10 Step Guide to Hiring Link Builders That DON'T Suck!!

This reminds me of 4 monitors full of spread sheets and thousands of emails. Not a fun time, not a fun time at all.
 
I think I would fail on most of these. No.9 pass...everything else, I dont know...fail cause it is really hard to please anyone and everyone. So, at the very beginning I say to potential clients that they need to trust me or I wont work with them.

You say that link building is hard, and I agree here, that's why I don't want to chit-chat with clients. Takes a lot of time to get one great link.
 
Hiring people at Odesk (Upwork) has always been a headache for me. Out of 40 people who try to apply for a position, only a few freelancers can do the job. Anyway, thanks for the tips.
 
Way to go for taking the time and writing great posts like this to liven up BHW. You rule man.
 
couldn't have came at a better time. Appreciate it all t0mmy. If I ever meet you in public I'll let you sharpie your name on the nearest baby's forehead for me.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys.

@SkyrocketSEO: For sure.. although I doubt you need worry about any of it at this stage.. you already have quality links nailed down from what I've seen.
 
That's a very interesting reading but don't you think it's a bit tough? Have you ever found a person that passed all 10 points? I'd probably fall at ~5 of them but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be able to do the job.

Anyways, everything you wrote makes a lot of sense. If I find a person who passes 5 points, I'll hire :D
 
@SkyrocketSEO: For sure.. although I doubt you need worry about any of it at this stage.. you already have quality links nailed down from what I've seen.
Each client has its niche, which makes it harder for me. If all clients were in fashion it would be easier cause I would get a lot of contacts in that niche. But one client is in fashion, the next one tech, third one travel....not all sites except all links.

The good thing is that I need to deliver 10 links (smallest package) each month. The bad thing is, these links are not cheap and not easy to find.

Re office setup. - I work from home, nothing special, just a big desk with hardware. Just got an order today from a HUGE tech company for one link placement. I am sure all black hatters heard about them. Big companies dont care about these things, they just expect a report with link placements.
 
That's a very interesting reading but don't you think it's a bit tough? Have you ever found a person that passed all 10 points? I'd probably fall at ~5 of them but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be able to do the job.

Anyways, everything you wrote makes a lot of sense. If I find a person who passes 5 points, I'll hire
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It may sound complicated but honestly its not.. its a solid check list that most places outside of SEO would be expecting from their employees.. few additions there to check their compatibility for a link building role granted.. but if you want quality link placements then you may as well get quality employees!

Keep in mind here the current situation in the job markets world wide is still VERY grim! You can afford to be selective and get the best.. you will get people from all walks of life applying.. guys that in normal circumstances would be over qualified for the job.. because frankly there is no work out there and they are desperate.

Each client has its niche, which makes it harder for me. If all clients were in fashion it would be easier cause I would get a lot of contacts in that niche. But one client is in fashion, the next one tech, third one travel....not all sites except all links.

The good thing is that I need to deliver 10 links (smallest package) each month. The bad thing is, these links are not cheap and not easy to find.

Re office setup. - I work from home, nothing special, just a big desk with hardware. Just got an order today from a HUGE tech company for one link placement. I am sure all black hatters heard about them. Big companies dont care about these things, they just expect a report with link placements.

Yeah I hear ya.. as with all things in life anything worth having never comes cheap.

I work from home myself now man so I totally agree, I've turned one of our spare rooms in to an office.. not a thing wrong with it and actually its one of the fundamental beauties of working online having the freedom to that.. lately I've been working from the back yard at night as the weather here is great now - not many other "jobs" would give you the freedom to do that. Employees can work from home too but I'm not after some dude stealing WiFi from McDonalds a few hours a day lol
 
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It may sound complicated but honestly its not.. its a solid check list that most places outside of SEO would be expecting from their employees.. few additions there to check their compatibility for a link building role granted.. but if you want quality link placements then you may as well get quality employees!

Keep in mind here the current situation in the job markets world wide is still VERY grim! You can afford to be selective and get the best.. you will get people from all walks of life applying.. guys that in normal circumstances would be over qualified for the job.. because frankly there is no work out there and they are desperate.

I agree on that! However I have a really hard time working with many people from BHW, for example. If i'd do such a test, I'd have 0 (zero) skype contacts :D
Yet, your post teaches how you as an employer should think. which is very important. +you'll get rid of any person wanting to scam you in the process
 
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Lol at the mcdonalds wifi. Yeah this is a good guide and I was thinking of hiring myself a couple of these link builders more than once before... however I just have that "if you want it done right do it yourself" mentality and I just feel like I'd get too pissed when the mistakes start pouring in .
 
lately I've been working from the back yard at night as the weather here is great now - not many other "jobs" would give you the freedom to do that
Totally.Booked a Greece, going there in a week so cant wait to answer Emails from the beach, enjoying the sounds of waves and sunsets.
 
Totally.Booked a Greece, going there in a week so cant wait to answer Emails from the beach, enjoying the sounds of waves and sunsets.

It's the classic "living the dream" work/life combination. South of Spain here, it's been getting hotter each day - around 31 degrees now on average daily.
 
This is interesting. I really like that you aren't selling the crap junk you see on here about link building.

One thing I noticed also is that you need to hire someone who understands the culture you're selling to. They don't have to be from the US, but not many Indian and Pakistani spammers understand how to sell to Americans. This is what gets me with these link buyers who then wonder why they have shit links. They hire someone who barely speaks English. What did you expect to get?

I'd lose out on your workplace image. I live on the water, so I'm happy. Just not willing to show pics. :)

I'm with Skyrocket on the Skype thing. I don't do Skype either. You get too many people trying to talk to you. It's a time waster. You want to talk to me, email me and I'll bet back to you pretty much the same day. I find that a good way to organize your time is to respond to people in batches. Can't do that on Skype.

For big jobs, I'll chat on the phone with people. Usually, that phone call is enough to sell them. It gives customers some confidence that I'm not really a man behind a fake profile and they can feel some kind of connection.
 
This is interesting. I really like that you aren't selling the crap junk you see on here about link building.

One thing I noticed also is that you need to hire someone who understands the culture you're selling to. They don't have to be from the US, but not many Indian and Pakistani spammers understand how to sell to Americans. This is what gets me with these link buyers who then wonder why they have shit links. They hire someone who barely speaks English. What did you expect to get?

I'd lose out on your workplace image. I live on the water, so I'm happy. Just not willing to show pics. :)

I'm with Skyrocket on the Skype thing. I don't do Skype either. You get too many people trying to talk to you. It's a time waster. You want to talk to me, email me and I'll bet back to you pretty much the same day. I find that a good way to organize your time is to respond to people in batches. Can't do that on Skype.

For big jobs, I'll chat on the phone with people. Usually, that phone call is enough to sell them. It gives customers some confidence that I'm not really a man behind a fake profile and they can feel some kind of connection.

Spot on man.. people don't think like that though - they want cheap and cheerful then expect the world. Agreed Skype is a major time waster I don't use it myself apart from a select few people on my team I actually work with.. always email between me and any clients.. hence why we train other people to do the grunt work on Skype.
 
Another nice share, mate :) I learned quite a new things about the hiring process, thanks to you. Please keep sharing valuable stuff like this whenever you get some time. Remember there are people who really appreciate what you're doing for the community, and I am one of them. :)
Thanks
 
Hi, t0mmy, really awesome post and helpful, even tough i don't always use every method shared, but i always do read your posts they are always amazing. But i do have request for you for the next post/topic if you would consider, i was thinking about if you could write about keyword research.?
 
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Excellent share Tommy! How much do you recommend paying the link builder on an hourly basis?
 
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