Who Owns Link Building?

At the risk of offending anyone who earns their living by offering any of the below services, myself included, I pose this composite inquiry to all of us.  It helps illustrate what I view as the biggest problem with the link building services sector.

The problem is that the majority of link building services for sale today are worthless.  The only people benefiting from them are the sellers of those services.

Please read on.

Hi.

My name is Prospective Client.  I have a web site, and I need some help.  I’ve been reading on the web that links are very important, and we need more links.  But I am confused, and the more reading I do the more confused I get.  Can you help me?

First, who do I hire to build links for our site?

• The firm that designed our site.  They also sell link building packages.
• The company that registered our domain. They too sell link building services.
• The ISP that hosts our site. Yes, they sell link building services.
• The company that runs our online store. They sell link building services as well.
• Our advertising agency.  They say they can do it for a fee.
• Our public relations firm. They say they can do it for a fee.
• A company that specializes in link building, based in the U.S.
• A company that specializes in link building, based outside the U.S.
• A local consultant who nobody knows with expertise in link building.
• A nationally known consultant with expertise in link building.
• An employee who already works for me in the I.T. department.
• An employee who already works for me in the marketing department
• An employee who already works for me in the corporate communications department
• An intern.
• Five interns.
• Nobody.  Let the site attract them by itself

That’s 15 options, all of which sound like they could be effective.  Which is best for me?

Second, what link building services will be effective for our site?

• Submissions to directories
• Press releases
• Paid links
• Blog reviews
• Social media links
• Local links
• Industry links
• Reciprocal links
• Something else

Finally, what is a fair price to pay for such services?

I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Prospective Client

So tell me. Who really owns link building, and what should the job of a link builder be?