Editorial.Link, Page One Power, Siege Media, FATJOE, Outreach Monks - these are among the top link building agencies marketers trust to strengthen search visibility, earn authoritative backlinks, and improve long-term organic performance through proven outreach and content-driven strategies.
We handpicked a list of leading link building companies after carefully reviewing over 3,700 agencies, considering their services, awards, portfolios, industry reputation, pricing, and client reviews. Explore these leading agencies and their specializations to find a credible partner to boost your organic visibility.
The Number 1 Link Building Company as Selected by DesignRush Is:
On a mission to help brands scale traffic, rankings, and revenue, uSERP uses a content-first approach to attract high-authority backlinks and brand mentions. Its expertise covers link building, niche edits and resources, guest posting, unlinked mentions, and digital public relations (PR). Combining these backlinking services with performance-driven optimization tactics, uSERP aims to make search engine optimization (SEO) a customer growth engine that propels revenue and business advancement to its clients. The agency has used this unique strategy to help over 300 clients cumulatively acquire 27,340 quality links.
uSERP Success Story
Challenge: Competing in a highly saturated market vertical, Preply struggled to rank for relevant yet highly competitive keywords in the language learning space. Seeking to elevate topical authority and acquire higher rankings for difficult keywords, the company reached out to uSERP for assistance.
Solution: Recognizing the impact of contextual brand mentions when trying to outrank stiff competition, uSERP produced highly captivating content and reached out to top online publications. In doing so, it placed Preply in front of its ideal customer profile, built domain authority, improved keyword ranking, and drove referral traffic and quality leads.
Results: By obtaining over 450 authority backlinks from websites with domain ratings of 50 and above, Preply achieved impressive results — the learning platform increased traffic from 790,000 monthly visitors to 2.4 million monthly visitors, accounting for a 203% spike and ranked first for the keyword “Spanish tutor” on Google.
Committed to delivering only topically relevant, high-quality backlinks to its clients, LinkDoctor provides data-driven link building strategies that cover analysis, strategy, execution, and reporting. In doing so, the link building agency has helped over 500 clients rank on the first page for 138,000 keywords, granting them features on prominent sites like Forbes, Fordham University, and AT&T. Moreover, its Link Replacement Guarantee policy allows clients to replace or change any suggested link to an equally high-authority one at no cost and risks.
LinkDoctor Success Story
Challenge: Pre-settlement funding company Express Legal Funding was struggling to rank on search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords and enhance its website’s domain rating. Wanting to change this, it consigned LinkDoctor to audit its website, identify causes of hindered organic growth, devise a link building strategy, and elevate website authority.
Solution: Considering that the client’s operations were predominantly in the finance and legal industries, LinkDoctor targeted niche-relevant keywords and websites. The link building company deployed a guest posting strategy, providing opportunities to organically insert keywords and track their progress, improving the client’s keyword ranking and credibility. Moreover, it added new keywords to the client’s content and optimized it further after tracking its performance.
Results: Through a combined strategy of link building and keyword optimization, the client improved its website domain rating from 7 to 15, leading to a 155% uptake in keyword ranking and a 1,030% growth in organic traffic.
Notable clients: Allied Van Lines, Caliber Collision, BBQGuys, Warner Bros, Ebay
HigherVisibility is an award-winning digital marketing agency, recognized five times as the “Best SEO Agency.” The company offers a full suite of SEO services, including link building, dental SEO, local SEO, and technical optimization, intended to improve rankings organically across SERPs. Its proprietary Targeted Growth System® has been engineered to help clients achieve higher search rankings, stronger brand visibility, and sustainable ROI. With advanced technology, proven expertise, and a reputation for consistent results, HigherVisibility has established itself as one of the most trusted names in search engine optimization.
HigherVisibility Success Story
Challenge: Moving company Allied Van Lines endured declining online visibility despite its strong market reputation. Past SEO vendors left the brand with spammy backlinks, thin content, and reduced search rankings against major competitors.
Solution: HigherVisibility tailored a new strategy involving conversion optimization, link rebuilding, keyword research, and a full technical audit. The team strengthened user engagement with heatmap insights, reclaimed high-quality links, and developed SEO-rich content aligned with search intent.
Results: Organic traffic rose from 466,657 to 479,007, accounting for a 2.6% year-over-year increase. The strategy restored Allied’s digital authority and strengthened its competitive standing despite pandemic-related market challenges.
