Regardless of changes in the volatile SEO landscape, backlinks still stand as a top method for search engines to evaluate quality and relevance. Yes, the improvements and additions of AI engines and their own influences on SEO have redirected some of the link building focus to newer or once less prioritized areas, but that hasn’t diminished the worth of backlinks.
However, while backlinks are still valued, the ways that search engines observe and acknowledge them have gone through revision. Steadily, search engines are trying to eradicate any non-ethical methods of link building, leading to standards of quality and rule-abiding being preferred over other approaches. As such, white hat link building is appropriately valued as the preferable method of link building over other methods.
The thing is though, deploying that ethical approach which follows search engines' policies is a lot easier said than done. Link building is already strenuous and time consuming, adding on the fact that your links need to conform to the rules just gives you more work.
So, outsourcing your link building to organizations which focus on bringing you quality results is a common path that companies take. But now, another question comes to mind, what are the best white hat link building agencies? In this article, we’ll guide you through GoPeak’s professional opinion on the best white hat link building services, and detail some key facets of white hat links, and picking the right agency for you.
| Website | Founded | Primary services | Pricing starts | Clutch reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1gopeak.io | 2023 | Editorial link building, brand mentions, listicle mentions, guest posting | From $1,300/mo | 5.0 (13) |
| linkbuilder.io | 2016 | Manual outreach, guest posting, broken link building | $2,900–$19,000/mo | 5.0 (13) |
| stellarseo.com | 2012 | Custom link outreach, guest posting, niche edits | $2,500–$10,000/mo | 5.0 (18) |
| scalerrs.co | 2023 | Digital PR, guest posting, dedicated pod teams | $5,000–$10,000/mo | 5.0 (5) |
| polarisagency.com | 2009 | Digital PR, metric-led white hat campaigns | £3,000–£19,500+/mo | 5.0 (1) |
| upgrow.io | 2017 | Digital PR, guest posting, dedicated strategist | From $5,000/mo | 5.0 (14) |
| naturallinks.net | 2015 | Unlinked mentions, guest posting, prospect approval | $1,000 / 3–5 posts | 4.9 (11) |
| editorial.link | 2020 | Editorial backlinks, digital PR, broken link building | From $1,750 | 5.0 (81) |
| userp.io | 2019 | Digital PR, guest posting, performance guarantees | $10,000–$20,000/mo | 4.9 (21) |
| linkdoctor.io | 2020 | Niche edits, blogger outreach, month-to-month contracts | $10,000–$45,000 / project | 5.0 (31) |
What Is a White Hat Link Building Service?
A white hat link building service is an ethical service that specializes in delivering links that are obtained strictly through methods which comply with official rules and guidelines set in place by search engines.
White hat link building service agencies work by focusing on strategies that don’t violate search engine guidelines, making these tactics well sought after. These strategies often require a good ton of effort, particularly when making content, as websites that wish to show up higher in search results should display what Google calls E-E-A-T, (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). Additionally, these tactics also do a good amount of lifting for search engines, as strategies like broken link building entail you replace old dead links on pages that could use them.
When it comes to independent SEO teams as a whole, the best link building agencies all employ only white hat techniques.
White hat vs black hat link building
While white hat link building fulfills the wishes of search engines, black hat strategies seek to trick, manipulate and take shortcuts in order to attain a higher ranking.
White hat link building is defined by:
- Following rules: White hat link building follows guidelines set in place by search engines.
- Slow growth: Manual outreach is a key part of white hat strategies, often resulting in a longer wait for results.
- Higher pricing: White hat link building services are premium because of their benefits, leading to more expensive numbers.
- Links from natural high-authority websites: Through white hat link building, links are placed on websites that have earned high-authority and trust with search engines.
- Safe: Perhaps a bit obvious, white hat link building does not run the risk of potential search engine intervention.
In contrast, black hat link building is more in line with:
- Breaking rules: Black hat link building is characterized by its prohibition by search engines.
- Faster results: Black hat link building brings massive noticeable spikes of authority to a page in a relatively short period of time.
- Incredibly cheap: With effort not being considered a priority in black hat link building, it leads to mass production of links, which in-turn results in lower link pricing.
