3 Link Building Fundamentals Your SEO Agency Must Get Right

Link building is one of the most powerful ranking factors in SEO, but it’s also one of the most challenging and time-consuming. Many SEO agencies struggle to strike the right balance between effectiveness and efficiency, and they end up squandering their budgets on methods that yield no quantifiable results.

Effective link building is not merely a matter of acquiring backlinks – it calls for a solid foundation of on-page optimization, a thoughtful anchor text strategy, and a good idea of just how many links are truly necessary. Without these in place, even high-quality backlinks can neglect to move rankings, traffic, or conversions.

By prioritizing these three fundamentals, agencies can maximize the ROI of link-building campaigns, boost search visibility, and ensure sustainable long-term results.

Key Takeaways:

• Without on-page SEO, link-building efforts will have little impact.

• A well-planned anchor text strategy improves relevance and rankings while avoiding penalties.

• Knowing how many links are needed — and their quality — mitigates wasted resources.

• Many agencies outsource link building to reduce costs and improve scalability.

•  

Table of Contents:

• 1. On-Page SEO: The Foundation for Link Building Success

• 2. Anchor Text Strategy: Maximizing Relevance and Rankings

• 3. A Link Plan: Understanding How Many Links You Actually Need

• Why Many Agencies Outsource Link Building (And Why It Makes Sense)

• How Vazoola Helps SEO Agencies Scale Link Building Efficiently

• Ready to Streamline Your Link Building?

1. On-Page SEO: The Foundation for Link Building Success

Many agencies assume that link building alone will boost rankings, but if the target page isn’t optimized, backlinks won’t deliver results. Search engines prioritize relevance, content quality, and user experience, so fix on-page SEO issues before beginning link acquisition and link building.

So, what needs to be optimized before you can start link building? At a minimum, four elements need to be addressed.

Keyword Targeting and Intent Matching 

Align search intent with targeted keywords before earning backlinks. Google rewards content that directly answers user queries, so ensuring proper intent matching increases ranking potential.

Internal Linking 

Strategic internal linking helps distribute link equity, improving a site’s overall domain authority. Internal links also guide users to related content, boosting engagement and reducing bounce rates.

Page Speed and Core Web Vitals 

A slow website negatively impacts user experience and SEO rankings. Google’s Core Web Vitals emphasize loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability, making performance optimization a critical step before acquiring backlinks.

Structured Data for Visibility

Schema markup enhances how content appears in search results, making pages more attractive for clicks. Enhanced search listings can improve organic traffic, amplifying the impact of new backlinks.

For best results, conduct an on-page SEO audit using tools like Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, Ahrefs Site Audit, or even Vazoola’s free SEO audit report before launching a link-building campaign.

2. Anchor Text Strategy: Maximizing Relevance and Rankings

Anchor text – the clickable text in a hyperlink – plays a key role in search. It signals to search engines what the linked page is about and indirectly influences rankings. However, a poor anchor text strategy can lead to over-optimization penalties or ineffective link placements.

Common Anchor Text Mistakes

Certain mistakes are common in anchor text strategies. Here are a few to avoid:

• Overusing exact-match anchors: Repeating the same keyword-heavy anchor text can trigger Google’s spam filters.

• Using generic anchors: Phrases like “click here” or “read more” fail to add relevance or context.

• Random or irrelevant anchors: Unrelated anchor text confuses search engines and reduces link value.

•  

How to Diversify Anchor Text so It Helps Your Rankings

A balanced anchor text strategy improves rankings while maintaining a natural backlink profile. Here’s how we advise agencies to structure their anchor text:

• Exact-match anchors: Use sparingly for highly relevant keyword targets.

• Branded anchors: Increase trust and credibility by using company names occasionally (when relevant) as anchors.

• Partial-match and natural anchors: Maintain balance with descriptive, long-tail phrases that match the linked content naturally.

Tools, such as Ahrefs or SEMrush, help diversity anchor text. They also analyze competitor anchor text strategies, which can help  identify what works in a particular industry.

