Link building without a plan turns into buying what happens to be available. The links are real, the report looks full, and the pages that needed authority most got the least of it. The fix is not complicated, but it has to happen before the first placement is proposed.
We plan in two steps: first which pages, then when and with how much.
Start with the pages, not with the publishers
The plan starts with a list of target pages per market. For each page we record:
- A priority. Not every page can be first. The priority decides where links go when budget is tight.
- A keyword focus. The search the page has to win, which also steers the anchors.
- A value. How much a better position for this page is worth to the client.
- The current position and the search volume, where they are known.
- A link target, next to the number of links already built.
The last one is the one that gets forgotten. Without a target per page, links pile up on the home page, because that is the easiest link to place.
Keep the list current
A target list goes stale. A page is replaced, a category is dropped, a product line becomes the priority of the season. If the list is not maintained, partners keep building for a brief that no longer exists.
So the list has one owner: the manager keeps it current, and the partners build from it. They see the pages they are supposed to build authority for and nothing they have to interpret themselves.
Plan in sprints per market
The second step is time. We plan in sprints, and every market gets its own sprint with its own partner, its own link target and its own budget. Markets differ too much to share one: what a good publisher costs and how many there are is different in every country.
A sprint with a target and a budget answers three questions at any moment: what was planned, what has been spent, and what is still open.
See early what falls behind
A plan is only useful when you can see the deviation while you can still do something about it. A market that is behind in the first week of a sprint can be fixed. The same market at the end of the sprint is only an explanation to the client.
That is why status is part of the plan. Each sprint shows whether it is on schedule, and markets that need attention stand out without anyone compiling a status update.
How it looks in ECHION
SEO Strategy holds the target pages per market, with priority, keyword focus, value, position, volume and the links built against the target. The Sprint Planner shows every open sprint with its market, partner, article quota, budget used and status. The Dashboard brings the two together: sprint progress per market and the markets at risk.
Both modules are part of the platform. How pricing works is explained on the pricing page, and how anchors follow from the keyword focus in anchor planning across multiple clients.
More in the knowledge base, or see how the platform puts this into practice.