- Links focusing on quantity over quality: Black hat strategies do promise authority, but the pages they put their links in barely have any value. This is because they mostly send links in high volume through sites like PBNs or link farms, hoping that the quantity of links will earn a ranking.
- High-risk: Since these black hat strategies are utilizing methods which are outlawed by search engines, the threat of losing all the gained authority or receiving penalties is always looming over your shoulders.
Benefits of white hat backlink building services
The notion that black hat strategies often yield results faster than the average white hat approach is common. Granted, that is true, but for long-term sustainability, the authority you gained will likely come crashing down eventually. This is because search engines have gotten adept at spotting these manipulative links and promptly nullifying any authority they may pass to a website. While there’s no clear timeline for when a black hat link will be spotted and dealt with, they almost always do.
Therefore, white hat link building services can provide you benefits such as:
- Long-standing higher search ranks: Since you’re doing exactly what search engines want you to do, your site can boost up search rankings and not worry about plummeting down due to penalties.
- Higher brand trust:
- No risks for penalties
- Rising potential being mentioned in AI answers
- No wasting money
Best White Hat Link Building Agencies
#1 GoPeak
- Founded in: 2023
- Overview: GoPeak manages to earn exclusively white hat links while also offering a maximum of 50 total backlinks per month for a campaign. These links are penalty-free thanks to a great level of attention placed on anchor text diversification. Additionally, GoPeak’s listicle and brand mention services optimize your company for appearing in AI engine responses.
- Types of services: Brand Mentions, listicle mentions, guest posting and link insertion
- Clients: Picsart, myhours, Referralrock, Sender
- Reviews on Clutch: 4.9/5 stars with 13 reviews
- Pricing: Standard package starts from 1300$
- Website: gopeak.io
#2 linkbuilder.io
- Founded in: 2016
- Overview: Having claimed to have worked with over 350 organizations and built more than 20 thousand links total, linkbuilder.io and their group of 40+ professionals employ 20 different techniques in link building in order to fit their clients and fulfill their namesake.
- Types of services: Manual outreach, guest posting, broken link building, etc.
- Clients: Udemy, SoFi, TripAdvisor
- Reviews on Clutch: 5/5 stars with 13 reviews
- Pricing: $2900 – $19000 per month
- Website: linkbuilder.io
#3 Stellar SEO
- Founded in: 2012
- Overview: Stellar SEO is a highly-effective white hat link building agency in competitive and regulated fields. Their campaigns are incredibly customizable with the intention of fitting every potential customer’s goals like a glove. Thanks to their trademarked Entity-Driven Link Building System (EDLS), their link building comes from purely white hat methods.
- Types of services: Custom link outreach, guest posting, niche edits, etc.
- Clients: N/A
- Reviews on Clutch: 5/5 stars with 18 reviews
- Pricing: $2,500 – $10,000 per month.
- Website: stellarseo.com
#4 Scalerrs
- Founded in: 2023
- Overview: Scalerrs stands out by using a specific pod model in their link building approach. Every client of theirs is provided with a specialized team that’s meant to act as an extension of the buyer’s own in-house team. They pay close attention to the relevancy of the link and how it contextually fits, making it a good option as a white-hat link building agency.
- Types of services: Digital PR, Guest posting, etc.
- Clients: Default, Qwilr, Reporting Ninja
- Reviews on Clutch: 5/5 stars with 5 reviews
- Pricing: $5,000 to $10,000 per month
- Website: scalerrs.co
#5 Polaris SEO Agency
- Founded in: 2009
- Overview: White hat link building services provided by Polaris are tailored to their clients’ needs specifically in how they analyze SEO metrics. At first, they gauge the client’s backlink profile, and decide the appropriate metric to follow from there. Though link building is not the main focus, their white hat services are still among the best.
- Types of services: Digital PR etc.
- Clients: Marie Curie, Reed learning, Blitzsport
- Reviews on Clutch: 5/5 stars with 1 review
- Pricing: £3,000 to £19,500+ per month
- Website: polarisagency.com
6: upgrow
- Founded in: 2017
- Overview: Focusing on tech products and companies in the field of technology, upgrow provides link building to deliver on what they call “end-to-end” solutions for bringing about sales. For every client, they provide a dedicated link building strategist with experience in the field with the intention of ensuring that every link contains value.
