There seems to be a lot of companies out there promising that they can really ramp up your link
building strategy, usually in a matter of hours or days. But, like most promises made with such lofty goals, they rarely deliver and you're out of money and time at the end of it all. We're all tired of such empty promises for organic link building, but it shouldn't mean that you need to completely write off the prospect of link building altogether. Instead, you need to start focusing on real, attainable goals that can actually be accomplished.
That doesn't mean you're terrible at link building, or that all agencies which help with link building are full of baloney. Instead, some parameters need to be put into place that probably weren't put together in the first place. That way, you're actually going to see real results and don't have to be pulled around by empty organic link building promises. So, what's the first step toward link building success? All of the answers are below.
Smaller Goals Lead To Bigger Results
Lots of companies, agencies, and inbound marketing professionals are normally going to be telling you the same thing: think big. And when you're thinking big, think even bigger. It always seems to be big goals, big analytics, big promises that are much more inclined to be broken. Instead, it is time to think on smaller scales in order to see bigger results.
A very common promise that many link building professionals make is the, "I'll help you get millions of views in one month!" This should be a red flag for any business since organic, legitimate link building takes time to nurture and grow. In reality, the promise should be that they can help you find more exposure in smaller batches. At first, maybe a couple hundred. From there, goals can be increased either every month, three months, or even six months.
Also, when you do surpass a goal, it will have a much bigger impact than an empty promise. Your goals can be monitored on a timeline, making the ROI even better and you can physically see the uptick in views and exposure.
Stop Paying So Much Money
Business takes money to make money. The same can be said of organic link building strategies, as well. However, there is a line that doesn't need to be crossed and can help you save hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, of your marketing budget every month.
Another empty promise, and red flag, which is quite common in the link building game is the "Pay me X amount of money and you will see instant results over night." Sound too good to be true? Unfortunately, it is and can even mean Google penalizing your website. Instead of dealing with that mess, understand that paying for professional help in organic link building is perfectly fine, but watch out when the service promises to give you overnight results and success.
Bought and paid for links are starting to becoming a slippery slope, especially if they are 
deemed "lower quality" by Google, usually when they're link building websites that provide no real value to a search engine. Be weary of this empty promise!
Patience Is A Virtue
True organic link building takes time and there's no way around that. It takes time to build up networks, connections, and communities so your link building strategy needs to reflect that. This is probably the biggest of the empty promises that draws in so many businesses and then immediately makes them regret their decision.
While there might be some lucky breaks in a strategy, always make a timeline of around six months for the best results and don't believe the "instant results" hype. Patience is indeed a virtue, especially when it comes to real organic link building!
What are some crazy, over-the-top promises you've heard being made about link building?
