7 Things To Look Out For When Choosing A Link Building Service
Link building services are currently thriving in the SEO market. The growing competition has developed a plethora of services that provide multiple benefits. However, the question regarding the reliability of such services is still present.
There are multiple signs indicating that a backlink service is reliable. In this article, we present them by creating a checklist you should consider prior to your partnering up with SEO experts and link builders.
Additionally, a checklist of "red flags" is also provided to help you avoid any potential pitfalls.
What Is Link Building?
Link building is among the most important parts of an SEO strategy. As per definition, link building is the process of linking the pages of your website to either another page of your website or to a third-party website. Even though it sounds simple in theory, link building is a complex tactic that often requires a professional touch. Now that you know what link building is, let's get a little deeper.
There are different link building tactics that vary depending on the types of links and the end goal. Some of the most famous ones that link building SEO services use are the following:
- Guest blogging
In simple words, this tactic is an exchange of content for a link. You write content on a website that allows guest posting and you get a link directly from there.
- Email outreach
This method requires a search for relevant content online. You find an article that matches yours, email the author, and ask for a link. You can use LinkedIn Email Finder to ensure better outreach and reduced email bounce rates.
- Broken link building
Rather complex but extremely useful is the broken link building tactic. Broken links on other websites provide the opportunity for you to step in and fill the gap with your content. This is a win-win situation since the website eliminates the broken link and you get a valuable link.
Why Do You Need A Link Building Service?
SEO is among the most complex areas in digital marketing. It performs in an ever-changing environment with new updates, rules, and restrictions being released frequently. This requires constant updating and professional assistance when dealing with SEO tactics. Consequently, performing link building on your business might seem simple, but without a professional, you can end up harming your website with penalties instead of increasing your rankings.
That is why a link building strategy is often necessary if you aim to enhance your SEO rankings. Collaborating with the right backlink building service can increase your rankings and drive organic traffic to your website. In short, you ensure the following:
- Your SEO initiatives are guided by experts in your niche.
- The contribution from your end is minimum. Often, such services do all the "dirty work." Hence, you save a lot of valuable time from a rather time-consuming process.
- You avoid possible ranking penalties.
Finding the right link building service can be fruitful for your business. However, it is not an easy process, since there are shady services that do not provide what they promise. You need to be aware of certain factors before you move on to choosing a link building service vendor.
What Are The Benefits Of Teaming Up With Link Builders?
Link building initiatives are vital in your SEO strategy. That also makes a link building service essential for your business. Collaborating with a company on that end may bring multiple benefits to help you reach your goals in SEO efforts. Some of the recognizable benefits are the following:
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You Will Get Quality Content
Understanding the quality of the content in terms of SEO often requires expertise. Link building providers share this expertise with you by providing the blueprint of your upcoming content. Such a blueprint will contain valuable keywords to target, the frequency of the keywords, the anchor texts, and specific URLs to boost organically. Consequently, your blog will be filled with quality content and valuable backlinks to support your marketing funnels.
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You Will Acquire Quality Backlinks
Getting quality backlinks is vital to increasing your domain authority. Quality backlinks are links coming from websites with high DA. Such links operate as vouchers for your content and will increase your DA. Make sure that your backlink provider offers links from websites that have a domain rating of at least 40.
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They Do The Hard Work For You
A link building campaign consists of initiatives that require valuable time and effort. Blogger outreach, guest posting, and link building reports are among the most typical ones. However, not all companies offer the full package. A reliable SEO backlink service should include the above-mentioned initiatives in their contribution. The common ground is that you are required to give your feedback and approval but you are not required to do the "dirty work."
7 Things To Look Out For When Choosing A Link Building Service
The market for link building agencies has been growing during the last few years. More and more vendors are jumping on offering and promising results to their customers. However, the fact is that SEO is not as utopian as it seems. The reason behind it can be stated in a sentence: nobody knows exactly how the Google algorithm works.
Since SEO experts do not know the algorithm, are backlink services reliable? Yes, they are. Even though they do not know the exact algorithm, SEO experts have identified processes and initiatives that increase rankings and organic traffic. However, it is a long, ongoing process that requires time and effort. Therefore, a successful link building company will offer you results in the long run.
