Should I Hire Someone to Build Backlinks?

The Short Answer

Skip the VA who builds links in bulk. Backlink quantity no longer carries weight, and junk links do nothing. The links that matter today come from being a real, quotable source for writers and news outlets, and the fastest way to start is fixing your about page so those writers can find and contact you.

A practice owner on r/localseo was thinking about hiring a virtual assistant to build backlinks, and asked whether that was a good idea. Short version: backlinks are tricky now, and the quantity no longer has any importance.

Before you spend on link building at all, it is worth knowing what actually drives results today, because for a lot of practices it is not links.

The Bigger Lever Is Usually Your Content

Some of my clients, solo psychiatrists, are completely happy with the results coming from ChatGPT. They are booked and do not want to grow any further right now. Publishing the right type of content, with the answers coming from the provider themselves, is the number one source. It is a good strategy. You just have to know which questions to ask if you want to increase your consults or patients. That is where I would put my energy before any link campaign.

Fix Your About Page So Writers Can Reach You

As far as backlinks go, do yourself a favor first: update your about page with information on how to contact you for media or press. There are a lot of news outlets and writers who would love to talk to you when they are writing an article and need credibility on the topic. You are that person. You have credentials, you may even be board certified. They can use you, and they are always looking for people like that.

Take your question and paste it into ChatGPT and tell it to go do the research. You may well find those writers yourself. The point is that there are always people at established news organizations or industry blogs who consistently need input from an actual provider. In exchange they quote you and give you a link. That is the only way that works.

What Not to Do

Hiring a freelancer who brings you a pile of junk links is not a good approach, not today. There has to be relationship building, emails going back and forth. That is how you get it.

You could end up hiring a PR agency, but be careful there, because a lot of them will ask you to pay for the placement. Never do that. Never pay for the post. The moment a link is bought, it is the kind of link that has already lost its value.

Common Questions

Should I hire a virtual assistant to build backlinks?+

Not for the kind of link building most VAs do. Quantity of backlinks no longer carries the weight it used to, and a freelancer who hands you a pile of junk links is not helping you today. If you want links that matter, they come from real relationship building, which is not what a cheap link-building VA is set up to do.

How do I get good backlinks for a medical or professional practice?+

Start by updating your about page with clear information on how to contact you for media or press. Reporters and industry writers constantly need a credentialed expert to quote for an article, and you are that person. When they use you, they quote you and link to you. That earned mention is the kind of link that actually works, and it is free.

Should I pay a PR agency to place articles and links?+

Be careful. A PR agency can help, but many of them will ask you to pay for the placement itself. Never do that. Never pay for the post. The value is in genuinely being a useful source for a writer, not in buying your way into a page, and paid placements are exactly the kind of link that has lost its value.

This started as an answer I gave on r/localseo. I run Doctor Rank, an AI search and local SEO agency for medical and legal practices.