3. A Link Plan: Understanding How Many Links You Actually Need

Many SEO agencies make the mistake of building links blindly without a clear strategy. Without a measured approach, campaigns can waste budget on unnecessary or low-quality backlinks.

How do you determine the right number and quality of your backlinks? There are a few ways:

• Competitor backlink analysis: Study the backlink profiles of top-ranking competitors to get a benchmark for how many and what types of links a page needs to compete.

• Keyword difficulty and search intent: Higher difficulty keywords require more authoritative backlinks. Understand the competitiveness of a keyword to help determine link volume.

• Page authority and existing domain strength: New or low-authority sites need more high-authority links to compete, while established sites may need fewer links but with higher relevance.

Remember to balance link quantity and quality by prioritizing authoritative placements over spammy, low-value backlinks.

Why Many Agencies Outsource Link Building (And Why It Makes Sense)

Managing link-building in-house is expensive and time-consuming, making it difficult for agencies to scale their efforts while maintaining quality, not only with their links but in their other agency services.

The Hidden Costs of In-House Link Building

How much does link building cost? Factors that affect the price of building a link include:

• Outreach and relationship building: Finding the right publishers and securing placements requires dedicated outreach efforts, often with low response rates.

• Content creation: Content marketing like high-quality guest posts and linkable assets require skilled writers and designers.

• Placement negotiations: Building and maintaining relationships with publishers takes significant effort.

•  

Why High-Quality Link Acquisition at Scale Is Difficult Without Established Publisher Relationships

Securing high-quality backlinks requires more than just outreach — it depends on established relationships with trusted publishers. Agencies that lack these connections may struggle to:

• Access high-authority websites: Many top-tier publishers prefer working with known partners, making it difficult for new agencies to secure placements.

• Negotiate favorable terms: Established link-building firms already have processes in place, reducing costs and improving turnaround time.

• Ensure content approval: Publishers vet external content heavily, and agencies without prior relationships may face more rejections.

Outsourcing to a provider with existing publisher connections eliminates these barriers, ensuring faster placements and higher link quality.

Why Outsourcing Link Building Works

Many agencies partner with specialized link-building providers to reduce costs and improve efficiency. The benefits include:

• Access to premium publishers: Established providers secure placements faster at lower costs.

• Scalability: Agencies can increase or decrease link volume based on client needs without extra overhead.

• Focus on strategy: Instead of spending time on link outreach, agencies can concentrate on high-level SEO planning.

•  

How Vazoola Helps SEO Agencies Scale Link Building Efficiently

Vazoola provides customized link-building strategies, premium publisher access, and a data-driven approach to help agencies scale their efforts without sacrificing quality.

Customized Link Building Strategies Based on Client Goals

Every SEO campaign is unique, and Vazoola tailors link-building strategies to match client objectives. By focusing on keyword difficulty, industry trends, and competitive analysis, Vazoola ensures agencies build links that drive real rankings and traffic.

Access to Premium Publishers at the Best Industry Rates

Securing high-authority backlinks can be challenging, but Vazoola offers exclusive access to premium publishers, ensuring placements on reputable sites at competitive rates. Agencies benefit from faster turnaround times and lower costs per link without compromising quality.

Data-Driven Approach Ensuring ROI

Vazoola leverages performance tracking of search metrics and competitor insights to optimize link acquisition efforts. Agencies can measure the direct impact of backlinks and adjust strategies in real-time for maximum effectiveness.

Flexible, Performance-Based Solutions

With no long-term contracts, Vazoola allows agencies to scale link building as needed, ensuring a cost-effective, results-driven approach.

Ready to Streamline Your Link Building?

If you’re looking for a smarter, cost-effective way to scale link building without sacrificing quality, Vazoola can help with our link-building service.

Schedule a strategy call today to discover how Vazoola’s customized link-building solutions can help your agency deliver better results for clients – without draining their budgets.