Understanding link building pricing helps you budget effectively and evaluate services fairly. This guide covers current market rates, pricing models, and factors that influence cost.
Link Building Pricing Overview#
The Wide Range#
Link building costs vary dramatically:
- Low end: £20-50 per link (low quality, often risky)
- Mid range: £150-500 per link (decent quality, manual outreach)
- High end: £500-2,000+ per link (premium placements, digital PR)
This range reflects differences in quality, tactics, and risk levels—not just market positioning.
What Determines Price#
Link quality factors:
- Authority of linking site
- Relevance to your industry
- Editorial nature of placement
- Traffic to linking page
Effort factors:
- Outreach required
- Content creation needs
- Relationship building time
- Competition for placements
Risk factors:
- Compliance with guidelines
- Transparency of methods
- Sustainability of links
Pricing Models#
Per-Link Pricing#
Pay for each link acquired.
Typical rates:
| Link Quality | Price Range | |--------------|-------------| | Low DA (< 30) blogs | £50-150 | | Medium DA (30-50) | £150-400 | | High DA (50-70) | £400-800 | | Premium (70+ DA) | £800-2,000+ | | Major publications | £1,500-5,000+ |
Pros:
- Clear deliverable
- Predictable cost per outcome
- Easy to measure ROI
Cons:
- May incentivise quantity over quality
- Harder to control quality at scale
- Can limit creative approaches
Best for: Companies wanting specific volume with clear accountability.
Monthly Retainer#
Ongoing relationship with monthly fee.
Typical rates:
| Service Level | Monthly Range | |---------------|---------------| | Freelancer | £1,000-3,000 | | Small agency | £2,500-7,500 | | Mid-size agency | £5,000-15,000 | | Large/premium agency | £15,000-50,000+ |
What's typically included:
- Strategy development
- Prospect research
- Content creation (sometimes)
- Outreach execution
- Reporting and analysis
Expected link volumes (rough guide):
- £2,500/month: 5-15 links
- £5,000/month: 10-25 links
- £10,000/month: 20-50 links
Note: These are estimates—quality varies significantly.
Pros:
- Ongoing relationship and learning
- Strategy refinement over time
- Often includes strategic guidance
Cons:
- Less predictable outcomes
- Harder to evaluate if underperforming
- Requires longer commitment
Best for: Companies seeking comprehensive, ongoing link building with strategic support.
Project-Based Pricing#
Fixed fee for defined scope.
Example projects:
- Linkable asset creation + outreach: £5,000-20,000
- Digital PR campaign: £3,000-15,000
- Link reclamation project: £2,000-8,000
- Competitor analysis: £1,000-5,000
Pros:
- Clear scope and deliverables
- Defined timeline
- Budget certainty
Cons:
- Less flexibility
- May not include ongoing optimization
- Results can vary
Best for: Specific campaigns or companies testing new partners.
Performance-Based Pricing#
Pay based on results achieved.
How it works:
- Set targets (traffic, rankings, links)
- Payment tied to achievement
- Often combined with base retainer
Caution: Purely performance-based models can:
- Incentivise risky tactics
- Focus on vanity metrics
- Neglect sustainable practices
Best for: Only with highly trusted partners who share risk appropriately.
Cost by Tactic#
Different link building tactics carry different costs.
Content-Based Link Building#
Original Research
- Content creation: £2,000-10,000
- Outreach and promotion: £1,000-5,000
- Total investment: £3,000-15,000
- Expected links: 20-100+
- Effective cost per link: £100-500
Comprehensive Guides
- Content creation: £1,000-5,000
- Outreach: £500-2,000
- Total investment: £1,500-7,000
- Expected links: 10-50
- Effective cost per link: £100-300
Outreach-Based Link Building#
Guest Posting (quality)
- Content creation: £100-500
- Outreach and placement: £100-400
- Total cost: £200-900 per placement
- Links per placement: 1-2
Resource Page Outreach
- Prospecting and outreach: £50-150 per link
- Requires existing content
- Success rate: 2-5%
- Effective cost per link: £50-150
Broken Link Building
- Research and outreach: £50-200 per link
- Requires content creation or existing alternatives
- Effective cost per link: £75-200
Digital PR#
Full Campaign
- Campaign development: £2,000-10,000
- Media outreach: £1,000-5,000
- Total investment: £3,000-15,000
- Expected links: 10-50 (highly variable)
- Effective cost per link: £200-1,000
HARO/Journalist Queries
- Monitoring and response: £500-2,000/month
- Expected links: 2-10/month
- Effective cost per link: £100-500
Technical Link Building#
Unlinked Mention Reclamation
- Monitoring and outreach: £50-150 per link
- High success rate (20-40%)
- Effective cost per link: £50-150
Link Reclamation (404s)
- Identification and outreach: £50-150 per link
- Variable success rate
- Effective cost per link: £75-200
Agency vs Freelancer vs In-House#
Agency Pricing#
Small agencies (2-10 people):
- Monthly retainers: £2,500-10,000
- Per-link pricing: £200-600
- Often specialised in specific tactics
Mid-size agencies (10-50 people):
- Monthly retainers: £5,000-25,000
- Per-link pricing: £300-1,000
- Broader capabilities
Large agencies (50+ people):
- Monthly retainers: £15,000-100,000+
- Enterprise relationships
- Full-service offerings
Freelancer Pricing#
Junior freelancers:
- Hourly: £25-50
- Monthly: £1,000-2,500
- Per-link: £50-200
- Limited experience, needs direction
Experienced freelancers:
- Hourly: £50-100
- Monthly: £2,500-7,500
- Per-link: £150-500
- Can work independently
Expert freelancers:
- Hourly: £100-200+
- Monthly: £5,000-15,000
- Per-link: £300-1,000
- Strategic guidance included
In-House Costs#
Dedicated link building hire:
- Salary: £30,000-60,000 (UK)
- With benefits/overhead: £40,000-80,000
- Tools and subscriptions: £5,000-15,000/year
- Total annual cost: £45,000-95,000
Output expectations:
- Quality links per month: 15-40
- Effective cost per link: £100-500
See: Agency vs In-House
Red Flags in Pricing#
Too Cheap#
Warning signs:
- DA 50+ links for £50
- "Unlimited links" offers
- Bulk pricing for quality placements
- Too-good-to-be-true rates
What's actually happening:
- PBN or link farm placements
- Low-quality sites with inflated metrics
- Temporary placements
- Paid links on marked "write for us" sites
Risk: Wasted money at best, penalties at worst.
