What is link building? If you are on the path of SEO success, it is something that you have mastered in its core essence. However, mastery of its concepts doesn’t necessarily mean mastery in its application. What may be simple on paper is actually hard in real life. So, you might be running to one of the easier choices available and that is to outsource link building.
It can be tempting to outsource link building. There are indeed a lot of benefits to it. Though, it is not a shortcut, but instead, it is or is not the right one for you. So, when do you know that it is time to seek the services of an agency?
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When to Outsource Link Building?
Before you jump on the internet and begin your hunt for the best agency to outsource your link building, first check if you are within any of these categories. Because you don’t want to make use of something when it is not necessarily the right one for your needs.
When You Are on A Budget
The first and most important reason why you would want to outsource link building is with your available budget. No doubt that link building is a costly pursuit, especially if you do it manually and by yourself. There are a lot of things to do, along with hiring the right people with the right skills for the job.
When you outsource, you get yourself somebody who is both experience and well-equipped with the tasks at hand. You also no longer need to provide the necessary resources such as link building tools. So, in every aspect, it is much cheaper than running your own personal in-house team.
You Want Links Fast
Link building is an investment for your SEO success. And you know how important SEO is when it comes to marketing and the success of your business overall. With all that, what you want are fast progress and immediate results.
If you outsource your link building, there is a high chance that you will get the progress you are looking for. Since they already have the experience, skills, and connections, it is much easier to acquire the necessary links.
Compare that to creating your own team that still needs to come up with your own strategy, creating important relations with different niches and industries, and having to know what is the right way to pitch an idea that will get you high approval rates from websites.
When You Need A Professional That Can Help Your Overall Team
Okay, you know what link building is, but there is a lot more to it than you would expect. There are white label link building, black links, cheap links, free links, and so much more. Knowing the definition of link building isn’t enough, you also need to have insight and practice to uncover everything.
However, you can’t necessarily have that when you don’t know where to begin. That’s why you hire an outsourcing agency so that you have someone who is skilled on board. Through your journey, you are able to understand and further expand your knowledge about link building, along with your own personal team. As a result, you are able to have better informed decisions in regards to link building strategies. Compare that to diving into link building without any sort of guide.
When Outsource Link Building is the Wrong Choice
Because outsourcing link building is so attractive, a lot of people tend to jump into it. However, little do they know, it is not for everybody. In the end, they spend money over something that doesn’t reap the same number of results.
What this means is that it is important to know when to say that it is not the right one for you. When you are able to identify your situation, you can opt for a much better alternative. Or, you could adjust your situation to make outsourcing the most effective strategy for your link building success.
You Don’t Have Any Real SEO Strategy
Whether you like it or not, link building and SEO are like peas and carrots. One cannot exist without the other. More specifically, link building is a crucial element in SEO. There is no other reason why you are going to want to do link building but for SEO success.
So, it would be useless to try to build your links when your goal is not about improving your SEO ranking. If your only goal is to spread links and not so much to grow your SEO rank, you are better off not seeking an outsourcing agency.
To make the most out of outsourced link building, it should be paired with the right and effective SEO strategies.
When You Want Something Strictly Followed
As the owner of your website or business, nobody knows it better than you. Your opinion and decision matters. However, you also need to consider that outsourcing agencies are experts in their field. They know what’s right from wrong when it comes to link building, whether you believe them or not.
So, if you want to uphold your own opinions and criteria, you are better off hiring your own team. There is no purpose of hiring an experienced team if you are not going to listen to them. Or have them concentrate on something you believe is right but doesn’t actually make any real impact.
If you want them to put all their attention on certain websites like blogs or social media pages, use certain type of content, or limit their use of the right keyword and effective website placement, you are better off hiring your own team instead.
No Time to Communicate with The Agency
As mentioned, nobody knows your business like you do. So, while it is the agency that does most of the leg work, you still need to put in your assessment and input on the matter. Otherwise, the experts working on creating your links wouldn’t know if they are targeting the right industries and gaining results that will be most beneficial to your business.
So, if you don’t have time to reorganize with your hired team, you are not making the most out of them. In turn, that means you are just making an investment on something that is not bound to be the best choice for you.
No Immediate Budget
Despite the cheaper option, budget is still an issue when it comes to outsource link building. Because link building is a constant pursuit, and not so much a singular goal that can be achieved within a month, most agencies will seek long-term contracts as they see fit.
When a month-to-month basis is not what you have, it can demand a huge lump of money up front. So, when you don’t have any financial reserves to currently pay for your investment, might as well opt with slowly building up your team from scratch.
Choosing the Right Marketing Agency to Outsource Link Building
So, you’ve ruled out that outsourcing your link building needs is what’s right for you. With that, the next step would be choosing the right agency. Take heed, not all are going to be the same. Some are going to promise great results but don’t have any workflow in place. There are going to be ones that promise a cheap price, but in return, they deliver cheap links as well.
You must stir away from these “agencies” that would do you more harm than good. Because in reality, there are a lot who would take the shortcut just to make the most profit out of your investment. So, how do you make sure you stir clear of them? Just follow these reminders.
Ask for Work Samples (Track Records)
These agencies can lie to your face and you would have no idea if what they are saying is true. However, there is one thing you can check and it is going to be undeniable. That is their work or track record. Ask for it. Demand for the websites where they link, samples of their links, and so on.
You can check a lot of things, but there are two main ones that you should make sure to keep an eye on.
