Choosing the Right Link Building Agency

Effective link building requires time, money, and patience.

Link building isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. It’s a crucial part of any SEO strategy that needs skilled expertise to pay off.

And it just so happens to be one of Google’s most important search ranking factors.

So if you want to be skyrocketing your growth with high-quality links, you’ll need to balance link building with the daily hustle of running your own business - akin to juggling on a tightrope.

It’s no surprise, then, that SEO agencies all over the map are seeking a link building agency who can take charge of their link building and help scale their business.

But whether that link supplier you found on the side of the street knows what they’re doing is another question.

In this article, we’re going to dive deep into how you can find the right link building agency for you. (And avoid the shady ones.)
 
But first, let’s recap the basics.

Just like apples, you can get good or bad link building agencies. Which is why you need to ensure you’re choosing the right one to handle your clients’ precious sites.

If you’ve ever dabbled in link building yourself, you’ll know that it’s a tedious task.

So we’ll cut to the chase - in-house link building isn’t your best option.

Here’s why:

It’s time consuming, painstaking, and far from cost effective.

When you hand over your link building to the right agency, you’ll get game-changing results for clients whilst generating the revenue you deserve.

Now that we’ve got that out the way, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of choosing the right link building agency for your business.

With so many agencies claiming to be the top dog of link building, finding the best one isn’t always straightforward.

As Ahrefs recognise, it can sometimes be a case of trial and error until you find your knight in shining armour.

To make things easier, we’ve whittled down our top six things to consider when looking for your perfect link building match.

Your margins are important, and so is paying the right price for your links.

We won’t beat around the bush, link building is costly. Rightly so because it’s really hard to get right. But when it is done right, it’s a heck of a good long-term investment.  

From the strategy and content side of link building, all the way through to the prospecting and outreaching, it’s safe to say the cost of hiring a link building agency is justifiable.

If you’re still umming and ahhing about investing in a good link building agency, here’s our two cents:  

Competitive pricing isn’t just about the numbers, it’s about the value. And any reputable link building agency will know this.

Cheap links are a big red flag and you’ll get what you pay for *queue the alarm bells*.

Remember the qualities of link building we were just talking about? How it’s time consuming and requires expertise? Well you can bet those agencies that offer you links at $90 a pop are skipping these crucial elements.

You’ll be left with bad-quality links that drive traffic away from your sites, damaging your domain authority and plummeting your rankings. You’re risking not only your pennies, but an entire website’s reputation on Google, leaving you with a huge mess to clean up.

One company who purchased 90,000 backlinks on Fiverr for $10 were left with heaps of automated, valueless backlinks and a penalised website.

Yikes.

So if you’re thinking of trying the same, think again.

In a nutshell, the key thing to look out for is competitive pricing that doesn’t compromise on quality. So how can you be sure you’re getting high-quality links that don’t break the bank?

We recommend keeping your eyes peeled for a link building agency who can provide a smooth process for you to scale.

At Profit Engine, we offer several link building packages that really deliver, and even have an exclusive agency discount to sweeten the deal.

What’s the discount?

Get in touch to find out.

Bear in mind that when it comes to link building, quality wins over quantity.

Even Google agrees, so it’s super important you choose a link supplier who doesn’t skimp on this.

Just one high-quality link will beat a hundred bad-quality ones, so if a link building agency tells you otherwise, run in the opposite direction.

Look at it as though a high-quality link is a trusted recommendation from an expert, whereas a low-quality link is a random suggestion from a stranger.

We know which one we would trust.

So finding an agency who can provide industry-leading, quality links is imperative.

There’s no two ways about it.

That’s why at Profit Engine, on top of our innovative outreach method, we vet every single one of our links through a meticulous 16-point link checklist.

From relevance and DR to traffic trends and anchors, no stone is left unturned before delivering those high-quality, authoritative backlinks you’ve been dreaming about.

(And if any of your links do drop off, we’ll replace them for free.)

Pair your high-quality backlinks with your awesome content and technical SEO and what will you get?

Results.

Next up: Strategy.

The best link building agencies know that having a strategy is your link building foundation, your pièce de résistance, your crème de la crème.

And it’s also the most important thing most online businesses and SEO agencies miss.

Your clients need to see data. They need to build trust. It’s vital.

“Where do I start?”

Don’t forget - any good link building agency will have processes in place to monitor and report on your link building, ensuring you are kept in the loop every step of the way.

(More on this in a second.)

This process is painstaking, time consuming, and expensive when you consider salaries, software, and any other overheads.

You can throw any thoughts of in-house being cost effective straight out the window.

Does this fit into the new agency model?

No.

Don’t believe us?

Here’s a brief breakdown of what you’d need to do to scale link building in-house.

Your chosen agency should make managing thousands of links across hundreds of clients a walk in the park, so look for one who has mastered the art of streamlined link management from start to finish.

Having a well-oiled management system not only ensures your links aren’t haphazardly scattered across the internet, but ensures they are strategically organised to boost profits.  

For SEO agencies in particular, it’s crucial to have an easy grasp of link locations, completion status, and due dates.

You need to be able to easily access your link data so that you can track link performance, identify what’s working, and keep on top of your workload.

So logically, the easiest way to manage links is by having something adaptable to your needs.

