In this article, you’ll learn exactly how to outsource your link building.
Hiring an SEO link builder isn’t easy:
Should you hire an agency? Or a freelancer?
…Or should you even outsource it at all?
If you’re thinking about hiring a link builder, make sure you read this article because it will save you time, money and energy (plus #4 could make or break your business).
I’ll also teach you how to make sure you get the best results possible when it comes to outsourcing link building.
Here’s my simple 6 step process for outsourcing backlinks…
Table of Contents
How To Outsource Link Building In 6 Simple Steps
Step 1: Understand Whether You Need To Outsource Link Building
50% of the time businesses shouldn’t even do SEO:
Let alone outsource link building.
So it’d be my pleasure to help you save time and tell you if you’re doing the right thing.
I run my own link building agency helping hundreds of websites outsource link building:
We work with many white label agency clients and directly with websites.
But we turn a lot of clients down.
Why?
- If you’re in a super competitive niche, you shouldn’t do SEO
- If you want fast results, it’s not the right strategy for you
- And if you’re a black hat niche, you shouldn’t do SEO
But if none of the above apply to you, then SEO is a powerful and free source of high quality traffic.
The link building process itself is a time consuming, challenging process:
And it takes a lot of hours plus a very good link building system to see results.
Just think about it – link building involves:
- Prospecting potential websites to get a backlink from
- Filtering out the low-quality sites
- Negotiating with webmasters for a link
- Tracking all the links you’ve built
- Checking your rankings and how your site’s improving
- Making sure your links are all relevant
- Fixing any problems with the system along the way
There are just so many moving pieces that it actually makes sense to outsource link building.
Outsourcing is the quickest way for small businesses to get off the ground and see results fast.
It’s also one of the easiest ways to grow your business without doing everything by yourself.
It’ll save you time, energy and free up your resources so that you can work on what matters most:
Your business.
So let’s talk about how you should outsource link building…
Step 2: Pick The Right Time To Outsource Link Building
Timing is crucial here.
So when’s the best time to seek out outsource link building services?
Let’s be honest, it’s not always necessary.
Here’s why:
- If you don’t have the financial resources
- Or you’re bootstrapping
- Or you don’t even have a fully built website
This isn’t the right time to outsource link building.
When is the right time to outsource link building?
- When you’ve published several articles to your site
- When your business already has a proven offer that converts
- When you have the resources and time to invest
If that sounds like your business, then bingo!
You’re ready to move onto step #3…
Step 3: Start Filtering:
Next up, it’s time to search for your link builder.
You can find a bunch on Google but the easiest way is just to use UpWork:
Why?
Because then you can see the reviews of the person you’re buying from.
It’s an easy way to discover 3rd party verified suppliers with real social proof.
Plus hiring is a time consuming process:
So UpWork makes it easy to find good quality candidates and contact them.
Step 4: Start Filtering:
So you’ve found a bunch of suppliers!
Now it’s time to filter.
What should you look for when you’re outsourcing link building?
- What link building strategy are they using?
- Do they have proven experience?
- Are they a respected authority in their industry?
- Are they offering account managers + support on your campaign?
- What are their reviews and testimonials like?
Notice, I didn’t price on that list!
Why?
Because your website is an asset:
There’s no point going cheap and risking a Google penalty.
With link building, quality is 10X more important than quantity.
There’s no point building 1,000 links if they’re all spam.
That’s not going to help grow your business and could do more harm than good!
Step 5: Do A Test Run:
Most clients don’t just have 1 link builder:
They’ll hire and test several vendors.
This gives you a feel for the experience you’ll have with that supplier long term:
Some link builders will just build your backlinks.
But as an agency owner, I feel that’s the bear minimum.
Instead, suppliers should go above and beyond to help you.
And it’s why at our agency we do so much more including:
- Weekly training mastermind
- Networking group with other clients
- Tips customized to your website
- An Account Manager with genuine SEO expertise
- Weekly monthly and catch up calls
Because it’s not about how many backlinks you build:
It’s about the results you get from those links.
So you need someone who’s focused on growing your business.
Not just building backlinks.
Step 6: Review Performance:
Hiring a link builder is just the first step!
Like any hire, you should be reviewing your results and performance every 3 months.
This way you can build out your strategy:
Tweaking, testing and improving along the way.
I see SEO as a Kaizen strategy:
You have to continually improve and move forward with every step.
If you can improve 1% every day, you’ll have an unbeatable SEO strategy.
Benefits Of Outsourcing Link Building
The most straightforward benefit of outsourcing link building is being able to save a ton of time and energy.
Building your own SEO strategy for link building takes years of experience:
Believe me, I’ve spent the last few years doing just that!
You have to optimize every stage of the process, adapt to Google’s search engine algorithmic updates, plus you’re competing with thousands of other business owners that want backlinks too.
It’s a full-time job.
But there are also a bunch of other reasons why you should hire a link building business:
- Save time: As an entrepreneur, link building really isn’t the best use of your time! Hiring a link building company will free up a lot of your time
- Save energy: Spreadsheets. Tools. Negotiating with webmasters…Link building takes a LOT of mental energy. Outsourcing the work to link building experts frees up your energy and resources.
- Avoid algorithmic penalties: Hire marketing agency that’ll really take the time and effort to filter out low-quality backlinks that could hurt your website’s rankings
- Focus: Building a business takes a lot of focus. Outsourcing link building helps you concentrate on the processes that matter most in your business
- Save money: If you tried to do link building yourself, all the tools, employees and overheads would quickly rack up. By outsourcing, you’ll save those resources.
6 Tips For Outsourcing Link Building
Tip #1: Understand your link builder’s strategy
Make sure that you understand your link builder’s strategy.
Why?