- Types of services: Digital PR, Guest posting etc.
- Clients: datastax, panda health, influxdata
- Reviews on Clutch: 5/5 stars with 14 reviews
- Pricing: $5,000 per month minimum
- Website: upgrow.io
#7 naturallinks
- Founded in: 2015
- Overview: Naturallinks gives clients lists of website prospects where links can be placed, and allows them to review those websites and give approval. Another means of maintaining buyer satisfaction is through monthly reports going over live URLs and other relevant metrics.
- Types of services: Unlinked mentions, Guest posting etc.
- Clients: N/A
- Reviews on Clutch: 4.9/5 stars with 11 reviews
- Pricing: Starter package provides 3-5 guest post articles for $1,000
- Website: naturallinks.net
#8 editorial.link
- Founded in: 2020
- Overview: At editorial.link, the agency prioritizes fit with their clients by customizing every link building campaign. Furthermore, the team at editorial.link gives clients the freedom to approve or disapprove of all sites where links will be placed prior to the agency’s link building starts, making sure their white hat promises are fulfilled.
- Types of services: Editorial backlinks, digital PR, broken link building etc.
- Clients: NordVPN, PeopleForce, PandaDoc.
- Reviews on Clutch: 5/5 stars with 81 reviews
- Pricing: Packages start at $1,750
- Website: editorial.link
#9 uSERP
- Founded in: 2019
- Overview: uSERP guarantees that its links are white hat by working with a performance-based guarantee system, making sure that every link they place meets specific minimums for growth. This of course means that the services they provide are strictly white hat.
- Types of services: Digital PR, guest posting etc.
- Clients: Robinhood, ActiveCampaign, Hightouch
- Reviews on Clutch: 4.9/5 stars with 21 reviews
- Pricing: $10,000 – $20,000 per month
- Website: userp.io
#10 linkdoctor
- Founded in: 2020
- Overview: Linkdoctor is a quality white hat link building agency that stands out thanks to their contracts with clients. They consider long-term partnerships a value, and prefer such partnerships over extended commitments. This is reflected in their month-to-month contracts which clients can cancel at any time they want.
- Types of services: Niche edits, blogger outreach
- Clients: ArcStone, Express Legal Funding, ProxyScrape
- Reviews on clutch: 5/5 stars with 31 reviews
- Pricing: Custom, projects fit between $10,000 – $45,000 according to Clutch.
- Website: linkdoctor.io
How To Choose a White Hat Link Building Agency
The best white hat link building agency depends on your specific needs.
After reading out this list, you might be wondering, what is the best white hat link building agency? The answer entirely depends on you, your resources and your goals. If you’re finding it difficult to pick just one team to handle your link building, consider the following:
- Budget and pricing: How much are you willing to spend? Link building services, though worth it most of the time, are quite pricey, and you don’t want to burn all your resources in one place. Find an agency that fits within your spending range and plan. GoPeak, for example, offers monthly, quarterly and yearly flexible plans in order to fit best with your budget.
- Link building strategies: Even if a strategy is white hat, you can still be opposed to it. Try to look into how an agency’s link building is conducted, and recognize whether or not you’re comfortable with those approaches.
- Experience within your industry: Some agencies are better at conducting outreach in specific industries than others. Try seeing if they have past experience with
- AI search optimization: Search engines aren’t the only source of information that potential clients use, as AI models have gotten increasingly popular for answers to queries. Therefore, see if the agency you’re eyeing does provide any services which maximize AI visibility. For example, GoPeak’s brand and listicle mention services excel at having clients appear in AI responses.
- Book a call: If there are any questions left unanswered, or if you would like to simply know more about your targeted agency, scheduling a call can clear up any uncertainties you have.
Closing Thoughts
The fact that you’re prioritizing white hat link building services specifically means you’re on the right track. However, it’s crucial that you acknowledge how high the variance is between agencies. So, you should pay close attention to what is promised, and how those promises fit your company specifically. You don’t want to blow funds on a team which isn’t right for you, so be knowledgeable.
