Our Link Building Process, Step by Step | Sourcevia

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.

  1. Week 1Kickoff and audit
  2. Week 2You approve the sites
  3. Weeks 3–4Outreach begins
  4. 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.

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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.

  1. 1Plan

    We pick the month's target pages and sites, based on last month's results.

  2. 2Approve

    You review new target sites before outreach.

  3. 3Place

    We write, pitch and secure placements.

  4. 4Check

    Every live link goes through our quality check (below).

  5. 5Measure

    We re-run your AI questions and check rankings for your target pages.

  6. 6Report

    You get the monthly report and, depending on your plan, a strategy call.

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 services

Link 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.

Sections of the Sourcevia monthly report
SectionWhat it shows
LinksEvery live link: site, URL, anchor text, target page, earned or paid
PipelinePitches sent, placements confirmed, placements in progress
RankingsPosition changes for your target pages and keywords
AI visibilityMention rate, citation rate and share of AI answers vs competitors
Next monthTarget pages, planned placements and any changes to the plan

FAQ

How We Work FAQ

Still have a question? Contact us.

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?

Answer truthfully before publishingExample: "We use AI tools to help with research and first drafts. Every pitch and article is reviewed and edited by a person before it goes out, and we never send automated mass outreach."

Do you outsource the work?

Answer truthfully before publishingExample: "No. All strategy, outreach and quality checks are done by our own team." If you use freelance writers, say so and explain how you check their 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.