- Fewer, better
- quality over volume
- No PBNs
- no paid link networks
- 6–12 months
- before authority compounds
Closely related to Digital PR.
Link Building
The part of SEO with the worst reputation, largely deserved. Most link building is buying placements on sites that exist only to sell placements, which works briefly and then costs you.
- Boundaries
- Stated up front so nobody wastes a call.
What we will not do
We do not buy links from networks, place content on sites built purely for link sales, participate in reciprocal link schemes, or promise a number of links per month. Volume-based link building is straightforward to buy elsewhere and cheap for a reason.
The reason is not moral. It is that these links are detectable, increasingly discounted, and occasionally penalised, and that unpicking a toxic profile costs considerably more than building a modest genuine one. We have no interest in selling you something we would later be paid to clean up.
What we do is slower and produces fewer links. It also produces links that keep working and that no algorithm update will take away.
- 8 areas
- One body of work, not a menu.
What’s included
Original research and data
Surveys, industry analysis and data studies that journalists and practitioners cite because the information is not available elsewhere. The most reliable source of genuine links.
Digital PR
Pitching that research to publications with real audiences, which produces coverage rather than placements. See Digital PR.
Editorial guest contributions
Writing for publications with genuine editorial standards, where acceptance is not guaranteed. Fewer opportunities, considerably more value.
Competitor gap analysis
Identifying which sites link to competitors but not to you, and which of those are realistically reachable.
Broken and unlinked mention reclamation
Finding places you are already mentioned without a link, or where a link points somewhere broken. The cheapest genuine links available.
Internal linking
Frequently neglected, often more impactful than external work. Distributing existing authority to pages that need it.
Toxic backlink assessment
Reviewing an inherited profile for links that pose real risk, and disavowing selectively rather than indiscriminately.
Local and sector authority
For local businesses, sponsorships and community associations, which are both more attainable and more relevant than national coverage.
- Common questions
- Asked on most first calls.
Questions
How many links will we get per month?
We will not commit to a number, because doing so forces volume over quality every time the month runs short. We commit to defined effort and report what it produced, including thin months.
Is link building still relevant?
Yes, though less dominant than a decade ago and increasingly for a second reason: corroboration across sources affects whether AI systems treat you as authoritative, not just whether you rank.
Competitors clearly buy links and outrank us. Why should we not?
Sometimes it works for a while. The risk is asymmetric — the gain is temporary, the cleanup is expensive, and you cannot see which of their rankings actually depend on those links. If you want to pursue it, we are not the right firm.
What about guest posting?
We do it where the publication has genuine editorial standards and a real audience. See Guest Posting. Networks of sites accepting anything for a fee are a different activity that shares the name.
How long before links affect rankings?
Individual links can register within weeks. Meaningful authority change in a competitive category takes six to twelve months. Anyone offering faster is describing bought links.
- Related
- Often scoped alongside this.
Related services
Digital PR
Original research and data stories that earn coverage and citations.
Guest Posting
Placement on publications with real audiences and editorial standards.
Content Marketing
Topic strategy, editorial calendars and the capacity to publish on schedule.
Google Penalty Recovery
Diagnosing manual actions and algorithmic suppression, then fixing the cause.
SEO Audit
Fixed-scope diagnostic. Findings and raw data yours to keep.
- Next step
- We look at your site before the call.
Start with a free audit
An automated crawl plus a 30-minute walkthrough of what we can see from outside your site. If what you need isn’t something we do well, we’ll tell you.