Our link building process
How We Work: Our Link Building and AI Citation Process
Most link building agencies are a black box: you pay, links appear, and you hope they're good. At Sourcevia, you see the plan, approve the sites and get a full record of every link. Here's exactly what happens from day one.
- Week 1Kickoff and audit
- Week 2You approve the sites
- Weeks 3–4Outreach begins
- End of month 1First report
Month one
Your First 30 Days With Sourcevia
Month one is mostly setup: understanding your market, agreeing the plan and getting the first pitches out. Here's what happens each week.
-
Week 1
Week 1: Kickoff and Audit
A [45]-minute kickoff call with Ejaz Ahmed, our founder, to understand your product, buyers, competitors and goals. Then we audit your backlinks, your competitors' backlinks and your current visibility in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews.
- Kickoff call
- Backlink audit
- Competitor audit
- AI visibility check
-
Week 2
Week 2: Strategy and Site Approval
You receive your strategy: target pages, keywords, anchor text plan, AI questions to track, and the first list of target sites with their metrics. You approve or remove sites, and we agree on the plan together.
- Target pages
- Keywords
- Anchor text plan
- AI questions to track
- Target site list
-
Weeks 3–4
Weeks 3–4: Outreach Begins
Our team writes the content and starts contacting editors. You'll see progress in your shared tracker as pitches go out and placements are confirmed.
- Content written
- Editors contacted
- Shared tracker live
-
End of month 1
End of Month 1: First Report
Your first monthly report: links placed, links in progress, your AI visibility baseline, and the plan for month 2. Most placements take [1–3] weeks from pitch to publication, so month 1 is mostly setup.
- Links placed
- Links in progress
- AI visibility baseline
- Month 2 plan
Month two onward
Every Month After That
Each month runs the same six-step cycle. Last month's results decide this month's targets.
- 1Plan
We pick the month's target pages and sites, based on last month's results.
- 2Approve
You review new target sites before outreach.
- 3Place
We write, pitch and secure placements.
- 4Check
Every live link goes through our quality check (below).
- 5Measure
We re-run your AI questions and check rankings for your target pages.
- 6Report
You get the monthly report and, depending on your plan, a strategy call.
Repeats every month
How We Communicate
- Shared tracker
A live sheet showing every target site, pitch status and live link.
- Email or Slack
For quick questions, with replies within [1 business day].
- Strategy calls
Quarterly, monthly or every two weeks, depending on your plan.
- One point of contact
Ejaz Ahmed, our founder, oversees your account directly, bringing 20 years of SEO experience to every campaign.
Quality
Our Quality Rules for Every Link
Before a link counts in your report, it must pass every rule.
How we choose sites in our link building servicesLink quality check6 of 6 must pass
- The site was on your approved list
- The link is inside the main article text, not a footer, sidebar or author bio
- The surrounding content is relevant to the page we're linking to
- The anchor text matches the agreed plan
- The page is published, indexable and not blocked by robots.txt
- Paid placements carry a sponsored or nofollow tag and are labeled in your report
Reporting
What's in Your Monthly Report
Five sections, every month. The AI visibility section is what our AI citation services are measured against.
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Links | Every live link: site, URL, anchor text, target page, earned or paid |
| Pipeline | Pitches sent, placements confirmed, placements in progress |
| Rankings | Position changes for your target pages and keywords |
| AI visibility | Mention rate, citation rate and share of AI answers vs competitors |
| Next month | Target pages, planned placements and any changes to the plan |
What do you need from us to start?
Access to Google Search Console (read-only), a list of your main competitors, the pages that matter most to your business, and a short brief on your product and buyers. Optional: Google Analytics access so we can tie links to traffic and sign-ups.
How much of our time does it take?
About [1–2] hours in the first two weeks for the kickoff and strategy review, then around [30] minutes a month to approve sites and read your report.
Do you use AI to write outreach emails or content?
Do you outsource the work?
What happens if we cancel?
We don't remove any links when you leave; they stay on the publishers' sites. You keep your reports and tracker, so you have a full record of the work.
See What AI Says About Your Brand Today
Start with a free audit of your AI visibility, or compare our packages first.