Link building is the backbone of your website’s SEO strategy. Naturally, all businesses seek to boost website visibility and rankings by gaining authority across search engines. Link building is no longer a luxury; it is an absolute necessity to win organic traffic by understanding Google’s algorithms.
However, you cannot undertake a random link building campaign as it requires a highly precise and well-targeted SEO strategy. Obviously, you can do it yourself, but do you have the expertise needed to generate results?
Building links requires effort and time. Entrepreneurs who do it themselves often end up recycling content or making other mistakes that tend to backfire, such as spammy links and excessive homepage links. Hiring a link building agency is a viable option, especially if you’re willing to spend on a credible and results-focused strategy.
It is crucial to contemplate various factors to make a well-informed decision in hiring collaborative partners for reliable, professional support. This article will walk you through the factors you need to consider to hire the right agency to help boost your organic search engine rankings.
1. Experience & Skills
Experience and skills are a crucial aspect to consider before hiring any given professional in any industry. Naturally, you will want to work with a link building agency that is highly experienced and well-versed in innovative techniques. Are you seeking an SEO-based firm or a team that specializes solely in link building?
More importantly, how can you go about examining and verifying the experience of an agency? It is crucial to look for a database of work relations they have accumulated during their active years. You can ask them to show their past projects, websites, and portfolios.
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Anyone can claim to be a link building expert and manufacture their results using fake and spammy backlinks. As a novice who knows little about link building, this can prove to be a disastrous problem. It is crucial to invest in a quality backlink tool so you can monitor the link building efforts and results closely.
Experience is a priority to ensure impactful results from the link building efforts of your chosen agency. It is essential to choose an agency that can demonstrate their success with relevant knowledge and skills. When it comes to experience, it’s worth paying more than settling with fraudulent experts who charge less.
2. Packages & Prices
Costs and affordability are defining factors for small businesses and startups. While large companies and corporations have massive budgets, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have limited funds. Typically, large link building agencies charge excessively high in terms of expenses and overheads. Simultaneously, smaller link building agencies are willing to carve out more affordable packages.
Keep in mind, the larger the agency, the higher the fees you’ll have to pay. A smaller agency doesn’t always indicate a lack of skills and expertise, but it does indicate superior affordability. While working with a larger agency isn’t bad, it will prevent you from getting personalized attention. However, if your chosen agency is highly acclaimed and professional, paying more may prove lucrative and worth it.
Smaller agencies and link building consultants provide close attention and come with low-cost solutions. As long as you prioritize experience and skills, hiring low-cost consultants isn’t a bad idea. Just be sure to verify their certifications, qualifications, and experience during the hiring process.
Many agencies have various tricks to charge high sums for ‘miscellaneous’ activities. For instance, some charge for expanding the website’s domain authority, while others charge for the time utilized in research and consultation. It is crucial to identify all hidden and upfront costs and be specific about each service you’re getting.
Creating a well-defined package is the best course of action to avoid unnecessary costs and ensure affordability.
3. Link Building Strategy
Link building success comes with pragmatic and effective strategizing. A reputable and successful link building agency understands the significance of strategy and will demonstrate this ability with flying colors. During the hiring process, it is essential to learn more about the strategy the agency under consideration intends to apply.
Does the agency have a responsible and research-driven approach to link building? What are the common keywords they will incorporate to boost your search ranking? Can they identify your major competitors? These are some important questions that require discussion to ensure how well the agency understands your needs.
It is also crucial to consult the agency on evaluating your website and whether or not link building is a viable option. You can explore various options, and your chosen agency must align these options for you. For instance, your website can also receive links from other credible websites. If your consultant or agency advises some on-site configurations or improvements, don’t be suspicious. Instead, take it positively.
4. Delivering Results
Is your chosen agency or consultant capable of delivering results? More importantly, do they have a history or portfolio outlining their successful link building efforts?
It is crucial to demand results before signing up for any link building service or agency. All credible and reputable agencies have case studies, portfolios, and examples of their successful and happy clients. They compile dossiers, templates, and testimonials to share their success stories in hopes of acquiring new clients.
It is natural for businesses within the same industry to require discretion and non-disclosure agreements. However, all agencies and consultants have a portfolio and results that they can share with potential clients.
You can seek out client references to understand the abilities and reliability of your chosen agency or consultant. A quick online search will help you explore reviews about the company or consultant. Client references and reviews are a valuable resource to evaluate the merits of the agency you’re considering to hire.
Exploring reviews and references will help you understand their operational procedures, ethical values, and honesty. Be sure to investigate and conduct thorough research to understand factors such as pricing, transparency, and customer service.
5. Understanding of New Changes with Google
There are a lot of new search engine algorithm changes happening all of the time. As a result, some linkbuilding practices won’t work long-term. You will want to invest in a linkbuilding company that uses strategies that will work long-term. They will skimp on low quality PBN sites, directories and other strategies that could get you penalized in favor of high quality links from major media sites and respected blogs.
Conclusion
It is important to prioritize research to make a smart and well-informed decision. After all, you don’t want to end up funneling money in exchange for subpar services. You need a link building partner who can add value and boost lead generation and conversions to generate revenues and not provide you with a spam-fest! In this day and age of remote working, you can also seek assistance from professionals based anywhere in the world!