Link building without the shortcuts

A link from another website is still one of the clearest signals that a page is worth recommending. The trouble is that the link market is full of schemes that work for a few months and then cause problems. We avoid them, which means our link building is slower and more deliberate than some, but it lasts.

Where links come from in practice

• Relationships you already have. Suppliers, customers, membership bodies such as chambers of commerce and trade associations, the charity you sponsor. Many of these will link if asked properly.
• Local press and community sites. Derby and Derbyshire have active local news outlets and community sites. A genuine story, an event or a useful local insight can earn coverage.
• Industry publications. For engineering, rail and aerospace supply-chain firms, trade titles and sector directories carry more weight than any general directory.
• Content worth citing. A clear guide, a calculator or a piece of original analysis is easier to pitch than a sales page.
• Unlinked mentions. If people already write about you without linking, a short note often fixes it.

How we report it

You get a list of every link secured, the site it is on and the page it points to. We do not count low-value directory submissions as wins.

What to expect

Link building works alongside the rest. A link to a slow, thin page does little. Most clients see the clearest gains when links point at pages we have already improved through content and technical work.

Who link building suits in Derby

• Local service businesses that already have a strong profile and site but sit behind more established competitors.
• Engineering, rail and aerospace suppliers that need authority with industry publications and associations rather than general sites.
• Online shops with good category pages that lack external recognition.
• New businesses with almost no presence elsewhere on the web.

What is included, step by step

1. Link audit. We review your current backlinks and compare them with the businesses that outrank you, to find the gap in quality, relevance and type.
2. Relationship map. A list of organisations you already work with: suppliers, customers, associations, charities, venues, universities and colleges.
3. Asset review. We look for things on your site worth linking to, and suggest new ones where needed, such as a guide, a local resource or a piece of original analysis.
4. Outreach plan. Targets grouped by approach: quick asks, story pitches, resource promotion and unlinked mentions.
5. Outreach. Personal emails, from us or drafted for you to send. No automated blasts.
6. Reporting. Every link secured, with the page, the target and the context.

Where links come from, by business type

How long it takes and what drives the cost

Link building is slow and steady. The first quick wins, from existing relationships and unlinked mentions, often arrive in the first month or two. Digital PR and resource promotion take longer to pay off. Cost depends mainly on how competitive your market is, whether we need to create a linkable asset first, and how much outreach you or your team handle yourselves.

Common mistakes

• Buying "guest posts" on sites that exist only to sell links.
• Using the same keyword-rich anchor text for every link.
• Chasing high third-party authority scores on irrelevant sites.
• Neglecting the links you are already entitled to from partners and suppliers.
• Building links to pages that are thin or slow, which wastes them.

How we measure it

We look at the number and quality of referring domains over time, the visibility of the pages we built links to, referral traffic from those links, and whether competitive rankings move. We do not use third-party authority scores as targets.

Related services and reading

Links work best alongside content worth promoting and strong local SEO. Industrial firms should start with B2B and industrial SEO. Businesses in Long Eaton and the other towns we cover often have more local link opportunities than they realise. Before choosing any provider, read our guide to choosing an SEO company in Derby.