Outreach Monks strives to unlock business growth potential through powerful link building strategies encompassing guest posting, white-label link building, link insertions, blogger outreach, and local citation services. The agency also provides country-specific backlink services, spanning multilingual links, global outreach campaigns, and international SEO strategies. Building more than 20,000 links for over 2,000 businesses, Outreach Monks has earned brand mentions from publications like HubSpot, Zendesk, BigCommerce, and G2.
Outreach Monks Success Story
Challenge: New to link building, corporate learning management system (LMS) company Raven360 partnered with Outreach Monks to build a stronger online presence, elevate website credibility, and outrank competitors.
Solution: Outreach Monks performed a comprehensive competitor analysis to determine the most relevant websites for its client. Following the analysis, it crafted a custom link building campaign and targeted relevant SaaS websites with a domain range of 30-80. It also implemented guest posting and niche edits and reached out to its huge network of SaaS website partners.
Results: In the span of six months, Raven360 grew its domain rating from 42 to 48 (14% increase), grew its organic website traffic by 455%, and registered a 102% rise in number of ranked keywords. Moreover, the client’s traffic value rose from $1,608 to $8,824.
Seeking to drive sustainable business growth, Page One Power offers custom link building strategies comprising guest posting, unlinked mentions, resource link building, broken link building, outreach management, and editorial update link building strategies. Its offering extends to enterprise link building, linkable content creation, SEO, and content marketing. Across its 14 years of industry experience, Page One Power has served 1,000 clients and created 6,100 onsite assets, averaging 15,000 links annually.
Page One Power Success Story
Challenge: With a limited marketing budget, Atera relied on organic search engine marketing (SEM), particularly link building, to compete with other brands. However, having endured underperforming campaigns with outsourced marketing agencies, it sought a credible link building company that could deliver on its promises.
Solution: Page One Power conducted a market analysis of Atera’s industry to identify relevant technical terms and keywords. The agency uncovered new link building opportunities, optimized some existing linked content, and produced five linkable articles and one long-form guide to secure links on resource pages. Page One Power prioritized linking top-funnel content to build funneled link equity and strategically chose relevant link building websites.
Results: Within six months, Page One Power acquired 29 links, improved keyword rankings by 18 positions, generated 43,000 impressions, and gained 166clicks. More importantly, Atera increased monthly organic sessions by 306% and monthly new users by 285%.
Amassing a robust network of partner sites, Editorial Link supplies clients with quick, niche-specific backlinks that drive business value. Its link building suite comprises linking resource planning, outreach management, and implementation, where clients can tap into partner sites like HubSpot, Forbes, Wallstreet Review, and Monday.com. By solely targeting corporate blogs as partner sites, Editorial Link assures the usage of only quality, reputable, and permanent backlinks. To date, the agency has delivered over 5,000 editorial links to 100 clients.
Editorial Link Success Story
Challenge: Facing high industry competition, international business-to-business (B2B) marketing company Belkins approached Editorial Link to increase organic traffic and website credibility through high-quality organic links.
Solution: After analyzing the competitors’ backlink strategies, Editorial Links focused on building branded links to the client’s homepage, leveraging its vast number of lead-generation website partners. Next, it secured more targeted links from websites associated with technology and sales for specific pages, beginning with low-traffic sites. After two months of active efforts, the agency acquired backlinks from higher-traffic sites as well.
Results: Within a year, Belkins earned 60 high-quality backlinks from high-traffic sites like Envato, HubSpot, and Venngage. Because of this, it has improved its website’s domain rating from 58 to 70, monthly website traffic to 9,300 visitors, and keyword ranking from 5,100 to 6,800.
Leveraging big data analytics to power its process-driven, cutting-edge link building strategies, LinkBuilder.io is on a mission to help clients rank at the top of SERPs. The agency specializes in over 20 link building techniques, including relationship-based link building, broken link building, guest post link building, editorial outreach, unlinked brand mentions, helping a reporter out (HARO), journalist pitching, competitor link building, and PR link building, to name a few. Since its inception, LinkBuilder.io has procured over 20,000 links for 350 companies worldwide.
LinkBuilder.io Success Story
Challenge: Operating without a link building strategy, employee review platform JobSage was quickly outranked by industry giants like Glassdoor and Indeed.com. Seeking to improve its rankings, it commissioned LinkBuilder.io’s expertise.
Solution: To build a strong foundation of homepage links, LinkBuilder.io implemented HARO and PR link building strategies to build the initial website authority. It then proceeded to target high-performance and relevant websites in the career, education, job, and human resources (HR) fields while building links to various blog posts and excluding direct commercial pages.
