Outsourced Link Building

[OTSEO]

Hello,

I'm pretty sure everyone will just tell me to do the link building myself, but the truth is I don't have time.

I've looked at link building firms in the past (and even used one), and they were all pretty dodgy. What should I look for in a quality link builder? What costs do you think are reasonable for a quality link? Is there anything you wish you'd known before going down a similar path?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[donford]

There was a good YoMoz post on this subject today.. here:http://www.seomoz.org/ugc/build-relationships-not-links

The truth is if you outsource this aspect you are taking a risk. I understand that you already prefaced your question with time. So, perhaps I may suggest that you hire somebody in house to help with SEO, in this case they would have access to you and your industry knowledge which would help build reliable relationships with communities, forums and blogs.

If the website is your baby or bread and butter, then outsourcing something as important as link relationships is very risky. There have been hundereds of post about people getting smashed by Google's penguin and panda updates which directly crushed the way 90% of the SEO companies used to build links for SEO reasons.

I am not trying to be harsh on you, I just don't' want you to end up in a Panda situation 6 months from now.

[OTSEO]

Hi Donford,

Appreciate the response. The article you linked to was great.

It is also the exact thing I don't have time to do properly. We all know that SEO is important, so it's best that I step aside in favor of people with the time to focus on doing a good job.

Cheers!

[donford]

Yep! There are some things SEO companies can do for you that are important but not quit as risky. Page optimization, keyword research, content development, etc.. but the link building tactics that have been used for the last few years have been to kin to carpet bombing, and Google don't like that.

That said I'm sure there are some great SEO companies out there but you also want to make sure you pick a company that is intimately familiar with your industry for best results.

Here is SEOmoz's recommendations

Hope it helps!

[CMC-SD]

I encourage you to be very clear about what you mean by "link building." Do you mean hiring inexpensive folks to submit your site to directories and do low-quality article marketing for you? Or do you mean hiring a professional content-marketing team to attract valuable links?

[JamesAgate]

I agree, some clarity on what you mean by "outsourced link building" would be a good idea because if you mean hiring the cheapest labour you can find and giving them the remit to build links for you then yes you are likely to get burned.

In my opinion 'outsourcing' has negative connotations and working with an experienced external link acquisition company isn't necessarily a bad idea.

Working with an expert whether that be an agency or a freelancer can offer incredible benefits provided you are involved at the strategy and quality control level. 2nd or 3rd opinions on strategies and output are often worthwhile seeking if you are unsure of the 'right' direction.