How Much Does Link Building Cost?
Link building is an important part of any SEO strategy, but it does come with costs. The price for link-building campaigns can vary quite a bit based on the tactics used, the authority of sites you want links from, and how much manual outreach you need. Generally speaking, most businesses spend between $50 to $5,000 per month on link building. But the investment is worth it for the traffic and rankings boost quality links provide.
Pricing of Link Building
The cost to acquire quality backlinks can vary quite a bit based on several factors like the quality of links you want, your industry competitiveness, and whether you use a full-service agency or freelancers. According to Ahrefs data, buying an individual backlink directly from a website averages around $361. However, for ongoing link building, industry expert, siegemedia suggests budgeting around $500 per link as a more reasonable long-term rate.
If you want to hire link-builders from the marketplace, most established link-builders tend to charge between $125-$250 per hour. If you are willing to hire a lin-building service agency then for a monthly contract, you will need to expend around $1,000 to $10,000.
For example,
Linkbuilder.io
Pricing ranges from $2,999 to $19,999 per month for manual outreach campaigns focused on acquiring high-quality backlinks from relevant websites. Services include prospect research, customized outreach emails, securing placements, and reporting on achieved links.
Outreach Neo
Charges $80 to $180 per secured backlink based on domain authority, with a 10-link campaign costing $800 to $1,800 monthly. Services include manual outreach to niche-relevant sites with high domain authority and organic traffic, securing do-follow guest posts or placements, and delivery within 3-5 weeks. Reporting provided on all acquired links.
Screaming Frog
With a minimum cost of £3,400 per month based on a £850 day rate and 4-day minimum, services include technical SEO audits, competitor analysis, outreach list building, contacting site owners, and negotiating placements.
Webris
Offers monthly legal link building campaigns starting at $4,000 for local outreach, $8,000 for industry publications, and $15,000 for national coverage. All plans use their proprietary legal website database, perform manual outreach for placements, and provide monthly reporting on acquired links.
Link Fish Media
Offers a basic 3-link package for $1,050 focused on directories and blogs. It includes blog comments, web directories, social bookmarks, and forum links. Standard $5,000 monthly services add press releases, infographics, local citations, and other assets to aid in acquiring high-quality links.
Page One Power
Backlink-building services start at $3,700 per month including high-authority placements, manual outreach, integrated content marketing, monitoring, and reporting on achieved links.
What about freelancers? Well, you can hire freelancers from top freelance sites like Fivers, you may need to pay around $50 to$100 per hour. However, you need to cover other costs like writers, link payments, and software.
Breakdown of Link Building Cost Components
Several key components factor into the overall expense of link acquisition:
Outreach for Manual Link Building
Manually contacting site owners and influencers to request backlinks, guest posts, brand mentions, or other earned links has a high time cost associated with researching relevant sites, crafting customized pitch emails, securing placements, and follow-ups. Typical costs range from $500 to $5,000+ per month depending on workload, outreach volume, and negotiation time required per acquired link.
Content Creation
Having graphically appealing, relevant, well-researched content to promote links is essential. Optimized content assets like infographics, research reports, data studies, and in-depth blog content can cost between $500 to $5,000+ per piece depending on factors like word count, design complexity, image requirements, data visualization needs, and more.
Paid-Link Placements
Paid link building offers guaranteed placements, saves manual outreach effort, and scales quickly, although link quality varies greatly. Costs for paid links, sponsored posts, directory listings, and inclusion in content round-ups range from $20 to $5,000 per link based on domain authority, organic traffic, and industry. Risks include over-optimization penalties if overdone.
Software, Tools, and Analytics
Link tracking software, outreach tools, analytics, rank trackers, and other Martech subscriptions average $100 to $500+ per month for robust options. Multi-user enterprise solutions are far costlier. Some popular options include Pitchbox, BuzzStream, Ahrefs, SEMRush, Moz, Majestic, Cognitive SEO, Kerboo, and Linkody.
Cost of Building an In-House Link Building Team
If you want to hire and manage your own small internal link-building team, plan on a significant investment. Budget $8,500 to $10,500 per month to cover two full-time staff members along with tools and other ongoing costs.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s included in that estimate:
Link Building Manager
$5,000 – $8,000 per month
You need an experienced manager to lead the strategy and oversee operations.
Link Building Assistants
$4,000 – $5,000 per month
Assistants to help with outreach, writing, and other execution tasks.
Content Writer
$3,000 – $4,000 per month
A quality writer to create guest posts and other content assets.
Software and Tools
$500 per month
Subscriber tools like Ahrefs, outreach platforms, email finding, and link monitoring.
