Link building packages promise simplicity: pick a tier, pay a monthly price, receive links. The simplicity is real, but so is the risk of paying for a bundle that does not match what your pages actually need. This guide explains how packages are structured, what drives link building pricing, and how to compare offers so you buy links, not labels. The evidence comes from 650+ placements built for agencies through Links That Move.
What is a link building package?
A link building package is a bundled offer: a fixed number of placements per month (or per order) at a set price, often tiered by the authority of the publishing sites. A typical menu might read "5 links per month on sites with X traffic" up to "15 links on sites with Y traffic." The bundle can be genuinely useful, because link building works in batches against specific pages. It becomes a problem when the tier is chosen by budget rather than by the gap you need to close.
What is usually inside a link building package?
- A placement count per month or per order.
- Site quality tiers, usually defined by traffic or authority thresholds. Ask how they are measured.
- Content: whether an article is written for each placement, and by whom.
- Anchor and target selection: some packages let you specify both; others decide for you.
- Reporting: live URLs, publish dates, and verification that links stay live.
- Turnaround commitments: our completed orders average 28 days from order to live placement.
If a package sheet lists a number of links and a price and nothing else, that is the first red flag.
How is link building pricing set?
Four drivers explain nearly all of the variation in link building cost:
- Publisher quality. Real traffic and editorial standards cost more than metrics alone.
- Niche. Legal, finance, and health placements are harder to secure than home services and are priced accordingly.
- Content. A researched article that a publisher will actually accept costs more than a 400-word wrapper.
- Volume. Bundles and ongoing orders are typically priced below one-off placements.
Beware of both extremes. Links priced like a commodity come from link farms; "premium" pricing without transparent criteria is asking for trust it has not earned. A per-link quote against named criteria, which is how we price, lets you compare like with like. How to buy backlinks covers the buying decision in more depth.
How is pricing quoted?
Per link, after a short discovery call. We do not publish a rate card because the price of a placement depends on the client's sector, the publisher tier the page needs, whether the article is written for you (it is), and the volume you order. On the call we learn your clients' markets and niches, confirm which publishers are already under contract for them, and quote a per-link price against those named criteria. A quote covers the placement, the article, delivery of the live URL, and our replacement policy: if a link is removed or a placement is rejected, we contact the publisher, and depending on the outcome either re-secure the placement with the same publisher or move to an alternative at no additional cost. Book a discovery call to get a quote for your clients.
Monthly link building service or one-off order?
A monthly link building service suits pages that face continuous competition, such as a roofing company's city pages during storm season. One-off orders suit a specific gap: a new service page that needs its first five links, or a page stuck at position six. The mistake is committing to a monthly volume before measuring the gap. Compare the referring domains of the pages outranking you against your own, then size the order to that difference. With per-link ordering you can do both: batch when there is a gap, pause when there is not.
Market tier is the fastest way to size it. In a low-competition market, one link per month usually sustains authority. In competitive metros such as Dallas, Miami, Phoenix, Houston, Chicago, or Los Angeles, plan on three to five per month, and more for multi-location businesses.
How do you compare link building packages fairly?
Normalize every offer to the same five questions:
- Price per placement at each tier, so bundles and one-offs are comparable.
- How site quality is defined, in measurable terms you can verify yourself.
- Who controls targets and anchors. In professional campaigns only about 12% of anchors are exact match; a package that defaults every anchor to your money keyword is a liability.
- What proof you receive: live URLs on delivery, and a check that the link is still there later.
- Whether the publisher network already exists in your niche or gets built after you pay. We contract publications continuously, ahead of demand, which is what keeps turnaround at 28 days.
If two packages survive those questions, the cheaper one is the better deal. If neither survives, the price is irrelevant.
What should agencies look for in packages?
Agencies need packages that behave like inventory: predictable turnaround, per-client ordering, white-label delivery, and reporting they can forward. Volume pricing helps, but per-link control matters more, because client needs are uneven month to month. Our outsourcing playbook covers how agencies run this through our portal, and this comparison explains when a managed agency retainer makes more sense than a provider package.
Frequently asked questions
Are cheap link building packages worth it?
Packages priced far below the cost of writing and placing a real article are only possible on sites the seller controls or automates. Those links tend to be discounted or penalized rather than counted.
How many links per month do I need?
Size it to the gap. For most local service keywords, the difference between you and the top-ranking pages is a handful of quality links to the right page, not dozens spread across the site.
Can I get a package without a monthly commitment?
Yes. Links That Move has no retainer: try three links, buy thirty up front and fulfil them over a few months across your clients, or start with one and see how it performs. Per-link ordering gives you batch pricing when you need volume without locking you into months you do not.
See what a full service includes in link building services explained, or go straight to how to order.