Results: Through its comprehensive link building strategy, LinkBuilder.io acquired 1,500 links for the client, elevating its domain rating from 3 to 53. Moreover, JobSage saw a 14,852% surge in organic traffic and a $56,632% traffic value increase.
With over 450 prominent publication partners, Blue Tree Digital offers tailored link building services that fuel brand visibility, credibility, and customer growth. Supplying editorial link building, digital PR, custom blog outreach, guest posting, HARO link building, linkable asset campaigns, white label link building, and content writing, the backlink company has built 3,700 links and helped clients save an average of $6,000 in monthly SEO costs. Notable publication partners of Blue Tree Digital include BlackBerry, Investopedia, Forbes, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and Crunchbase.
Blue Tree Digital Success Story
Challenge: Personal finance company Credit Donkey approached Blue Tree Digital with three challenges threatening its top organic marketing position: increasing competitors, limited high-quality mentions, and difficulty targeting the right keywords.
Solution: To address the client’s concerns, Blue Tree Digital conducted a comprehensive market diagnostic and reached out to thousands of relevant finance and fintech publications with an average domain rating of 70 and a minimum of 20,000 monthly followers. It also submitted unique blog topics and content for each website that agreed to partner and ensured the natural placement of Credit Donkey links.
Results: Within a year, Credit Donkey recorded a 227% traffic increase, growing from 210,461 to 477,356 monthly visitors, and registered a 159% rise in domain referrals.
Notable clients: Mercedes Benz, GAP, American Red Cross, Ann Taylor, Advance Auto Parts
Focusing on results, experience, and strategy, Sure Oaks strives to deliver long-term growth to its clients through premium link building services. Its expertise spans backlink audit services, editorial link insertions, guest posting, toxic link management, competitor link analysis, broken link building, unlinked brand mentions, link reclamation, value exchange strategy, digital PR, and white label link building. As a testament to its capabilities, Sure Oak has been named one of the leading SEM and SEO agencies by Digital.com, Centauri Awards, and Rank Hacker.
Sure Oak Success Story
Challenge: A solar marketing company reached out to Sure Oak as it faced difficulty finding relevant websites link building. Without a team to consistently implement SEO and link building strategies, the client endured high keyword competition, making it more difficult to establish its online presence.
Solution: Having helped other clients in similar situations, Sure Oaks knew guest posting would be the most effective strategy for this difficult link building niche. The company meticulously searched for website partners relevant to the client’s audiences and industry, developed compelling content that reflected the client’s unique views, and highlighted its benefits, targeting low-competition keywords.
Results: Sure Oaks boosted the client’s pageviews to target pages by 400%, total organic pageviews by 98.5%, keyword rankings by 64%, and domain referrals by 102%.
Notable clients: Norsteel Building, FCA Canada, Swyft X, SFL Worldwide, CBD Dog Health
Trusted by over 2,500 businesses, Stan Ventures boasts an expansive network of 50,000 bloggers for powerful backlink services. Across its link building portfolio, the agency offers white-label link building, guest posting, blogger outreach, niche editing, and content writing. Additionally, its bespoke link building packages connect clients to websites with extensive organic traffic, allowing them to reach wider audiences. By supplementing backlink strategies with fully managed SEO, the link building agency helps businesses implement strategies that scale and maximize profit margins.
Stan Ventures Success Story
Challenge: Construction company Norsteel Building wanted to attract prospects from the American and Canadian regions, but its website was underperforming in terms of traffic and quality leads. Seeking to improve its organic performance, it partnered with Stan Ventures.
Solution: Stan Ventures initiated an outreach campaign, targeting websites with high domain ratings and organic traffic for guest posting opportunities. After witnessing the link building company’s capabilities, the client upgraded to a full SEO plan. Throughout the collaboration, Stan Ventures leveraged Quora, local citations, image submission, and document-sharing techniques to improve the client’s local presence.
Results: Norsteel Building saw an uptake in monthly organic traffic from 1,500 to 3,5000, keyword ranking from 35 to 114, and referring domains from 215 to 722. Significantly, Norsteel Buildings has become one of the most searched branded keywords, having a search volume of 1,300 — almost matching the search volume of “steel buildings.”
We selected the best link building agencies by assessing thousands of agency profiles based on their skills, achievements, reported strategies, client references, and collaborations. In doing so, we developed an effective evaluation process to identify the leading agencies capable of expanding audience reach and building website credibility through comprehensive link building solutions.
