It’s no secret that SEO is one of the slowest and most painful marketing facets there is. One time, I had an email marketer buddy ask me, “Why did you choose SEO?” His question still reverberates in my ear to this day, and for good reason.
Making progress in SEO is time-consuming and frustrating. Meanwhile, other marketing facets, like email marketing, target low-hanging fruit (his words, not mine).
The long-game nature of SEO stems largely from all the ranking factors involved in appraising a website’s search performance. Among these factors, arguably the most important and challenging to generate are high-quality backlinks.
That’s why many businesses choose to outsource link building as opposed to doing it themselves, primarily because it is more straightforward and economical, at least in the short term.
But is it the right move for your site?
In this guide, we’ll break down the pros and cons of outsourcing link building and walk you through a simple step-by-step process to do it effectively.
What Does Outsourced Link Building Mean?
Outsourcing link building means hiring an external agency, freelancer, or service provider to build backlinks for your website, instead of doing it in-house.
Rather than reaching out to bloggers, writing guest posts, arranging link exchange deals, or managing outreach yourself, you let seasoned professionals do the heavy lifting. This gives you ample room to focus on the on-page and technical aspects of SEO since somebody else will handle the off-page on your behalf.
Instead of building an outreach department and training people, outsourcing link building is like bringing in a team that already knows the ropes. At face value, that means saving you time, tools, and trial-and-error.
It seems like a practical option for busy marketers, small teams, or anyone looking for a quick boost in rankings in a short period.
Of course, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Below, we’ll investigate the difference between outsourcing link building versus hiring an in-house team.
Outsource Link Building vs. Hire an In-house Team?
Wondering whether you should hire an external agency or gather your own team to build backlinks for you? Let’s explore the pros and cons below:
Pros of outsourcing link-building efforts
Here are the advantages when you outsource link building:
1. Access to specialized expertise
When you outsource link building, you tap into a team of specialists who live and breathe SEO.
These experts know the ins and outs of off-page SEO outreach—what works, what to avoid, and how to secure high-quality backlinks that actually move the needle.
2. Scalable and flexible
Outsourcing gives you the freedom to scale your link-building efforts up or down based on your needs and budget.
Whether you want 5 links this month or 50 the next, you can adjust without the burden of long-term commitment or the hassle of training staff.
In other words, it’s a flexible solution that grows with your business goals.
3. Saves time and budget
Managing link building in-house takes a lot of resources, such as tools and testing.
But when you outsource link building, that burden shifts to professionals who already have systems in place.
That saves you hours each week and reduces overhead costs, preventing you from stretching your budget too thin.
4. Established relationships and linkages
Many link builders, whether freelance or agency, have already established relationships with bloggers, editors, and site owners across various niches.
This network gives them a head start in securing placements faster and more reliably than starting from scratch.
Conversely, hiring in-house could mean having to send cold emails until host websites give you a fair shake.
5. Performance-based options
If you’re a little pressed for budget, some link-building services offer performance-based models, where you only pay for live or approved links.
This reduces the risk and ensures you’re getting real value for your money. It’s a results-driven approach where investment meets actual outcomes, and not just promises.
Although, take performance-based options with a grain of salt.
Cons of outsourcing link-building efforts
Here are the potential drawbacks when you outsource link building:
1. Less control over strategy
The biggest downside of having to outsource link building is handing over part of your SEO strategy to an external team. That means less say in day-to-day decisions.
You might not always know where links are being placed or how outreach is handled. This lack of control can be risky if the provider’s approach doesn’t align with your branding or goals.
2. Risk of low-quality links
Not all link-building service providers prioritize quality, and that can hurt you if you’re not careful. Some may deliberately cut corners by placing toxic backlinks or links from irrelevant sites just to hit quotas.
3. Communication delays
Working with an external team can sometimes lead to slower communication, especially if they are juggling other clients besides you.
Simple requests or updates may take longer to process, which, by extension, may also stall progress. Not to mention, delays such as this can be frustrating when you need quick changes or real-time feedback.
4. Higher cost over time
While outsourcing can seem cost-effective upfront, the costs can add up if you rely on it long-term.
Monthly retainers or pay-per-link models can end up costing more than training an in-house team. Think of it as a trade-off between convenience now and sustainability later.
5. Brand voice may be off
When someone outside your team handles outreach or content, there’s a high chance your brand voice won’t come through clearly.
The tone, messaging, or context might feel slightly off or inconsistent with how you normally communicate. Without close oversight, this can potentially dilute your brand’s identity on the web.
