Fiverr is a HUGE waste of money when it comes to SEO (As the old saying goes: “you get what you pay for”).

To be fair:

Not all these gigs were for SEO stuff. But most of them were.

In fact, looking back, most of the gigs you bought looked like this:

Some of these gigs worked OK back in the day.

But in 2021? They’re completely useless.

Private Blog Networks (PBNs) are useful as you can even build your own PBN… and buy links from other people’s PBNs.

PBNs worked until 2017, when Google cracked down on them

Press releases used to work GREAT for link building.

But those days are long gone.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop people offering “press release distribution” as some sort of SEO service:

Today, most links in press releases are nofollowed:

Plus, Google has even come out and said that they “ignore” links in press releases:

Before we go through the link building services that actually work, we would like to tell you the benefits of using the right link building services.

Custom Campaigns

You plan, create and collaborate to deliver custom link building campaigns that perform exceptionally well.

Improve SERP

You are able to create high quality, do-follow backlinks for your website, which results in improved SEO performance.

Generate revenue

White-hat, niche-relevant backlinks lead to increased SERP that eventually increases the website traffic and conversions.

Target Audience

Get mentioned on authoritative websites & let your business connect to the desired target audience.

With that out of the way, it’s time for the good stuff:

The 7 best link building services for 2021.

1 Help a Reporter Out (HARO)

What It Is:

HARO is a service that journalists use to find sources and quotes from experts.

And if you become a source for their story, you can get a backlink to your site.

How it works:

First, register as a source on the HARO website:

When you do, you’ll get three emails per day with “Queries”.

A query is a quote, statistic, strategy or case study that the journalist needs to finish their story.

All you need to do is reply to their query with something usable…

Pros:

• You can get AMAZING links from popular news sites and blogs. For example, I got this link from Entrepreneur (Domain Authority 92) from a HARO query:

• HARO is dirt cheap (or even free) if compared to most other link building services.

• You don’t need to worry about black hat links or Google penalties since the vast majority of links that you get are from legit sites.

• You can get started FAST (literally today).

Cons:

• If you want a chance to get featured on a big site, you need to stay on top of queries and reply right away. This is why replying to HARO queries is a GRIND.

• No “set it and forget it” option. You or someone from your team needs to do all the legwork.

• Most of the links you get from HARO will point to your homepage, like this:

Which means this isn’t a great option for building links to internal pages (like services pages and blog posts).

How it works:

Content marketing agencies work one of two ways:

#1: They write a set number of articles per month on a monthly fee.

Usually, it can range from a handful of 500-word blog posts to a single piece of “WOW” content (like a 4,000-word definitive guide).

#2: Pay a set fee for a piece of content.

(For example, $2k for a single long-form blog post).

Cost:

Varies widely.

Even so, you definitely get what you pay for. Don’t expect anything special if you have a low budget for the agency to help you with your blog post.

That’s why it’s recommended to work with agencies that focus on quality over quantity. That way, you can get the most out of your monthly investment.

Pros:

• Building links with content marketing can work REALLY well.

• There’s no need to worry about shady stuff that could get your site penalized in the long-term because this is as white hat as it gets.

• You get lots of “bonus” benefits from publishing awesome content… like traffic from social media and brand awareness

Cons:

• Content marketing services ≠ SEO services. So if you need someone to do keyword research or on-page SEO, you’re out of luck.

• Your content needs to be AMAZING If you want your content to stand out and get links. Despite that, many content marketing agencies still offer worthless “10 blog posts per month” packages. That is why some content marketing agencies deliver mediocre “me too” content.

• Your fee may or may not include content promotion. If not, you’ll need to get the word out yourself.

Pros:

• If you ONLY want backlinks, this is probably the service for you.

• Assuming that you don’t spam people, email outreach is a super white hat approach to link building.

• Blogger outreach is one of the best ways to get these solid gold links as Google wants to see contextual links on related websites which is why You tend to get quality, white hat links.

• You only pay for results. Yes, sometimes it could be expensive but at least you got SOMETHING for your effort. Most SEO companies and content agencies offer no such guarantee.

