Strategic link building for growing businesses
Backlink building services that strengthen your website’s authority
I help creatives and service businesses earn relevant, credible backlinks without bulk link packages, automated spam or questionable shortcuts. The goal is not to collect as many links as possible. It is to build the kind of authority that supports stronger rankings, referral traffic and long-term visibility across Google and AI search.
Manual and consideredNo automated blasts or thousands of low-value links.
Relevant to your businessOpportunities are assessed by audience, topic and genuine usefulness.
Transparent reportingYou can see what has been built, where it points and why it matters.
Part of a wider strategyLinks work best alongside strong content, technical SEO and clear positioning.
Why backlinks still matter
A good website needs more than good on-page SEO
You can optimise every title tag, write useful service pages and make your website beautifully fast. But when trusted, relevant websites mention and link to your content, they provide an additional signal that your business belongs in the wider conversation around your topic.
That does not mean every backlink is valuable. A link from a genuine industry publication, local organisation, venue, supplier, podcast, resource page or useful editorial feature can make sense. A random profile on a website nobody visits usually does not.
My approach focuses on quality, context and destination. I look at which pages deserve links, what would make another website want to reference them and how each opportunity supports your wider search strategy.
What the service can include
A backlink strategy built around your actual website
I do not start with a fixed list of websites and try to squeeze every client into it. I first work out what your site needs, which pages matter commercially and where realistic authority opportunities exist.
Backlink profile review
I review your existing referring domains, anchor text, linked pages and obvious risks or gaps before recommending new activity.
Competitor link-gap research
I look for patterns in the websites linking to visible competitors, then separate repeatable opportunities from noise.
Linkable content planning
Sometimes the missing piece is not outreach. It is having a genuinely useful guide, data point, visual resource or expert contribution worth citing.
Editorial outreach
Targeted outreach can include publications, partners, suppliers, venues, niche resources and organisations that are genuinely relevant to your audience.
Local and industry authority
For local businesses, relevant chambers, associations, trusted directories, sponsorships and community resources may support both discovery and entity validation.
Link reclamation and fixes
I can identify unlinked brand mentions, broken inbound links, outdated URLs and lost opportunities that may be recoverable.
A useful reality check: link building cannot rescue a thin, confusing or technically broken website on its own. When another issue should be fixed first, I will say so rather than build links to pages that are not ready.
Quality over vanity metrics
What makes a backlink worth pursuing?
A high authority score in an SEO tool does not automatically make a website useful. Third-party metrics can help with screening, but they are not a substitute for judgement.
I assess the whole context: who the website serves, whether its content is credible, whether the page is indexed, whether the link fits naturally and whether a real person might reasonably click it.
My practical quality checks
- Topical or local relevance
- A genuine audience and clear editorial purpose
- Natural placement within useful content
- A sensible destination page on your website
- Anchor text that reads naturally
- No obvious pattern of selling or generating spam links
- Potential value beyond a single SEO metric
Google and AI search
Links help search systems understand where your business fits
Discovery and crawling
Links create pathways between pages and can help search engines discover useful content across the web.
Topical relationships
Relevant mentions connect your brand with industries, locations, services, people and topics that give it context.
Trust and corroboration
Independent references can support the wider evidence that your business is real, established and recognised in its field.
This does not mean there is a magic number of links required for an AI Overview or ChatGPT mention. It means authority building should support a broader web presence: useful content on your own site, consistent business information, expert contributions, mentions and links from relevant sources.
How I work
A straightforward four-stage link building process
1
Review
I assess your website, existing links, competitors, priority pages and the wider SEO foundations.
2
Plan
I map suitable link types, target pages, outreach angles and any content that needs creating first.
3
Build
I carry out focused research, outreach, relationship building, reclamation or placement work.
4
Report
You receive a clear record of progress, acquired links, target pages and recommended next steps.
Featured SEO case study
0 → 784
Daily Google impressions for a wedding videographer
For this wedding videography project, link building formed one part of a broader SEO strategy that also included a dedicated website, keyword research, content optimisation and improved site structure.
The important bit is the combination. Relevant backlinks helped reinforce the website’s authority, but they were supporting strong pages rather than trying to compensate for weak ones.
Is this the right service?
Backlink building is a good fit when…
- Your website already has useful, indexable service or resource pages
- You are competing in a market where established websites have stronger authority
- You want a manual strategy rather than a bulk package
- You need help finding realistic editorial, local or industry opportunities
- You value transparent work and understand that SEO results are not guaranteed
Another service may need to come first when…
- Your main pages are thin, duplicated or unclear
- Your website has major crawling, indexing or technical problems
- You have not identified the services, locations or topics you want to grow
- You are looking for guaranteed rankings or a fixed number of “high DA” links
In that situation, an SEO audit or strategic SEO consultation may give you a stronger starting point.
A personal SEO service
You will work directly with me, not a mystery outreach team
I’m Michal, the person behind The SEO Tog. I work with photographers, videographers, creatives and service businesses that want practical SEO without agency waffle.
When I review a link opportunity, I am thinking about your brand, your target clients and the pages that need support—not simply ticking off a monthly number. You will know what I am doing and why.
Not every website needs aggressive link building. Sometimes a few strong relationships, local citations, expert contributions and genuinely useful resources can do more than a large pile of forgettable placements.
Backlink building FAQs
Questions clients often ask before we start
What is a backlink?
A backlink is a link from another website to a page on your website. Search engines use links to discover pages and understand relationships between content. A relevant backlink can also send referral visitors and strengthen awareness of your brand.
Do more backlinks always mean better rankings?
No. A large number of irrelevant or manipulative links can be useless or risky. Relevance, editorial context, the quality of the linking page and the usefulness of the destination page matter far more than chasing a raw total.
Can you guarantee a specific number of links?
For genuine outreach and earned placements, publishers make the final decision. I would rather be honest about that than promise a number and fill the gap with weak links. The agreed scope will make clear what activity, research and reporting are included.
Do you buy links?
I do not offer bulk paid links designed to manipulate rankings. Some legitimate marketing opportunities—such as sponsorships, memberships or advertorial placements—may involve a fee, but they need to be assessed carefully and disclosed or qualified appropriately by the publisher.
What is the difference between follow, nofollow, sponsored and UGC links?
Standard links do not need a special relationship attribute. Publishers may use rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored" or rel="ugc" to explain the nature of a link. A healthy online presence can naturally include different link types, so I do not treat a nofollow link as automatically worthless.
How long does link building take to affect SEO?
There is no reliable fixed timeline. A link must be published, discovered and assessed alongside many other signals, and ranking movement also depends on your website, competition and content. Link building is usually better viewed as ongoing authority development than a quick switch.
Which pages should backlinks point to?
That depends on the opportunity. Links may point to a useful guide, case study, original resource, homepage, location page or service page. I plan destinations deliberately so the pattern makes sense to readers and supports the pages that matter to your business.
Build authority without the dodgy shortcuts
Let’s work out which backlinks would actually help your website
Tell me what you offer, where you want to become more visible and what SEO work has already been done. I’ll help you decide whether link building is the right next move—or whether another part of your website needs attention first.