If marketing agencies want to compete, they have to stay innovative and current on the latest trends and strategies. But do you know how to grow a digital marketing agency?

One of the best ways to do that is to diversify offerings and provide the sort of high-value services that clients need.

Link building is such a powerful tool. It boosts search rankings, increases web traffic, and strengthens overall brand authority. In fact, links are one of the top 2 Google ranking factors, according to Google's Andrey Lipattsev.

Still, 52.3% of digital marketers surveyed on X, formerly Twitter, said link building is the hardest part of SEO. That leaves a major opportunity for agencies to offer a service that businesses struggle to do themselves.

When you incorporate strategic link building into your growing agency’s offerings, you can provide better client outcomes and create a scalable revenue stream. When clients ask for measurable results, data-driven link-building campaigns drive rankings and conversions. 

Key Takeaways

• Add link building services to increase client satisfaction and retention.

• Offering high-quality backlinks provides agencies with a scalable income stream.

• Well-placed backlinks improve search rankings, brand visibility, and organic traffic.

• Outsourced link building lets agencies scale without hiring in-house specialists.

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Table of Contents

• Why Does Your Agency Need Link Building as a Service?

• How to Sell Link Building to Your Clients

  • Educate Clients on What Link Building Does

  • Common Link Building Techniques

  • Show Clients the ROI of Link Building

  • Emphasize the Benefits of Link Building

  • Study Competitors’ Backlinks to Build a Stronger Case

  • Address Clients’ Concerns About Link Building

  • Offer Custom Link Building Strategies

• Grow Your Agency Through Link Building

• The Benefits of Outsourcing Link Building

• Partnerships for Growth

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Why Does Your Agency Need Link Building as a Service?

Marketing agencies gain a competitive edge when they offer comprehensive SEO solutions. Link building is still one of the most effective ways to improve search rankings. But many businesses just don’t have the time, expertise, or resources to do it properly.

According to a 2023 marketing agency survey by Setup, clients have a few different priorities when choosing an agency. They value transparency, strategic planning, and measurable results. When you add link building as a service, your agency can meet those demands, all while you increase revenue.

In its 2023 rank factors study, First Page Sage found that links tied for second place as the most important ranking factor.

How to Sell Link Building to Your Clients

Sometimes backlinks can be a hard sell. Clients might not fully understand why backlinks matter at first. That means you have to educate them to sell the service.

Educate Clients on What Link Building Does

Backlinks serve as votes of confidence for a website. They tell search engines that the content there is credible and valuable. The more high-quality backlinks a site can earn, the likelier it is to rank higher in search results.

Chances are your clients will ask about common link-building techniques. Agencies should explain the different white-hat link-building strategies that are used to improve rankings, including:

• Email Outreach: Email outreach occurs when you reach out to websites for relevant link placements.

• Broken Link Building: You can replace outdated links with fresh content.

• Guest Posting: Publish high-value guest content on third-party sites.

• Link Reclamation: Fix lost or unlinked brand mentions.

• Niche Edits: These are when you add contextual links to existing content.

• Local Backlinks: You can obtain local SEO citations from directories and industry sources.

Clients may be hesitant about link building, especially if they know you outsource it. Be transparent about your quality control measures while emphasizing that outsourcing allows you to leverage industry connections, scale faster, and secure high-quality placements that in-house teams can’t match.

Show Clients the ROI of Link Building

Do your clients understand the monetary value of link building? They’re going to want to see how the strategy affects their bottom line. A study from Sistrix found that 28.5% of users click on the first organic result in search rankings. That shows just how important high-authority backlinks really are.

You can demonstrate the ROI of link-building efforts to your clients by presenting data-driven case studies, visual aids, and competitor comparisons. 

Define strict criteria for acceptable backlinks, including domain authority (DA), organic traffic, niche relevance, and link placement type. Require vendors to provide a pre-approval list before securing links to ensure each placement aligns with your agency’s standards.

Emphasize the Benefits of Link Building

Link building will do a lot more than just help your clients achieve higher search rankings. Link building benefits also include:

• Drives targeted referral traffic

• Increases brand authority and credibility

• Boosts conversion potential

• Strengthens domain authority

Each of these benefits makes link building a valuable long-term investment for clients.

Study Competitors’ Backlinks to Build a Stronger Case

Analyzation of competitor backlink profiles like what Vazoola does is a powerful way to illustrate the value of – and need for – link building. When you can identify who is linking to competitors, you can find gaps in your client’s strategy. The information can then be used to pitch a tailored link-building campaign.

