With more and more people looking to purchase goods online, expanding your business is only possible with a solid online presence. For these reasons, many new companies prioritize link building to boost their rankings in search engine results and attract potential consumers.
Many companies, especially those focusing on improving their core operations, need help to afford their in-house link-building team. So they turn to hire an agency to outsource link building instead. And this is where all the trouble begins.
In the United States alone, there are over 13.7k digital advertising agencies. How do you find a reliable partner when outsourcing a task as delicate as link building?
What is the best way to collaborate with them for success? What should you do first? This article will provide all the information you need to outsource link building for your growing startup.
How To Choose The Best Agency For Outsourcing Link Building
It is easy to understand how challenging it might be to identify the perfect partner to outsource link building among the coliseum of marketers vying for your attention. One of your best bets is establishing criteria that will help you weed out incompetent digital marketing services. Here is a rundown of some criteria that help determine the most qualified individuals to outsource link building.
1. Seek Out Samples
This is the very first defense you have. You should be able to see samples of their previous link-building initiatives from any reputable service.
You can then examine examples of their work in backlinks to get a sense of their standard. That shouldn’t take too long because there are only two primary concerns here:
- site’s credibility where the posts are located (traffic, authority, relevancy)
- actual content quality
If any of these two things need to be added to the agency you’re considering, you should move on.
2. Study Their Processes And Adaptability
Discover their procedure for constructing backlinks by inquiring about the following:
- What is the process for setting up link building?
- Is there a way or tool to monitor the campaign’s development?
- Do they check every single web page manually?
You seek answers to such kinds of queries most often. We can also talk about your specific needs at this time.
3. Talk About The Budget And Check For Any Hidden Costs
Looking at their rates is a straightforward approach to weed out agencies that aren’t a good fit.
Determine your budget to outsource link-building before you begin your search. How much money you can spend each month is the best indicator of how much you can pay overall. Negotiating pricing with a possible vendor in great detail is essential, as different link-building strategies can result in varying options.
Watch out for hidden costs that aren’t directly related to link building, such as billed consultation hours, project setup costs, and similar services.
4. Prefer Month-To-Month Over The Annual Program
There is always the potential that you have been misled by a company, no matter how professional they appear in their communications with you and the samples they offer you.
You should never make a long-term commitment to an agency for a link-building project without first having the opportunity to test them out. You can only evaluate many things if you work with an agency for a while.
5. Avoid Anyone Who Offers Cheap Links
Outsourcing link-building can be costly if you want clean work and high-quality content posted under your brand on authoritative sites in your field.
Here’s why. The cost of making an excellent piece of content might vary from $30 to $150, depending on the field. In addition, you should factor in the time required to investigate the intended audience, locate relevant websites, identify the appropriate contact, and handle all connections (pitch, guidelines discussion, follow-ups, etc.).
Therefore, the next time you’re offered a pricing of $20 or $50 per link, you should consider how they’re likely to save money.
6 Methods To Increase The Effectiveness Of Outsourced Link-Building Campaigns
Businesses considering outsourcing link building for the first time often proceed with caution because they have yet to learn what to expect. No one wants to invest time and resources into a project only to realize they wasted a few months.
Good communication and teamwork can lessen the likelihood of such happening. The project’s outcome is inextricably linked to the enthusiasm and dedication with which each team member approaches it. The following advice can benefit in reducing friction and enhancing collaboration.
1. Establish Some Standard Rules
Setting ground rules before beginning the outreach will help move things along more quickly and ensure the client and the agency are on the same page.
The following terms should be defined whenever possible:
- items you need to look through before using them (a pitch, a topic, some content, etc.)
- websites to avoid
- ideal channel for communication
- frequency of reports
- any other requirements or requests you may have
While it will only be the end of the world if you remember something, keep in mind that the link-building project could be put on hold while the agency waits to seek your approval of specific proposals.
2. Clarify Your Goals And Objectives
Another benefit of setting the ground rules is that it reveals what to expect from the advertising agency you are collaborating with. Outsourced link-building campaigns are most successful when clients have clear expectations and know what they want from the agency. Simply said, you’ll see how adaptable they are during that procedure.
Instead of expecting your partner agency to figure out what you want.
Let’s move on to a discussion of how we convey ideas to one another. To what extent will you be able to communicate with one another?
When and how will the agency update them on their progress? The frequency of their updates and reports is essential to know. What information can we expect to see in these reports?
You should be completely forthright with the agency about any priorities regarding the work they do for you. Before agreeing to anything, ask questions to which you already know the answers.
3. Assist In The Project’s Beginning
Most monotonous, repetitive work on a project occurs during its initial setup.
The company you’ve engaged needs to investigate your target demographic, prepare a list of backlinks, set up your link-building project in the tools they employ, and link the email address they’ll use for outreach. Moreover, their team must brainstorm engaging content ideas, identify productive link-building prospects, and so on.
It’s wise to have someone on hand to stay in touch with the agency and help if necessary.
This is especially crucial at the outset when the firm you hire to develop links for you likely has many questions about your target demographic, competitors, and general strategy.
4. Talk About Long-Term Goals
This step is optional. But it’s highly suggested if you want to maximize the effectiveness of your link-building efforts.
If you don’t specify otherwise, the bio sections and the body of your shared content will often include links to your homepage and blog posts. While this will increase your domain’s authority and bring in some referral traffic, it is more effective to direct your efforts toward improving the quality of the content on your site that is most relevant to the keywords you wish to rank for.
If you’re working with an agency for a few weeks, this isn’t a big deal, but it’s something to consider for longer-term projects.
Building links is a method that requires patience and persistence. It’s best used as a search engine optimization strategy or content promotion.
5. Put Your Faith In Your Service Provider’s Skills
Remember how we said you need to do your study and master the basics? Be wary of letting your research bias cloud your judgment and mistaking knowledge for the experience.
If you hire a link-building service, it is ultimately up to them to offer you high-quality links in their professional judgment. First, have faith in your provider and assume that they will be responsible for their work if you have doubts about whether or not what they promise will work.
While it’s crucial for your company to voice any concerns you may have with your service provider, you should also value your agency’s expert judgment. You should assume that your service provider is better familiar with SEO best practices than the ones you may have learned from outside sources.
If you’re another marketing firm acting on behalf of a client, believe that your agent has greater skill in link creation than you do. In the end, it is part of their job to help you. You recruited them for a reason. Trust in their abilities and let them complete their job without too much interference.
6. Investigate Finished Tasks And Raise Concerns
Check every detail of the finished product to ensure the service meets your expectations. Verify that your requirements have been followed.
Some errors were probably overlooked or allowed to pass through, as with any human-operated process. Read articles quickly to spot mistakes and broken links, and click on every link to ensure it works.
Even the greatest organizations make mistakes occasionally, no matter how unlikely they may appear. If yours does, you must do everything possible to identify and fix problems as soon as possible.
Always ensure you and your agency are on the same page by asking questions if you need help understanding something. You will learn more by asking more questions. You can only tell what kind of knowledge will be helpful at any time.
Conclusion
Try out a few companies and see which works best for you. Running a series of tests will help you better understand what results you may expect from various price points.
Link building is a long-term tactic. That’s why you must keep looking until you meet a reliable business associate with whom you can build a successful enterprise. These criteria will help you identify and evaluate the efficiency of an outsourced link-building agency.