- Quality of post and the website itself – are they using marketing websites or spam websites? Make sure they are using sites that are real and functional, ones that hold SEO value.
- Quality of the content – where do they put the links? Is it infused in an ad banner? Or is it a post that is only less than one hundred words long? Make sure that there isn’t just content for the sake of having one, but real content that holds value that will be searched and the link is naturally included inside it.
Question Workflow and Flexibility When You Outsource Link Building
If an agency promises great results, they should also be able to back it up with how they get it. It’s common sense. You can’t guarantee results if you don’t have a standardized workflow in place.
Among the questions you should be asking are:
- What is the setup?
- What do they do first up until the last step?
- How do they track campaign progress and everything else?
- How do they come up and present their pitches?
Talk About Budget and Fees
If only you have all the money you can spend, then there wouldn’t be any problem. But in reality, that is not the case. You are working with a limited budget and you want to make sure that you spend the least amount but with the highest return.
So, when it comes to choosing to outsource link building, discussing about budget and fees should be one of the top priorities. You don’t want to put your money on something that you can get for less. You also don’t want to defeat the purpose of link building if you are spending more on something that is expected to not have that much of an impact on the overall goal of your business.
Be wary of hidden fees. What you pay up front may not entirely be everything. Some agencies have additional charges depending on the situation that comes up and demands you additionally make down the road. So, make sure you know and agree to all of this instead of being met with a massive bill that could compromise all of your marketing strategies.
Be Skeptical of Cheap Links
Don’t underestimate the time and effort needed to acquire links. They may just be words on a website, but it is not easy to make them happen. You have to do the research, find relevant sites, market to the right people, and make sure to manage all your communications.
Realistically speaking, it is impossible to make links for $20 or less, and that is already a conservative number. If you are looking at real quality links, $50 is not going to be enough.
With that said, be wary if you are offered with these prices. Ask yourself, where do you think they are cutting corners to pack so much work in a small price? You may be looking at spam link building approaches rather than legitimate and SEO worthy results.
Know the Right Contract Duration When You Outsource Link Building
Depending on your needs, search for the right contract duration. Are you a beginner and have no link building output and strategies in place? Then, opting for a long-term contract would be best. Let a team mold everything from start to finish for the best results, instead of repeatedly changing teams.
However, when you are continuing from where you have left off or have strategies in place, you are going to want a month-to-month program. You just want help when you need it and additional insight and input to fill in strategical gaps in your link building campaigns.
Best Practices When You Outsource Link Building
As mentioned, when you outsource link building, you are handing over the work to an experienced team. However, that doesn’t mean you no longer have to face them ever again. It is your business and website, and you know what its nature and goals are. If you want to see the best implementation and results, it is going to require something from you.
So, here are the best practices you should follow.
Set Ground Rules
The agency knows what to do, but at the same time, you also have some ideas on what to and not to do. Instead of having to correct a strategy in the middle of it, set ground rules in the beginning so everything can proceed smoothly.
In this part, you are able to let your team know what you are trying to avoid and the general market you are targeting. Because, nobody knows the industry you are working on other than yourself.
Maybe you want some websites to be avoided? Or you have preferred communication channels? How about your opinion regarding sponsored content? You might even also want to review pitches, topics, and contents before they roll out.
Have Realistic Expectations When You Outsource Link Building
Remember that link building is not too far off from marketing. It is an approach that takes time and does not reap results the next day. What this means is that it is hard to put a value on what you have achieved and immediately calculate the ROI.
Don’t be one of those people who are always on the look for progress. Instead, be patient and set realistic expectations. It is not fast nor immediate, you are going to have to wait and that means not having accurate numbers right there and then.
When you know what’s possible or not, you are able to determine much more effectively if you are succeeding or not. You are also able to implement next steps that are realistically viable. Because if everything is always out of reach, you are going to be in a perpetual cycle of believing you are failing. And that doesn’t help you make informed decisions.
Help with The Project (Especially in The Beginning)
As they say, starting is always the hardest part. And in order for the agency to get off its feet and have everything running, they need to be consistently in contact with you. They need to know what your opinions are, target market, preferred strategies, and everything else.
Even the professionals themselves need a little guidance from the client (you). Not only that, how you start your link building will ultimately tell what direction you will go to. So not only is starting the hardest part, it is also the most crucial part.
Emphasize What Your Long-Term Plans Are
It’s hard to come up with strategies when time is not being factored into the picture. If you are looking for long-term contracts with your agency, you should make it a point to discuss what you aim to achieve. During a specified time frame, what should have been done and when should the next steps be implemented.
Knowing what you want to have plays a huge role in ensuring that you are staying on track. It also helps you have identifiable and reachable goals instead of just link building aimlessly. Remember, you are doing this for a purpose, so make sure to define that purpose both short-term and long-term.
At the End of The Day…
We know what you are thinking, that sure is a lot to remember. And it should be, link building is at the core of SEO. If there is one thing that is going to affect your SEO rank greatly, it’s going to be link building. So, it is going to take every hammer and nail to build it up from the ground.
However, the hardest part is always the beginning. As time goes on, everything becomes a routine and a part of a workflow that will help you reach the goals you aim to achieve. Before then, you just need to take one step after another and learn every step of the way.
Now, if you really find it difficult to choose the right link building agency, then you can always seek out one that has been tested and proven. So, contact us today for a free strategy consultation. As a digital marketing agency, you don’t just get to outsource link building, you also get help for all your digital marketing needs from start to finish.