Our team of industry experts analyzes agencies based on the following criteria:
Reviews: Client satisfaction, level of trustworthiness, project management, communication style, and work ethics
Portfolio: Successful projects showcasing the agency’s approach to delivering tangible results
Awards and recognitions: List of notable achievements and affirmations by reputable third-party agencies
Team bios: Overview of employee profiles and relevant link building experience
Top services: Core competencies and areas of focus
Link building expertise: Ability to drive organic traffic growth, obtain quality customer leads, and build brand authority via tailored link building strategies
DesignRush evaluates all B2B link building agencies listed based on its proven expertise, past projects, and client reviews. Some listings may be paid.
Saving you time and energy with complete digital marketing.
With over 7 years of experience in managing all aspects of digital operations, we offer exceptional and dependable services to elevate your business. Our expertise includes website design, website maintenance, email marketing, and social media management, tailored to help businesses achieve their full...
Top Services:
Web Design
Web Development
WordPress Website Design
Logo Design
Social Media Marketing
Show more
Location
Columbus, Ohio
Number of Employees
Under 49
Average Hourly Rate
$60/hr
Minimal Budget
Under $1,000
Portfolios Count
3 Projects Listed
614 Digital Services
Web Design
Web Development
WordPress Website Design
Logo Design
Social Media Marketing
Email Marketing
SEO
Graphic Design
Digital Strategy
Digital Marketing
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile, its website, and other relevant accounts
Speedy K's Mobile Detailing
Sweet Vegan NYC
Ohio Beverage Associaation
Ohio Physical Therapy Association
KJs Collectables
Inspiring How UC That
Rethink Consulting
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile
614 Digital Reviews & Testimonials
Richard Striler Owner's Representative - Consulting at The Striler Group, Inc.
5.0★
WordPress Website Design Review from Richard Striler
Corey created a website for us with total professionalism and a creative excellency. We changed many things during the process from the original scope and he helped us through them all with a very minimal extra fee. He puts 100% into the project and its success. We could email him and get a prompt response at any time. He also explained to me (the business manager) how I could make some of the simpler changes myself in case we wanted to. Corey is amazing!!!
Bob Story Director at Trinity Homes Ohio
5.0★
WordPress Website Design Review from Bob Story
Corey at 614digital completely refreshed and rebuilt our website, and we couldn't be happier with the results. From the very first call, he was professional, patient, and genuinely listened to what we needed taking the time to understand our brand and goals instead of pushing a one-size-fits-all solution. He delivered a modern, clean, and easy-to-navigate site on time and within budget. The whole process was smooth and stress-free. Highly recommend Corey and 614digital to anyone looking for web design or redesign work!
Martha Mattson, CTA Member Services Manager at Ohio Beverage Association
5.0★
WordPress Website Design Review from Martha Mattson, CTA
We reached out to 614 Digital with the task of switching our website from one platform and host to something completely different. We needed new graphics, layouts and had ideas for features that we weren't even sure were possible. 614 Digital assisted with switching our site (even working with the company we were leaving), creating the pages of our site, and offering solutions. We anticipated that the building and the switch would take several weeks, and 614 Digital cut that time down significantly. We were able to be up and running with a beautiful new website with some cool features in a fraction of the time we expected, and within our budget. They made it such a collaborative experience, and were so pleasant and supportive the whole process.
Reviews verified by DesignRush and sourced from the agency's profile View All Reviews
greyzip is a unique and innovative digital marketing agency specialising in bespoke and full scale marketing solutions. With expertise in many areas of digital marketing, from Search Engine Optimisation all the way through to enhancing Digital Experiences, we are perfectly placed to become an indispensable...
Top Services:
Digital Marketing
SEO
PPC
Branding
Web Design
Show more
Location
Colchester, United Kingdom
Number of Employees
Under 49
Average Hourly Rate
$90/hr
Minimal Budget
Under $1,000
Portfolios Count
4 Projects Listed
greyzip Ltd Services
Digital Marketing
SEO
PPC
Branding
Web Design
eCommerce Development
Email Marketing
eCommerce
Content Marketing
CRO
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile, its website, and other relevant accounts
VIVIR Tequila
Renault
Dacia
The Mandrake Hotel
Palm PR
Sushimania
Purcha
Bloom & Wild
Visit Los Cabos
Go Compare
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile
greyzip Ltd Reviews & Testimonials
Leticia Szabo Review from Google
5.0★
Leticia Szabo's Review Sourced from Google
All the staff at Grey Zip were so professional and patient. They shared their expertise with me over every element of my companies web design! I would recommend them to any one who wants the highest level of service, creativity and who aims to achieve stunning results. I am delighted with my website!
