Linkbuilding help discussion

[JesseCWalker]

I've seen a couple of questions about outsourcing linkbuilding.  The general tone is that it is a very dangerous practice to select any service or to hire someone without a very thorough vetting of their past projects.

This makes sense to me.

But my businesses don't have the resources to hire an employee or an established seo firm.   I am developing a sound linkbuilding practice from what I learn here at seomoz.  The trouble is I just don't have the time to do it to the scale necessary.

I can afford to hire an assistant/contractor for $15/hr or less.

Would it be a good idea to hire someone from elance or odesk and work very closely with them to make sure they build quality links?

Do you think this is better than hiring someone who says they can get me to google #1 for a specific keyword for $100 or so?

Does seomoz or anyone else have any recommendations on where to go to find quality help?

Thanks

[irvingw]

I don't have any recommendations based on your low budget, so hiring someone inhouse or working with elance should work for you. However, I strongly advise that you understand the tactics being used to obtain the links. If any of these people are using questionable methods or getting links on known spam sites, there may be some very negative consequences. The link builder should keep a spreadsheet of all links obtained. No money should be spent on links without your prior approval. Hope this helps.

[Wayne76]

Agreed, if you hire a third party, you can never fully be aware of the who/what you're getting for your dollar. I would point to the most recent mess involving J.C. Penny for an example of what can happen if there is poor oversight. Even if you do pay or hire a "reputable" company, there is still the potential for mistakes if the work is not closely monitored.

Unfortuantely, link-building is a tedious, tiresome, often thankless task!

Before you decide to hire someone, be sure to look at all of your personal resources for linking opportunities: customers, vendors, professional contacts, friends who blog, etc. These might be easier and more reliable sources for potential links than hiring a temp, etc.