Because there are different types of link building:
- White hat: Ethical, transparent approach to link building
- Black hat: Unnatural way to build links – aimed at manipulating Google’s algorithm
Yes, the quality of your links matters. But it’s also how you build links that count too
For example, the skyscraper technique is a white hat link building method that will protect your website long term.
Whereas if your link builder is using PBNs, this is black hat, and it could negatively affect your site in the long run (you might even face a penalty from Google).
You have to be extremely careful and diligent about who you hire for link building services.
Tip #2: Research your link builder’s reputation
If you’re hiring a link builder, always make sure that you look at reviews, case studies, and testimonials of their previous clients.
Check out if they have a proven track record:
- Have they got results with SEO for their clients before?
- Do they have their own portfolio of websites?
- Have they actually seen results from their link building?
Basically, hire someone with a proven track record of success.
For more details and tips on outsourcing link building that will save you time and money, watch this video!
The other thing I recommend is hiring link builders who have their own proven successful websites.
Why?
If the link builder doesn’t have their own SEO projects, then do they truly believe in their results and the services they offer?
Because if they can make money for their clients, they should be able to make money for themselves too.
That’s why I always recommend hiring link builders who have their own SEO projects.
Tip #3: Hire a link builder who understands SEO
Make sure that your link builder has a decent knowledge of SEO.
And what I mean by this, is that they’re not just a one-dimensional link builder.
They should understand all the elements of SEO and how that integrates with link building.
Link building can make or break your website:
It’s one of the most important ranking factors in SEO.
So your link builder should be able to give you tips on optimizing your website to make sure your link building actually works.
So ask them a few questions and find out:
- Do they understand on-page SEO?
- Do they know how to create valuable content?
- Are they knowledgeable about the latest Google algorithm updates?
Because these are all elements of SEO that work in conjunction with link building.
If your link builder only has a one-dimensional view of SEO, they may not be that helpful in the long run.
Tip #4: Pay on performance
Pay on performance is the ideal pricing scheme for link builders if you want to grow your website’s traffic:
Why?
Because then you only pay when you get results.
And this way, the link builder you outsource to is incentivized to focus on high-quality links.
(Usually the higher quality the link, the more you’ll pay.)
The other thing is, as well, that you want to set in place KPIs.
For example, how do you measure what a high-quality backlink is?
You could use:
- Domain rating: How high is the website’s DR?
- Organic traffic: Is the website ACTUALLY getting referral traffic?
- Relevance: Are you getting links from relevant sites in your industry/niche? Are they contextual links?
These are all key performance indicators you want to set in place before outsourcing.
Why?
Because it will help you clarify what’s a good/bad link.
The clearer you are, the better.
And look:
You should definitely avoid hiring a cheap link builder.
As this will be far more damaging than helpful for your site.
Why?
Because they’ll only build low-quality backlinks to your site.
Watch out for:
- Forum links
- Link farms
- Spammy blog posts comment
These links are NOT worth your time… You should always check the backlink profiles of the links that you are getting
And if your links are low quality, you could receive an algorithmic penalty.
Your site will be plagued with spammy links.
And your rankings will slip, whilst your competitor’s links increase.
It’s a zero-sum game.
Tip #5: Give the link builder the time they need
My final tip is to ensure that you give the link builder/SEO agencies the time they need to grow your website.
If you’re only going to hire someone for a month, there’s no point in outsourcing your link building campaign.
Why?
Because the entire process takes much longer than that to see results.
With my clients, it usually takes around three or six months before you’ll see any results from link building.
This is a long term game, like the rest of SEO, and it takes a bit of patience.
And if it was easy, everyone would do it.
To see results with SEO, it takes time and consistency, coupled with high-quality content.
Yes, you can get results in 30 days – and that’s happened with a few of my clients.
But you should always have your long term goal in mind.
When you see the first link come through, you can’t just expect to see instant results on Google. It usually takes more than a single link.
SEO link building takes much longer than that, and you’re not going to see results instantly.
That said, if you don’t have the time or resources to invest long term into a link building package, then maybe you should not outsource at all:
Because you might find yourself unsatisfied with the results.
Tip #6: Optimize the rest of your website’s SEO
Yes, link building is the MOST important ranking factor for your website.
But if you really want to build on link building efforts, spend time optimizing the rest of your site’s SEO.
For example:
- Optimize your on-page SEO
- Create content regularly targeting low competition, high volume keywords
- Make your website user friendly
- Nail your meta titles and descriptions
- Improve your site’s conversion rate optimization
Why?
Because these are all elements of SEO that work in conjunction with link building.
Just like how a high-quality piece of content works in conjunction with a good user experience to bolster ranking factors.
It’s also about providing valuable information to website visitors so they’ll want to share your content or link back to it organically (content marketing).
And all of these elements of SEO come together in the long run, along with link profile building, to improve your rankings in Google.
The Bottom Line
SEO is a long-term game that takes time and effort to see results.
If you’re looking for an instant fix, then outsourcing your link building campaign might not be the best solution for you.
However, if you’re willing to invest in a long-term relationship with a quality SEO marketing agency, then outsourced link building can be extremely beneficial for your website’s traffic growth.
That said, the last thing you need is to have a stranger on the other side of the world making decisions about your website’s marketing.
Instead, take the time to find someone who knows what they are doing.
A good link builder will understand the intricacies of Google’s algorithm and what works best for getting ranked.
But more importantly, they should understand your business and why you need links, to begin with.
That way, they can help you assess the best approach for leveraging links that will work in conjunction with the rest of your on-site SEO efforts.
Then you need to identify meaningful link building KPIs and make sure you can set in place processes within your company to measure those KPI’s.
Only then should you outsource link building initiatives to an SEO agency or individual.
If you do these things, your link building efforts should be fruitful and productive for both parties.