Sundeep Bamrah Review from Google
5.0★
Sundeep Bamrah's Review Sourced from Google
I highly recommend Greyzip. I have used them for my business and the guys there are amazing, professional and dealt with all my needs with unrivalled speed and really glad to have them supporting by business.
Chloe Gabbitas-Powls Review from Google
5.0★
Chloe Gabbitas-Powls's Review Sourced from Google
I can't praise Ash and Jack enough for their work. I had previously been working with a very poorly designed and functioning website with very low SEO rankings which was extremely frustrating for a new company. Jack designed me a perfect functioning website. I have had many compliments regarding my new look website. My business over the last 6 months has gone from strength to strength with the help and never ending support from Greyzip. Nothing is too much trouble and a pleasure to work with. Thank you guys :-)
Reviews verified by DesignRush and sourced from the agency's profile View All Reviews
At VINCUSYS, we pride ourselves on our ability to seamlessly integrate marketing, communication, and technology to drive tangible outcomes for our clients. With a holistic approach and a focus on innovation, we empower businesses to thrive in today's dynamic digital landscape while staying ahead of the curve...
Top Services:
Digital Services
Graphic Design
Branding
Logo Design
Digital Strategy
Show more
Location
Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Number of Employees
Under 49
Minimal Budget
Under $1,000
VINCUSYS Services
Digital Services
Graphic Design
Branding
Logo Design
Digital Strategy
Web Design
WordPress Website Design
Social Media Marketing
Email Marketing
SEO
Digital Marketing
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile, its website, and other relevant accounts
Xunta de Galicia
CRUSOE
University of Santiago de Compostela
University of A Coruña
Barcelona Clinical Hospital
Spanish Association of Primary Care Pediatrics
Carrís Hoteles
Ferrecal
Grupo PREMIR
FarmaQuatrium
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile
VINCUSYS Reviews & Testimonials
Casa Ramos Review from Google
5.0★
Casa Ramos's Review Sourced from Google
Wonderful professionals! We met them when we opened a bar in the area, and it was a great success to hire them! Marketing, digital kit... Whatever you need! Great professionals and great people. We will definitely continue to use their services!
carris Marineda Review from Google
5.0★
carris Marineda's Review Sourced from Google
We are delighted with the Vincusys service. It is gratifying to work with a company made up of professionals who understand the sector.
Puri López Presedo Review from Google
5.0★
Puri López Presedo's Review Sourced from Google
They are a very professional and responsible team.I am very grateful for the attention received and the advice on marketing, they performed these services for me and I am very happy and with very good results.
Reviews verified by DesignRush and sourced from the agency's profile View All Reviews
LKProfessionals is a global technology consulting and digital engineering firm. We partner with enterprises to architect, deliver, and optimize solutions that drive measurable business outcomes...
Top Services:
Digital Marketing
SEO
Software Development
Cloud Consulting
DevOps Consulting
Show more
Location
Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Number of Employees
Under 49
Average Hourly Rate
$8/hr
Minimal Budget
Under $1,000
LK Professionals Services
Digital Marketing
SEO
Software Development
Cloud Consulting
DevOps Consulting
Mobile App Development
AI Development
Graphic Design
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile, its website, and other relevant accounts
ident-IT, based in Graz, Austria, is a leading digital agency specializing in web and app development, graphic design, social media marketing, and video design. Since 2018, our expert team has combined analog and digital creativity to deliver unique, high-quality solutions. We prioritize efficiency, empathy...
Top Services:
Digital Services
SEO
Web Design
Graphic Design
Design Services
Show more
Location
Graz, Austria
Number of Employees
Under 49
Average Hourly Rate
$80/hr
Minimal Budget
Under $1,000
ident-IT GmbH Services
Digital Services
SEO
Web Design
Graphic Design
Design Services
Video Production
Social Media Marketing
Digital Marketing
Content Marketing
WordPress Website Design
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile, its website, and other relevant accounts
We are the marketing agency of tomorrow, bringing big ideas to small businesses today.
We are LC3 Creative, based in East Liverpool, Ohio, a digital marketing agency founded in 2020 with a mission to empower and uplift local small businesses. Rooted in a commitment to excellence - we specialize in providing innovative and tailored marketing solutions, ranging from web development and graphic...