You don’t have time to be flipping between spreadsheets or juggling different CRMs.

What you need is a link building agency who can provide a simple interface ready to integrate seamlessly into your existing systems.

Profit Engine’s Agency Link Tracker ticks all of those boxes by effortlessly monitoring your clients’ links within one user-friendly, scalable solution tailored for SEO agencies.

Hungry to hear more?

Be cautious of link building agencies who aren’t transparent or realistic with the timings of delivering your links.

And when it comes to the ones who promise links within a too-good-to-be-true time frame, avoid them like the plague.

Communication is key between you and your chosen agency, and best believe a trustworthy link supplier won’t shy away from giving you realistic expectations for when your links will hit your digital doorstep.

Ensuring you go with an agency who prioritises consistent, on-time service delivery will allow you to save embarrassment when promising time frames to your own clients.

Think less time feeling red faced because you’ve been forced to break promises at the hands of an unorganised link supplier, and more time keeping your brand reputation intact.

In our humble opinion, the most important factor when finding a link provider.

You don’t want links that make your gut wrench.

Or links that make you scared to show your client.

You don’t want links that cause that embarrassing conversation for your sales team.

Or links that cause rankings to drop.

But guess what?  

We don’t provide links like that.

We wouldn’t dream of it.

Because we know exactly what you want.

You want links that make your client go WOW.

Links that you are proud of.

Links that result in less time worrying, more time building rapport.

Links that make you excited to send out your progress reports because of the huge jump in rankings.

*Disclaimer - those jumps are down to content and technical SEO as well, not just links*

Our client needed links that were truly vetted.

Which is exactly what they got through our meticulous 16 point link-checking process that creates industry-leading links.

Links that scaled their business.

Internally, they struggled with knowing how many links their clients needed, what type of links they needed, and what pages to build them to.

Here’s where our next point takes the spotlight.

Putting together a link strategy can be extremely time consuming and quite frankly, boring.

No one wants to sift through thousands of links and manually devise the best strategy for their client.

You’d need a dedicated team.

High-level processes.

And a high budget.

But, it's extremely important to do.

Without a proper link building strategy in place, you have no foundation for link building.

You need to be able to show your clients data.

And help them understand what they need to do to get better rankings.

Strategies build trust.

They show expertise. They show experience.

Which is why we lifted that weight off our client’s shoulders.

Skyrocketing their growth (more on that soon).

Now, let’s dive into our next key point.

Managing the whole SEO process from start to finish can be extremely difficult.

You have to build a process to ensure your technical SEO is up to scratch.

Then do keyword research.

And don’t forget to build content strategies which will require a content team.

Does it sound like fun having to manage hundreds of links across your dozens of clients on top of that?

Nope, we don’t think so either.

Many agencies are great at selling their services.

They may also be excellent SEO’s, fully capable of getting clients amazing results.

But they fall short on processes and management.

That’s why they lose business. That’s why they can’t scale.

What our client needed was a simple interface that can plug and play into their systems.

Something that was adaptable to their needs.

Something that any member of their staff could use.

Something that could help align with their tight deadlines, leading nicely to another crucial aspect.

Be cautious of link building agencies who aren’t transparent or realistic with the timings of delivering your links.

And when it comes to the ones who promise links within a too-good-to-be-true time frame, avoid them like the plague.

Communication is key between you and your chosen agency, and best believe a trustworthy link supplier won’t shy away from giving you realistic expectations for when your links will hit your digital doorstep.

Ensuring you go with an agency who prioritises consistent, on-time service delivery will allow you to save embarrassment when promising time frames to your own clients.

Think less time feeling red faced because you’ve been forced to break promises at the hands of an unorganised link supplier, and more time keeping your brand reputation intact.

Last, but certainly not least, is the king that is white-label reporting.

As the saying goes, there really is no show without punch (in this case, punch being your reporting), because your clients need to see the data to know that what you’re doing is valuable.

Many SEO agencies struggle with this. They overcomplicate things, miss important things out, forget to make their link building reports client friendly.

Your clients don’t want to see uninspired, surface-level reporting.

They want to see detailed, easy-to-read reporting that ultimately enforces their trust in you.

Our advice? Don’t fall victim to working with an agency who doesn’t place emphasis on the reporting side of link building.

Instead, look for agencies who provide comprehensive reporting that you can be white-labelled for your own clients so you can proudly show the impact your links are having on their SEO success.

To wrap things up, if you take anything away from this article, let it be this:

Effective link building is your first class ticket to elevating your monthly numbers.

Choosing the right link building agency is a strategic move that can make or break your SEO goals. And remember, the right link building agency shouldn’t be just a service provider, they should be a key partner invested in your success.

We work with ambitious SEO agencies and brands who all have one thing in common:

They want to stand out from the crowd, skyrocket their growth, and boost their revenue.

Which is exactly what Profit Engine helps with. As a reputable and trustworthy link building agency, we strive to be your catalyst for growth.

From end-to-end link building packages to à la carte backlink choices, our industry-leading services are the missing puzzle piece you’ve been hunting for.

So whether you’re aiming for higher search rankings, increased organic traffic, or a stellar reputation, (or all three), we’ve got you covered.

Sounds good? Sounds good.

Let’s talk.