Cons:

• If you need full-scale SEO help, this isn’t a great option for you because most link building companies don’t offer comprehensive SEO services.

• Closely inspect your links to make sure they some from REAL websites as shady providers add your link to one of their PBN websites and pass it off as “outreach”.

• You need to publish your own content. Bloggers aren’t going to link to crappy content (why would they?). Which means you’ll need some high-quality content on your site BEFORE you start with outreach.

Cost:

All over the map.

You can find discount SEO agencies out there for $200/month.

Or you can go with an agency that works with Fortune 500 companies… and pay $20-$50k/month.

That said, most SEO agencies charge anywhere from $500 to $5k/month.

Pros:

• They take care of everything. No need to create content. Or find keywords. Just write your check, give them your URL, and you’re done.

• Agencies do their work with your SEO goals in mind. For example, they’ll produce a piece of content design to get links… AND make sure that it’s optimized around your target keyword.

Cons:

• Most SEO agencies are useless (sad but true). They do some basic optimization… then charge you every month for mediocre content and links.

• They’re not focused on links. Yup, most agencies build links. But they also do everything else required to rank in Google (mobile optimization, content, etc.). Which means: only a small % of your budget goes towards link building.

What It Is:

You hire an agency to write and publish guest posts on your behalf.

(With a link back to your site).

How it works:

Guest post services take care of the MANY steps involved in guest posting: finding sites that accept guest posts, making a pitch, talking to editors, writing the post… and ultimately getting the post published.

It’s a time consuming process.

Cost:

Most guest post services charge a flat fee per guest post, usually between $100 and $500 (depending on the Domain Authority of the site). For example, The Hoth charges $200 for a single DA 30 link:

Pros:

• You get legit links (kind of). Google doesn’t want you to build “large-scale” links from guest posts. However, publishing a few guest posts on relevant sites is totally safe and can help give you a rankings boost.

• A guest post on a big site in your niche can send you LOTS of referral traffic.

• Pay per link model. Just like with outreach services, you only pay when you get a guest post published.

Cons:

• Some guest blogging services write a crappy guest post and publish it on a site in their PBN which is why fake guest posts are a real problem.

• If more than 5-10% of your link profile if made up of guest post links, you’re at risk of a penalty. This is because Google doesn’t want you to see “large-scale” guest posting. So this approach isn’t scalable.

How it works:

The story can be your product (if it’s interesting enough) or something that you published on your site (like an industry study). PR agencies usually work with you to create a newsworthy story that they can pitch to media outlets.

Cost:

Most PR agencies work with a monthly retainer model.

PR agencies that work with small businesses tend to charge between $2k-$15k/month.

That said, there are PR pros that sell one-off packages.

Pros:

• A successful PR campaign can land you links from household name sites, like Forbes and Fast Company. This is the reason why getting a very high quality backlinks is crucial.

• Most agencies get their hands dirty so you don’t have to. They do all of the grunt work for you so you don’t have to go pitching to journalists.

• You tap into an existing network. Most PR firms have contacts at big sites that they can leverage for coverage.

Cons:

• Most PR firms don’t focus on links. So you might get a “mention” or “placement” on a big site… only to find that they didn’t link to you in the story:

• You might be the toast of the town… or find yourself with a single link from a second-tier site as PR comes with no guarantees.

• PR firms usually charge 2-3x more than SEO agencies which is why public relations is an EXPENSIVE process.

How it works:

Most infographic agencies take care of the entire process: coming up with a topic, finding data and designing the infographic.

But you can also hire a graphic designer to turn your content into an infographic.

Cost:

For a full-service infographic service, you’re looking at $2k-$4k

Pros:

• Infographics still a GREAT way to build backlinks even though

• In most cases, you pay per infographic because they don’t charge any monthly retainer or ongoing commitment.

• It’s very hands off. You don’t need to be super-involved in the process.

Cons:

• It’s on you to get the word out as most infographic services don’t include promotion.

• Infographics are very hit or miss. Some go viral. Others fall completely flat. Which means you may need to publish 2-3 infographics before your first big hit.