We can’t overemphasize how important it is to monitor competitor backlinks and uncover new high-value link opportunities. Link-building tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz all help agencies conduct competitive backlink research. You can also consider Vazoola’s free backlink checker.

Not all links perform the same. Work with your vendor to test a mix of contextual links, homepage links, editorial mentions, and resource page links. Track which types yield the best rankings and traffic improvements, then optimize your strategy accordingly.

Address Client Concerns About Link Building

Some clients still hesitate to invest in link building because they have lingering concerns about the cost and timeline, as well as risks associated with low-quality backlinks. When you address these concerns directly, you’ll make them more confident in the strategy.

• Concern: “Link building takes too long”

  • Solution: Just explain to the client that high-quality link building is a long-term investment with sustainable results.

• Concern: “Are backlinks safe? I don’t want to get penalized.”

  • Solution: Go ahead and clarify that white-hat link-building techniques are compliant with Google’s guidelines. 

• Concern: “Is link building worth the cost?”

  • Solution: Show the client case studies and data that illustrates how strategic link acquisition leads to a higher ROI. 

Offer Custom Link Building Strategies

Not all businesses need the same link-building approach. Your agency can differentiate itself when it offers customized link-building strategies that are tailored to each client’s needs.

If you’re working with local businesses, focus on local citations and geo-targeted backlinks. For e-commerce, on the other hand, you’ll want to prioritize product-focused guest posts and niche-relevant backlinks. If you’re working with B2B clients, you can instead leverage industry partnerships, white papers, and authoritative publications.

When agencies provide custom solutions instead of a one-size-fits-all package, they position themselves as strategic partners instead of mere service providers.

If you plan to outsource link building long-term, negotiate bulk pricing or tiered discounts based on the volume of links you need each month. Many providers offer agency partnerships with scalable pricing, so you can maintain profitability as you grow.

Grow Your Digital Agency Through Link Building

Why outsource link building?

Adding a link building service to your agency’s offerings is a great way to increase revenue, attract more clients, and position yourself as a full-service digital marketing provider. After all, agencies that offer high-quality link building stand out in a crowded market. They also build long-term client relationships.

Digital marketing is a competitive industry, but agencies that provide results-driven strategies gain a critical advantage. It makes no difference if you manage your link building in-house, or if you outsource to white-label link-building providers. Agencies can scale efficiency without adding to their overhead costs when they include link building as a service. 

Many clients want proof of results. Choose a link building provider that offers white-label reporting so you can present clean, branded reports to clients without exposing your vendor relationships. Customizable reporting helps maintain your agency’s credibility.

The Benefits of Outsourcing Link Building

It takes time, expertise, and industry connections to properly manage link building in-house. That’s why many agencies outsource link building to white-label providers. It lets them offer high-quality backlinks without the need to hire additional staff.

Consider that experienced link builders build 3.57x as many links as beginners, according to an Authority Hacker survey of 755 link builders. Since agencies have the highest proportion of experienced link builders – 59.4% having over 5 years of experience – it only makes sense that white-label link-building services set companies up for SEO success.

Truly, outsourcing means clients receive top-tier links while agencies get to focus on their core services like content creation and SEO strategy.

A few benefits of outsourced link building include: 

• Access to networks of high-authority websites

• Scalable pricing models that allow for agency growth

• Expert management of outreach and placements

• High-quality and consistent link acquisition.

Not all link building vendors are equal. Before you partner with a provider, audit their backlink portfolio, request case studies, and ask for sample reports. Look for vendors that prioritize quality over quantity, use manual outreach, and provide transparency on their processes.

Partner to Grow Your Agency

When you’re growing a digital marketing agency, there’s no doubt about it. Link building remains one of the most powerful SEO strategies. Still, it’s also one of many businesses’ biggest challenges. When you offer link building as a service, your marketing agency can increase its revenue, strengthen client relationships, and improve their search rankings.

Don’t think the demand for high-quality backlinks might go away. Agencies that tap into this market now are sure to position themselves for long-term success.

Vazoola offers white label link building services. We specialize in partnering with agencies that want to grow and scale. We work directly with agencies to set up custom pricing strategies that enable growth. Indeed, Vazoola specializes in link building and promises consistent, high-quality links for agencies of all sizes.

Are you ready to start growing a digital agency?