Pros of hiring an in-house link builder
Here are the benefits of building and training link builders in-house:
1. Full control and transparency
An in-house link builder means you can oversee every part of the strategy, from outreach targets to anchor text choices.
You know exactly where links are coming from and how they are being earned. This level of control gives you peace of mind and ensures everything aligns with your brand and goals.
2. Alignment with brand voice
During the onboarding process, in-house link builders are immersed in your brand’s voice, tone, and values. They naturally create content and outreach that feels authentic and on-brand.
This consistency helps build stronger relationships and reinforces your credibility across every link earned.
3. Long-term investment
While hiring in-house link builders takes a slow start, over time, they become more efficient, strategic, and aligned with your evolving goals. It’s an investment that pays off in the end.
4. Better cross-team collaboration
Since the in-house link builder works directly under you, collaborating is easier across marketing teams. This makes it easier to align link-building efforts with other campaigns. There is no need to wait a day or two for updates regarding progress.
5. Faster feedback loops
In-house teams can adapt more quickly and recalibrate strategies based on performance data or shifting priorities.
Cons of hiring an in-house link builder
Here are the disadvantages of building and training link builders in-house:
1. Time-consuming to build
Gathering an in-house link-building team takes time, from hiring talents to training them on your strategy and tools. Unlike outsourcing, you don’t get immediate results. It can take months before your efforts start gaining traction and delivering strong backlinks.
2. Higher fixed costs
Since training in-house teams takes time, this comes with associated costs. These fixed costs can quickly add up, especially for smaller teams or startups. It’s a long-term investment that requires consistent budget allocation.
3. Limited outreach network
In-house link builders often start from scratch when building linkages with site owners and publishers. Unlike agencies with established networks, it takes time to grow a reliable list of outreach contracts. This can slow down your link-building momentum, especially in the early stages.
4. Skill gaps or burnout
If you’re managing a small in-house team or just one link builder, it’s easy to run into skill gaps or burnout. One person may struggle to juggle outreach, content, negotiation, and tracking all at once.
Without an effective system or support, efficiency can take a hit over time.
5. Limited resource flexibility
Managing an in-house team can limit how quickly you scale efforts up or down. If you suddenly need more links, hiring and onboarding new members will take time.
Conversely, during slow periods, scaling down is difficult without layoffs or reallocating internal roles.
Here is a quick table that summarizes the entire comparison:
| Category | Outsourced Link Building | In-House Link Building |
|---|---|---|
| Specialized expertise | ✅ | ❌ |
| Scalability & flexibility | ✅ | ❌ |
| Cost-effectiveness | ✅ (short term) | ✅ (long term) |
| Existing relationships & network | ✅ | ❌ |
| Performance-based pricing | ✅ | ❌ |
| Control over strategy | ❌ | ✅ |
| Link quality assurance | ❌ (varies by provider) | ✅ |
| Communication & feedback speed | ❌ (possible delays) | ✅ |
| Brand voice consistency | ❌ | ✅ |
| Team collaboration | ❌ (challenging) | ✅ |
| Setup time | ✅ (ready to go) | ❌ (takes time to build) |
| Fixed cost burden | ✅ (variable pricing) | ❌ (salary + tools) |
| Outreach network | ✅ (established contacts) | ❌ (starts from scratch) |
| Burnout or skill gaps risk | ❌ (diverse team) | ✅ (limited capacity) |
| Resource flexibility | ✅ | ❌ |
5 Steps on How to Outsource Your Link Building Campaigns?
While outsourcing link building has its drawbacks, it can be a solid option when done right, depending on your objectives.
To avoid wasted budget and poor backlinks, you need a solid game plan. These five steps will help you prepare your site, choose the right partner, and ensure your campaign delivers real SEO value over time:
Step #1. Prepare your website for link building
Before you start building links, make sure your website is link-worthy, which entails several key things.
First, you need to create linkable assets on your website, which can take many forms: high-quality content, free-to-use tools, comprehensive data studies, etc. If your site offers thin content, host websites may feel reluctant to link to your website.
Secondly, improve your domain’s UX/UI. It can be challenging for host websites to trust your site if it looks outdated or experiences so many technical errors. Run a quick SEO audit to spot technical issues and optimize your site for speed.
For instance, Google’s PageSpeed Insights offers a comprehensive report on your website’s Core Web Vitals and provides advice on how to improve them:
Finally, a strong internal linking structure also enhances sitewide crawlability, which strengthens the foundation of your website.
