Link Building Checklist: Before, During and After

This checklist pulls together every step of a link building campaign, with a link to the detailed guide for each stage. Use it as a working document: copy it into your project tool, assign owners and tick items off before, during and after every round of outreach or placements.

Before you start: fix the foundations

Links sent to a page that can’t rank are wasted, whatever their quality. Before spending anything on outreach or placements, confirm the basics.

Target pages are indexable, canonical and reasonably fast (technical checklist).
Target pages match what searchers actually want from the query (choosing link targets).
Internal links pass authority from strong pages to the commercial pages you care about (internal linking).
Baseline rankings, traffic and conversions are recorded so you can measure change later (measuring ROI).

Before you start: plan the campaign

Run a competitor gap analysis to see who’s ahead and why (competitor analysis).
Set a monthly budget and a sustainable pace (budget, velocity).
Write an anchor plan per target page so text doesn’t drift toward exact-match keywords (anchor text).
Choose a mix of tactics rather than one channel: placements, digital PR, linkable assets, partner links.

During: choosing sites

This is where most campaigns lose quality, usually under time pressure. Slow down here rather than at delivery.

Relevance to your topic is confirmed, not assumed from the site’s general category (topical relevance).
Real, stable organic traffic from the right country, not just a high authority score (traffic as a metric).
Recent content has been read; no link-farm signs like AI-spun articles or unrelated niches jammed together (red flags).
Terms are confirmed upfront: link attribute, number of links allowed, permanence (link attributes).

During: ordering and briefing

A clear brief covers the target URL, anchor text, angle and any sources to use — vague briefs produce generic content (brief template).
Payment is held in escrow until delivery is checked, not sent on trust.
Turnaround expectations are agreed before the order, not chased afterward (turnaround times).

After: checking delivery

Check	Why it matters
Link is live and points to the agreed URL	Wrong URLs happen more than you’d expect
Anchor text matches the brief	Publishers sometimes substitute their own
Attribute (dofollow/sponsored) matches terms	Some sites quietly add nofollow after payment
Page is indexable and not noindexed	A link on a noindexed page passes nothing
Placement location matches what was sold	Buried footer links aren’t what you paid for

Run through the full version of this in the live-post checklist, and record every placement with its URL and date.

After: monitoring and reporting

Turn on lost-link alerts for your important placements (monitoring lost links).
Review target pages’ rankings and traffic monthly.
Run a quarterly gap analysis and update the plan based on what’s working (strategy template).
Cross-check what Google itself has indexed for your links using Search Console’s links report, alongside your third-party tool.

Who should own each stage

On small teams, one person often runs the whole list, which is fine as long as nothing gets skipped under time pressure. On larger teams or agencies, splitting ownership keeps quality high: one person owns target-page readiness and reporting, another owns site vetting and briefs, and a third checks delivery before payment is released. Whoever checks delivery should not be the same person under pressure to hit a monthly placement quota — that separation catches more problems than any tool does.

A short version for a quick weekly stand-up

Any placements delivered this week — checked and recorded?
Any lost links flagged — worth chasing?
Anything in the pipeline blocked on a brief, a technical fix, or a payment?

Common ways this checklist gets skipped

Most failures aren’t from not knowing the steps — they’re from skipping them under deadline pressure. Teams check delivery for the first few orders, then stop as volume increases and trust builds, which is exactly when a bad site or a swapped anchor slips through. Treat the checklist as non-negotiable regardless of how many times a publisher has delivered cleanly before; the cost of one bad check is far lower than the cost of one missed problem (common link building mistakes).

Adapting the checklist to your channel mix

Not every item applies equally to every tactic. A digital PR campaign built around a data story skips most of the “ordering and briefing” section but still needs the same foundations and monitoring steps. A pure marketplace-based programme leans heavily on the site-vetting and delivery-checking sections since volume is usually higher. Treat this as a master list to select from, not a rigid sequence every single link must pass through identically.

Where to go next

Use this checklist alongside a one-page strategy template to keep planning and execution connected, and browse the marketplace when you’re ready to place the next round of links.

All link building tactics

Frequently asked questions

What's the most skipped step in link building?

Checking the target page is technically sound and matches intent before building links.

How often should I review a link building campaign?

Monthly for delivery and pace, quarterly for strategy.

Can I use this checklist for agency clients?

Yes. It works for in-house and agency campaigns alike.

Put it into practice

Filter 54,483 websites by DR, traffic, niche and price, and order with escrow — you pay only after the link is live.

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The Link Building Checklist: Before, During and After Every Campaign