Unrealistic Guarantees#
Warning signs:
- "Guaranteed links from [major publication]"
- "X links in 30 days guaranteed"
- "First page rankings in Y months"
Reality:
- Quality links require editorial approval
- Timing depends on outreach success
- Rankings depend on many factors
Hidden Costs#
Watch for:
- Content creation billed separately
- Outreach tools as extra charges
- "Premium placement" fees
- Setup or strategy fees not mentioned initially
Ask upfront:
- What's included in the quoted price?
- What could cost extra?
- What happens if targets aren't met?
Budgeting for Link Building#
Calculating Your Budget#
Method 1: Competitor Parity
- Analyse competitor link profiles
- Estimate their link velocity
- Calculate cost to match or exceed
Example:
- Competitor gains ~20 quality links/month
- Average cost: £300 per link
- Monthly budget needed: £6,000
Method 2: Percentage of Marketing Budget
Typical allocation for SEO-focused companies:
- Link building: 10-30% of SEO budget
- SEO: 20-40% of digital marketing budget
Example:
- Total marketing budget: £100,000/year
- SEO allocation (25%): £25,000
- Link building (30% of SEO): £7,500/year or £625/month
Method 3: ROI Target
Work backwards from desired outcomes:
- Target traffic increase value
- Attribution to link building (30-50% of organic growth)
- Budget at 50-100% of first-year value
Minimum Viable Budgets#
Startup/small business:
- Minimum monthly: £500-1,500
- Expected links: 2-8
- Focus: Highly targeted outreach, content leverage
Growing business:
- Minimum monthly: £2,500-5,000
- Expected links: 10-25
- Focus: Mixed tactics, some content creation
Established business:
- Minimum monthly: £5,000-15,000
- Expected links: 20-50
- Focus: Comprehensive strategy, premium placements
Budget Allocation#
How to distribute budget:
| Budget | Strategy Focus | |--------|----------------| | Under £2k | Outreach-heavy, leverage existing content | | £2-5k | Mix of outreach + occasional content | | £5-10k | Content creation + digital PR | | £10-20k | Full-service: strategy, content, outreach, PR | | £20k+ | Multi-channel, premium placements, scale |
Negotiating and Evaluating#
Questions to Ask Providers#
About methodology:
- What tactics do you use?
- Can you share example placements?
- How do you vet link prospects?
About pricing:
- What's included in this price?
- What would cost extra?
- How do you handle underperformance?
About results:
- What's realistic in 6/12 months?
- How do you measure success?
- Can I speak with current clients?
Contract Considerations#
Minimum terms:
- Avoid long lock-ins (3 months initial is reasonable)
- Ensure exit clauses for underperformance
- Define what "success" means
Deliverable clarity:
- Specify link quality criteria
- Define reporting frequency
- Agree on content requirements
Risk allocation:
- What happens if links are lost?
- How are guideline violations handled?
- Is there any guarantee or makeright?
Evaluating Value#
Compare providers on:
- Cost per quality link (not just total links)
- Link sustainability (do they stay?)
- Strategic value (beyond just links)
- Transparency (can you see exactly what's happening?)
- Relationship (are they a partner or vendor?)
Summary#
Link building pricing varies based on quality, tactics, and approach:
Pricing models:
- Per-link: Clear outcomes, £150-2,000+ per link
- Retainer: Ongoing relationship, £2,500-50,000+/month
- Project: Defined scope, £3,000-20,000
- Performance: Results-based, requires trust
Cost by tactic:
- Original research: £100-500/link
- Guest posting: £200-900/placement
- Resource page outreach: £50-150/link
- Digital PR: £200-1,000/link
Red flags:
- Prices far below market
- Guaranteed results
- Hidden costs
Budgeting approach:
- Competitor parity analysis
- Percentage of marketing budget
- ROI-based calculation
Quality link building requires real investment. Cheap options typically deliver poor results or carry risks. Budget appropriately for sustainable growth.