Step #2. Set a realistic budget
Building backlinks isn’t cheap, and good link building certainly isn’t. So, set a budget that reflects two things:
- The link builder you wish to work with
- The quality and quantity of links you want
SEO agencies with dedicated teams will run your bill faster than independent freelancers. However, the former may be more efficient and produce quicker results than the latter, which is more cost-effective in the short term.
On the other hand, backlinks from niche-relevant and high-authority websites can cost anywhere from $100 to $500 each, possibly even more, depending on the industry.
Be clear about your monthly budget or the budget for each campaign, and inquire about different pricing models (e.g., per hour, per link, or monthly retainers).
A realistic budget ensures that you attract quality providers and avoid shady tactics that could lead to your site being penalized.
Step #3. Research and vet link-building agencies or freelancers
Don’t hand over your SEO to the first agency you find on Google. Instead, take time to research and compare multiple providers.
When I was searching for people to build backlinks for me in a quick 3-month campaign, I searched for link builders who had three things:
- Case studies that demonstrated positive results
- Verified reviews
- Client testimonials
During the client discovery calls, I ask how they build links. Certainly, they wouldn’t be telling me their entire systems, but all that matters to me is knowing if they acquire white-hat backlinks or engage in shady PBNs.
Black-hat SEO practices, when left unchecked, can cause trouble on your website, possibly even leading to deindexation from Google.
If possible, request sample links to evaluate their quality and relevance. A trustworthy provider should be transparent about their general process and deliverables.
(Bonus tip: check their own backlink profile using Linkody. If they can’t build strong links for themselves, they probably won’t do it for you.)
Step #4. Align on strategy and expectations
Once you’ve chosen a provider, set clear goals, expectations, and deliverables from the start. Clarify the following things:
- The minimum referring domain metrics to be considered (i.e., DA, Spam Score, TLD, etc., all of which are shown on Linkody!)
- How many deliverables per week or month (e.g., 30 backlinks per month)
- Ideal distribution of backlink rel attributes for a healthy and non-suspicious profile (e.g., 70% dofollow, 30% sponsored)
- What anchor text format to use (e.g., exact-match, phrase-match, partial-match, etc.)
In addition, discuss whether the focus will be guest posts, niche edits, digital PR, or a mix. Agree on timelines, communication frequency, and reporting formats.
Misalignment can lead to disappointing results or wasted spend, so transparency is key. The best way to maintain a healthy partnership is to treat it as a collaboration, not a handoff.
Finally, stipulate in the contract that you can terminate the agreement at any point, so you can choose another provider should the results be unsatisfactory.
Step #5. Monitor results and optimize over time
If you’re anything like me, you rarely give people the benefit of the doubt. Personally, I want to see for sure I’m getting my money’s worth; otherwise, I will not have full confidence in a person’s work.
No, I’m not saying micromanage your link builder (don’t ever do that). What I mean is monitor their output, which means keeping track of the links built, their quality, and impact on SEO performance.
For this, a tool like Linkody can show you all of the backlinks you’re earning, including essential sitewide metrics concerning the referring page:
- Moz Domain Authority
- Spam Score
- Google indexing status
- Anchor text used
- Ranking
- IP address
- Top-level Domain
Here is an example backlink analysis of one of Linkody’s pages:
In addition to tracking backlinks, Google Search Console is another useful tool to countercheck the impact of backlinks on your search engine positioning.
Are you gaining traction? How are your impressions and clicks doing? If you’re seeing improvements, are they because of the backlinks or your consistent content creation?
If some strategies work better than others, double down. Otherwise, adjust and tweak the plan.
Remember that SEO takes time, whether or not you partner with reliable link builders. But with consistent monitoring and optimization, you’ll start seeing a compounding return on your link-building efforts!
Linkody Makes Managing Backlinks Easier!
Outsourcing link building can be a smart move, especially when done with clear goals, the right partner, and a well-structured process.
Aside from saving time and budget in the short term, it gives you quick access to expert knowledge right from the get-go. But like any strategy, it is not without risks.
That is why tracking your backlinks is just as important as building them.
Tools like Linkody simplify backlink management, giving you real-time insights into which links are actually helping (or hurting!) your rankings.
(P.S. If they ever harm your SEO, we have a comprehensive guide on how to disavow backlinks.)
Try Linkody now for 30 days FREE—no credit card required, no strings attached.