--- title: "Link building" description: "Link building from ShoutRank: earned editorial mentions a page can defend. No purchased links, no private networks, no monthly placement quota." canonical: https://shoutrank.com/link-building markdown: https://shoutrank.com/link-building.md --- # Link building Link building from ShoutRank: earned editorial mentions a page can defend. No purchased links, no private networks, no monthly placement quota. Link building at ShoutRank is the work of earning a mention on a page that would still be useful if nobody had asked for the link. Other sites describing you is part of how search and answer engines decide you are real. The useful version is specific: the right URL, an accurate description, and a publisher who had a reason. A count of placements is not that. ShoutRank does not buy links, run private blog networks, or hide paid placements inside editorial. If a mention only exists because it was paid to look organic, it is out of the program. The methods are below. [Off-page SEO](https://shoutrank.com/off-page-seo) is the judgment of which mentions belong in the program. [AI citation building](https://shoutrank.com/ai-citation-building) starts from pages answers already cite. ShoutRank does not guarantee a ranking or a citation. ## In this section - [Digital PR](https://shoutrank.com/digital-pr-link-building): A story a journalist can use without being sold a placement. - [Editorial links](https://shoutrank.com/editorial-link-building): A mention on a page an editor already maintains. - [Enterprise](https://shoutrank.com/enterprise-link-building): Brand-safe mentions across a large site and a legal review. - [SaaS](https://shoutrank.com/saas-link-building): Category, comparison, and integration pages. - [B2B](https://shoutrank.com/b2b-link-building): Publications a buying committee already reads. - [Guest posts](https://shoutrank.com/guest-post-link-building): A piece the host would publish on its merits. - [Niche edits](https://shoutrank.com/niche-edit-link-building): A useful update to a page that already exists, if the editor wants it. - [Blogger outreach](https://shoutrank.com/blogger-outreach): Relevant publishers, contacted because the page fits. - [Authority links](https://shoutrank.com/authority-link-building): Sources a careful reader already trusts. - [Competitor analysis](https://shoutrank.com/competitor-backlink-analysis): Who mentions them, and which of those mentions you can earn. ## The problem ### Last year’s links cannot be shown to a customer. The anchors match, the sites do not write about the category, and the pages exist to sell placements. ### Every mention points at the homepage. The URL that should own the category query never receives the reference. The homepage collects logos and nothing ranks. ### A quota drives the month. Ten links were promised. The stories were invented to hit ten. Quality was the leftover. ## How ShoutRank approaches it We start from the URL that needs corroboration and the publishers who already explain that topic. A pitch is a fact, a correction, or a piece they would run. Outreach stops when the editor says no. Existing risky patterns are noted so they are not repeated. We do not sell a disavow project as a substitute for better mentions. ## What the work includes ### URL map Which page should receive a mention, and which should not. ### Publisher list Sites that already cover the topic, with a reason to contact them. ### Live mentions The URL, the anchor, the date, and whether the description is accurate. ### Declines Pitches that were refused, so the report does not imply every idea landed. ## Process ### Discovery Read the offer and the URL assigned to the query. ### Audit Review current mentions and the competitor sources worth learning from. ### Strategy Choose a short list of publishers and the reason each would care. ### Implementation Pitch or draft only what they could publish on merit. ### Monitoring Check the live page: still up, still accurate, still pointing at the assigned URL. ### Optimization Stop formats that only exist to satisfy a count. ### Reporting Mentions gained, mentions lost, and declines. ## Why ShoutRank ### No quota A monthly number produces pages. It does not produce corroboration. ### Tied to an assigned URL The homepage is not the default target. ### Defendable in a meeting If you would not send the linking page to a prospect, it does not count as progress. ## How success is measured Live mentions to the assigned URLs. Whether the description matches the current offer. Referring pages that a salesperson is willing to open on a call. A named client result is published when that client clears the figure. Until then the report is the measurement. ## Questions ### Do you sell a set number of links per month? No. The plan names publishers and stories. Some months produce more live mentions than others. The report shows declines as well as wins. ### What about paid sponsorships that are labeled? A labeled sponsorship is advertising. It can be a legitimate channel. It is not reported as an editorial mention. ### Will more links fix a technical problem? No. A URL that is not indexed does not become a source because another site points at it. Technical SEO comes first when that is the gap. ## Related - [Off-page SEO](https://shoutrank.com/off-page-seo): How mentions fit the rest of search. - [Competitor analysis](https://shoutrank.com/competitor-backlink-analysis): Where to look before pitching. - [AI citation building](https://shoutrank.com/ai-citation-building): When the target list comes from answers.