Best link building services

I've tried over 25 different SEO service providers over the years.

And most of them disappointed me.

(This is why I started to teach myself SEO.) But that's another story.)

As it turns out, there are a few link-building services that simply do not work.

So, before I tell you about my favorites, let me show you what you should avoid.

Anything you can find on Fiverr.

Fiverr is a complete waste of money when it comes to SEO.

(You get what you pay for, as the old adage goes.)

And believe me, I should know.

I've purchased 855 gigs on Fiverr:

Orders that have been completed on Fiverr

To be completely honest:

Not all of these jobs are related to SEO. However, the majority of them were.

In fact, most of the gigs I bought looked something like this:

Link-building gig on Fiverr

Back in the day, some of these gigs were fine.

But what about in 2022? They are entirely ineffective.

We're making good progress...

Networks of Private Blogs (PBNs)

When I first started out in SEO, I was a huge fan of private blog networks.

I even created my own PBN... and bought links from others' PBNs.

PBN vendor

PBNs were effective until 2017, when Google began to crack down on them.

According to a roundtable discussion, Google's new algorithm is aimed at PBNs.

The algorithm now not only rejects the vast majority of PBN backlinks...

... but Google also deindexes any network that comes up on its radar.

Which means all of those links you just purchased are now useless.

Avoid.

Hired Guest Posts

In a white-hat SEO plan, guest posting has its place.

(I'll get to that later.)

However, this does not contain links to paid guest posts.

Why?

There are two reasons for this:

For starters, sites that demand payment for guest posts are usually suspect.

Do you believe a legitimate website (like TechCrunch or Mashable) will charge you $50 to publish your article?

Obviously not.

Second, when it comes to link building, bought links are against Google's Webmaster Guidelines.

Google Search Central – Link Strategies

This means that paying for "placements" or "editorial reviews" for guest posts can result in your site being punished.

This leads to a

Backlinks with a "Push Button"

To put it another way,

Comments on a blog

Directory of articles

Sites that use Web 2.0 technology

Directories

Basically, if you can buy 100 or more backlinks with a single click, you're buying spammy links.

(Spammy links are more likely to cause harm than good.)

As a result, I advise avoiding most "link building products."

Last but not least, we have a

Releases to the press

Press releases used to be a great way to get links.

Those days, however, are long gone.

Unfortunately, this does not prevent people from advertising "press release distribution" as a type of SEO service:

Press release service–SEO services in Melbourne

The majority of links in news releases today are nofollowed:

News release from Globe News Wire-nofollow link

Furthermore, Google has stated that they "ignore" links in press releases.

According to Seroundtable, Google ignores press release links.

Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business:

Below are the top seven link-building services for the year 2022.

1. Help a reporter (HARO)

It's What:

HARO is a service that helps journalists locate sources and expert quotes.

HARO

You can also obtain a hyperlink to your site if you become a source for their piece.

How it works is as follows:

To begin, go to the HARO website and register as a source:

HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO

When you do, you'll receive three "Queries" emails per day.

HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO

An inquiry is a quotation, statistic, technique, or case study that the journalist requires in order to complete their piece.

You only need to respond to their enquiry with something useful...

HARO response from Brian

... and there's a strong possibility you'll be featured.

Cost:

Plans start at $0 and go up to $149 per month.

HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO – HARO

Choose the free plan if you only need to respond to a few questions every now and then.

However, if you're serious about finding work, I recommend trying out one of their paid plans.

Why?

Paid plans include cool extras like early query access and keyword notifications.

Pros:

Popular news sites and blogs might provide you with amazing links. For example, using a HARO query, I found this link from Entrepreneur (Domain Authority 92):

Backlinko mention: entrepreneur

HARO is a bargain compared to most other link-building services (or even free).

The great majority of the links you receive are from legitimate websites. As a result, there's no need to be concerned about black-hat links or Google penalties.

You may get started right away (literally today).

Cons:

It's a grind to respond to HARO questions. If you want to get listed on a major website, you must stay on top of inquiries and respond promptly.

There is no option to "set it and forget it." All of the legwork must be done by you or someone on your team.

The majority of the links you receive from HARO will lead to your homepage, such as this:

A hyperlink to the Forbes homepage

As a result, this isn't a good option for linking to internal pages (like services pages and blog posts).

2.Content Marketing Consultants

It's What:

An organization that only focuses on one thing:

It creates material for your business's blog.

How it works is as follows:

One of two approaches is used by content marketing agencies:

#1: Pay the agency on a monthly basis...They are also required to write a certain number of articles each month.

This material can be anything from a few 500-word blog entries to a single "WOW" piece (like a 4,000-word definitive guide).

Purchase a piece of content for a defined price.

(For example, a single long-form blog entry costs $2,000).

Cost:

It varies a lot.

However, the majority of content marketing services charge at least $1000 per month. This price can range from $10,000 to $20,000 per month, depending on the scope.