Top Services:
Digital Marketing
Web Design
Social Media Marketing
Advertising
SEO
Show more
Location
East Liverpool, Ohio
Number of Employees
Under 49
Average Hourly Rate
$21/hr
Minimal Budget
Under $1,000
LC3 Creative LLC Services
Digital Marketing
Web Design
Social Media Marketing
Advertising
SEO
Graphic Design
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile, its website, and other relevant accounts
5 Frequently Asked Questions About Link Building Companies
What are the typical link building services offered by companies?
Link building companies typically offer a mix of strategy, outreach, content creation, and reporting services. Their work often includes competitor analysis, backlink research, campaign planning, link prospecting, outreach, performance tracking, and ongoing optimization.
Key services include:
Backlink audit: Reviewing your backlink profile to identify harmful or low-quality links, spammy referring domains, and broken links or pages that may affect SEO performance.
Blogger outreach: Reaching out to relevant bloggers, publishers, influencers, and content creators to secure brand mentions and backlinks.
Guest posting: Creating content for authoritative, relevant third-party websites that includes a contextual link back to your site.
Linkable asset creation: Developing high-value content such as infographics, original research, guides, tools, or calculators that naturally attract backlinks.
Broken link building: Finding broken links on other websites and suggesting your content as a relevant replacement.
Digital PR: Earning backlinks through media outreach, press coverage, expert commentary, and newsworthy campaigns.
Many link building companies also provide digital marketing services, including search engine optimization (SEO), local SEO, content marketing, and social media marketing.
How much do link building services cost?
The cost of link building services varies, depending on service type and scope, target niche, competition level, link quality, editorial fees, and engagement level.
For instance, a B2B link building agency may charge around $150-$300 per placement for sites with a domain authority (DA) of 20-30 and $600-$1,500 per placement for sites with a DA of 50+.
Below are the approximate price ranges of link building services:
Guest posting: $150-$1,500 per link
Niche edits: $150-$300 per link
Link insertion: $75-$2,000 per link
Digital PR: $2,000-$15,000 per month
Content creation: $5,000-$20,000+ per month
SEO campaigns: $3,000-$15,000+ per month
Managed link building: $1,500-$3,000 per month for small projects, and $7,000-$15,000 for enterprise-level work
What is the difference between white-hat and black-hat link building techniques?
White-hat link building refers to ethical, guideline-compliant strategies used to earn backlinks that provide real value to users. Reputable link building companies use these methods to build authority over time through relevant outreach, strong content, and credible placements.
Examples of white-hat link building include:
Creating useful, original content that people naturally want to reference
Earning links from relevant, trustworthy websites in your industry
Securing contextual links that fit naturally within high-quality content
Building a diverse backlink profile across different referring domains
Using digital PR, guest posting, and outreach in a relevant and transparent way
Black-hat link building, by contrast, uses manipulative tactics designed to influence rankings without providing real value. These methods may produce short-term gains, but they can also lead to search engine penalties, lost trust, and long-term SEO damage.
Examples of black-hat link building include:
Buying links to manipulate search rankings
Excessive link exchanges
Spamming blogs, forums, or comment sections with links
Hiding links or text in content
Using link farms, private blog networks (PBNs), or automated link building tools
How do backlinks impact AI search visibility?
Backlinks can influence AI search visibility indirectly by strengthening your site's authority, discoverability, and performance in traditional search. In practice, sites with stronger backlink profiles often earn better organic visibility, and that can increase their chances of being surfaced or cited in AI search experiences.
However, backlinks are only one part of the picture. Content quality, relevance, crawlability, and overall site trust also matter. Google's guidance for AI Overviews says standard SEO best practices still apply, rather than any separate AI-specific optimization.
According to industry research, 76% of pages cited in AI overviews rank in the top 10 of Google's search results. Moreover, it observed positive correlations between link quality and AI mentions.
When should you hire a link building agency and when to keep it in-house?
The answer will depend on your internal capabilities, marketing goals, timeline, and budget.
Hire a link building agency if:
You do not have the in-house expertise or resources to build and manage a consistent link building strategy.
You need to scale quickly or compete in a highly competitive industry where outreach experience and publisher relationships matter.
You need a team with proven processes for prospecting, outreach, content placement, and reporting.
Keep it in-house if:
You are running a small or limited campaign that does not justify agency costs.
You already have a dedicated SEO, content, or outreach team with the capacity to manage link building internally.
You want greater control over strategy, messaging, and day-to-day execution.
Your business relies heavily on internal subject-matter expertise, making it easier for your own team to create and pitch link-worthy content.