In short, choosing the right link building service can be tricky. However, you should keep in mind several factors that prove reliability over a potential service. These factors can be summed up in the following sentence: a link building service is a long, ongoing, transparent collaboration with frequent communication and long-run results.
That said, you might consider the following checklist when looking for the best SEO link building services for your business.
1. They Have Expertise In Your Niche
There is no one-size-fits-all in link building. If you want to ensure your success in SEO initiatives, you need a link builder who has experience in your niche. After all, link building requires content creation and distribution. You want someone who knows the needs of your audience and the insights of your industry. This way, the chances of getting quality backlinks from relevant, trusted websites are increased.
2. They Do Not Promise Immediate Results
Link building is a long and ongoing process. As it takes time for published content to rank, it also takes time for a link to contribute to rankings. Usually, SEO experts tend to try several tactics before they find the right one for your business. This process takes weeks, months, or even years, depending on the predefined goal.
Keeping in mind that no expert knows the exact algorithm, you should beware of companies promising instant results. Therefore, during your search, give validity points to companies that clarify the ongoing process of link building and avoid promising immediate output.
3. They Set Realistic Goals
Regarding link building, you should avoid enormous promises. Since the area of SEO is vague, such promises seem shady and less "white hat."
Professional SEO companies will perform thorough research on your website and industry before they set goals. That said, reliable companies tend to know the capacity of link building and offer goals they can deliver. Hence, you might want to look for companies that offer realistic and deliverable goals rather than unrealistic output.
4. They Value Transparent Communication
Transparency is the key to any successful collaboration. In the long-term, ongoing process of link building, a reliable company will avoid hiding information. Hence, you should be able to spectate the process, approve the methods, and communicate frequently. In general, transparency adds reliability since the company is not afraid of sharing information, because they follow the contract and meet the predefined goals.
5. They Advise But Also Disagree With You
A link building service should be considered as a collaboration of two parties. On one side, it is you knowing your business goals, while on the other side are the SEO experts. If the SEO company feels that the suggested goal cannot be reached, then they should openly say so. This indicates that they acknowledge their capacity and are goal-oriented. An experienced marketing agency will keep your benefit as the northern star and not your satisfaction.
6. They Ask For Your Feedback Along The Way
Nobody knows your business better than you do. A reliable company that offers quality backlink services is aware of that. That said, they ask for your feedback and approval of the initiatives along the way. The whole progress should be transparent to you so that you can provide feedback. By having a bird's-eye view over the process, you also ensure that everything is going according to the signed contract.
7. They Are Accountable
SEO marketing is an unstable area. It requires a lot of trial and error before you reach the path of success. Therefore, there are times when things go sideways. If you have provided the company with everything they need to get the job done and something goes wrong, then they should be accountable. A reliable marketing company will not hesitate to admit accountability and proceed to further actions to make up.
Extra Tip: 7 Things To Avoid When Looking For A Link Building Service
Unfortunately, the link building market also contains shady companies. However, when you search for the right link building service, you can spot some of the red flags before you sign a contract. Usually, the early red flags derive from unrealistic promises, untransparent progress, and infrequent communication, among others.
In general, make sure you avoid companies that:
- Are unfamiliar with your niche
- Promise unrealistic outputs
- Communicate infrequently
- Avoid asking for your feedback
- Show intransparency about the progress
- Do not offer a specific plan
- Have a high client turnover
Following the above-mentioned checklist does not promise you results. However, it increases the chances to avoid major pitfalls in upcoming collaborations with link builders. Moreover, backlink building services are expensive, and you do not want to risk entering a long, ongoing fruitless collaboration.
Conclusion
Working with link builders and seeing results means you're up for a long collaboration. It contains trial and error, setbacks, and achievements. That is why you should take the time to research before you choose the right company for your business. A solid collaboration can provide tremendous benefits in terms of SEO by increasing your rankings, the DA of your website, and your ROI. So, addressing the main question of this article, we answer:
Yes, link building services are reliable.
Make sure you invest a significant amount of time in your pursuit. Consider finding a link building provider that matches your niche to ensure a high ROI in your efforts. Moreover, focus on collaborating with link builders that value transparency, frequent communication, and constructive feedback. This is the key to a successful link building service.
Finding the right service will ensure your business benefits in the long run, which are fruitful in SEO marketing.