from the group. A couple of questions: 1. I'm looking for a company to acquire around 20-30 links per month. Not talking about easy directories or social links, but good (PR 3+) sites that are somewhat related to my business. Is that a reasonable request? 2. What should I expect to pay for this each month? 3. Any good suggestions on companies in the US. I am a small startup with a fairly limited budget, at least for now? Thanks everyone!
Link Building | | paddlej0 -
What percentage of my links should be directory links
I feel a lot of my link building might be a bit heavy on the directory links side. Should I limit the percentage amount of links as a part of my overall link profile? If yes what percentage of links is ok to be directory links?
Link Building | | iSenseWebSolutions0