Other Operating Costs
$1,000 – $2,000 per month
Things like administrative expenses, training, subscriptions, etc.
While this in-house team model provides more control, the costs add up fast. And it can be challenging to find the specialized link-building expertise you need. Outsourcing to an agency like Outreach Neo that specializes in link building may offer more value for your budget.
Cost of Link Building Can Vary Greatly Depending on Several Factors
The cost of an effective link-building campaign can range anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per month. There is no one-size-fits-all price. The final cost will depend on several key factors:
Link Quality
The most important consideration is link quality. High authority backlinks from reputable, relevant websites are ideal but also more expensive. Guest posting on niche industry blogs often provides the best ROI. However, sponsored posts on mainstream news or magazine sites can cost thousands per link.
Link Building Method
Manual outreach for targeted link placement tends to be more expensive than scaled automated solutions. However manual links may provide better context and relevancy. Common tactics each have their own typical price range. For example, blogger outreach starts around $50 per link, while paid links on directories can be found for under $10 each.
Campaign Scale
Are you seeking 10 high-quality niche links per month or 1,000 lower-quality options? Scale plays a part in overall cost. Link building is very labor-intensive for the best results. The more links you want, the more expensive it gets. Smaller campaigns usually average $500+ per link acquired. Major link building starts under $100 per link but provides less targeted value.
Industry
Your business niche also impacts the cost of quality links. Highly competitive industries like finance, law, and insurance require more influencer-level links. This pushes prices higher compared to link-building costs for less popular niches.
Target Domain Authority (DA)
Domain authority measures a website’s power to influence search rankings. Backlinks from DA50+ sites are great while DA90+ links are truly powerful. As you target websites with higher authority scores, the costs tend to rise accordingly across all link-building tactics.
Tips to Find the Best Fit for Your Link Building
Determining the right link-building investment means balancing value versus the available budget. Keep these tips in mind when evaluating options:
Measure the ROI of Link Building Campaigns
Set clear campaign goals and have accurate tracking in place to measure actual ROI on links acquired. Determine the traffic, leads, and sales driven by new links to understand the true value received. This allows you to calculate your ideal cost per lead or sale to maximize future budget allocation.
Virtual Presence
Search online reviews and social networks for feedback on a link seller’s reputation and customer experiences. Companies with an established virtual presence tend to deliver better quality and service over the long run.
Reputation
Choose link-building vendors with proven expertise and satisfied customers to avoid getting burned by low-quality links. Reputable agencies stand behind their links with guarantees or will go the extra mile to make things right if issues ever occur.
Experience
How long has the link provider been active in digital marketing and SEO? Extensive experience signals best practices for acquiring links that comply with ongoing Google algorithm updates. Less time in industry often equates to higher risks.
Quality
Investigate actual examples of links created by any potential link-building partner. Evaluating the contextual relevance and anchor text variety gives you insight into what to expect. High standards in these areas typically deliver better outcomes.
Red Flags in Link Building Scenario
Link building is an important part of SEO, but it’s important to do it the right way. There are a number of red flags that you should watch out for, as they could indicate that you’re using black hat link-building techniques that could get your website penalized by Google.
Here are some of the most common red flags to watch out for:
Unnatural Link Velocity
If you get a sudden spike in backlinks, it could be a sign that you’re buying links or using other black hat techniques. Google likes to see links build up naturally over time.
Links from Low-quality Websites
Links from websites that are irrelevant to your niche or that have a low domain authority (DA) are unlikely to help you rank higher in search results. In fact, they could actually hurt your rankings.
Keyword Stuffing
Using the same keyword too many times in your anchor text is a signal to Google that you’re trying to manipulate the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Link buying or selling: Buying or selling links is a clear violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and can result in a penalty.
Private Blog Networks (PBNs)
PBNs are a network of websites that are all owned by the same person or company. They are often used to build links to other websites, but Google can easily detect PBNs and penalize the websites that are linked to them.
If you see any of these red flags, it’s a sign that you should stop what you’re doing and reevaluate your link-building strategy. If you’re not sure whether or not a link is safe, it’s always best to err on the side of caution and avoid it.
Wrapping Up
So in summary, link building costs are highly variable. Start with a reasonable monthly budget that makes sense for your business, focus on getting links from relevant high-quality sites, and monitor your rankings to see how your investment pays off. With the right strategy, link-building can be extremely beneficial for long-term organic growth. Looking for affordable expert link-building services, contact us today. Our dedicated team can help develop an effective link-building campaign tailored to your business goals and budget.