Approval before publication
You see every site before anything goes live. If a publisher feels off — vibe, traffic, content quality — you veto, no questions asked. Zero "surprise" placements.
Process · How I work
A transparent 7-step process that turns guesswork into compounding rankings
No black-box agency mystery. No "trust us, we're working on it." You'll know exactly what's happening at every stage, what you're getting, and when. Built over 4 years and 120+ campaigns — refined to deliver predictable, defensible results for brands and agencies that can't afford a single risky link.
Step by step
The 7 stages of every engagement
Whether you're a one-off project or a 12-month retainer, you move through these stages. Each has a clear deliverable. Each has a clear timeline. Nothing happens in the dark.
01
Stage 01 · Discovery
The 30-minute strategic fit call
We start on Calendly or WhatsApp. I ask about your niche, your top 3 competitors, the keywords that drive money, the realistic budget, and what success looks like in 90 days. No pitching, no pressure — just clarity. If we're not a fit, I'll tell you and recommend someone who is.
Goals & KPIs clarified
Competitor list confirmed
Fit assessment
30 minutes · Free
02
Stage 02 · Deep Audit
The audit that proves where the bottleneck actually is
Before any link goes live, I run a 4-day audit: a backlink gap analysis against your top 5 competitors (Ahrefs + Semrush), a content audit on your money pages, a technical crawl (Screaming Frog), and a current-anchor profile review. You receive a written diagnosis: here's why you're not ranking and here's what the data says will move the needle.
Backlink gap report
Content audit (top 10 pages)
Technical crawl summary
Anchor profile review
Week 1 · 4 working days
03
Stage 03 · Strategy
A tailored 90-day plan you can actually read
Plain-language strategy document: which money pages we target, the exact placement count per month, the anchor split (branded / generic / partial / naked), the publisher tiers (DR 40–65 vs 65–78), the velocity ramp, and the expected ranking shift. No "we'll see how it goes" — a real plan with checkpoints.
Strategy PDF
Anchor-mix table
Target list (sample)
Month-by-month milestones
Week 1–2 · Delivered before any outreach starts
04
Stage 04 · Outreach & Vetting
Personalised pitches to vetted publisher targets
I build a publisher list of 100–200 real, traffic-driven sites in your niche (Ahrefs-verified, no PBNs, no link farms). Outreach is personalised — not "Hi {{FirstName}}" templates. Every site gets a manual screen for editorial standards, traffic legitimacy, and topical relevance before we approach them. You get a preview of every site before publication.
Personalised pitches
Manual vetting per site
Pre-publication previews
Approval gate
Ongoing · Weekly cadence
05
Stage 05 · Content & Placement
Editorial content that earns its place — not paid filler
Once a site is approved, the article is written to their editorial standard, not a content-mill template. Topic, angle, internal linking and outbound references are all chosen for editorial credibility. After publication, I verify the URL is indexable, the link is dofollow (unless agreed otherwise), and the anchor matches the plan. Live URLs go into your dashboard.
Editorial-grade article
Live URL verification
Indexability check
Anchor confirmation
Ongoing · Per placement
06
Stage 06 · Reporting
The monthly report agencies actually pass to clients
End-of-month PDF: every live URL with DR + traffic + anchor used, ranking shifts on tracked keywords (Semrush + GSC), referring-domain growth (Ahrefs), and a one-page commentary on what worked, what didn't, and the next month's plan. White-label option available — rebrand and pass straight to your clients.
Live URL inventory
Ranking shifts (KW tracking)
DR + ref domains growth
White-label option
Monthly · First report = month 1
07
Stage 07 · Iterate & Scale
Double down on what's working — kill what's not
Quarterly we look at the data and adjust: shift budget to the publishers driving the most ranking lift, pause weak channels, refresh anchor strategy if needed, add tier-up press placements when the site is ready, and re-plan the next quarter. Every 90 days you get a fresh strategy doc — no campaign goes stale.
Quarterly review call
Refreshed 90-day plan
Budget reallocation
Scaling roadmap
Every 90 days
Why this process
Three principles that refuse to be compromised
Numbers, not narratives
Every claim has a screenshot or a CSV behind it. Ranking shift verified in GSC. Referring domains verified in Ahrefs. Traffic verified in GA4. No vibes-based reporting.
Survive every core update
The placements built today have to still be ranking in 18 months. Every site is editorially curated, anchor-disciplined, and content-justified. No PBNs, no anchor spam, no panic when Google updates.
Ready to start with Stage 01?
Book a free 30-min discovery call and we'll figure out together whether this process fits your situation. If it does, you'll get a written audit and a tailored plan within a week. If it doesn't, I'll tell you why and recommend someone who's a better fit. Either way, you leave with clarity.