How to choose a link building agency in the AI SEO era

Remember when a handful of links from sites in your niche could drive steady organic traffic? That era is over.

Today, Google’s AI Overviews and the rise of answer engines like ChatGPT raise the bar. You have to do more to stay visible. Hiring an experienced link building agency is one efficient way to meet that challenge.

It’s also one of the most important investments you’ll make. The right partner doesn’t just build links. They position your brand as a trusted, cited source in the AI era.

So how do you choose the right agency for your company?

While the interface has changed, the core ranking signals remain largely the same. What’s changed is their priority.

LLMs need credible sources to ground their answers. That makes authoritative link building more important than ever.

This article shows you how to vet and choose a link building agency that understands these new priorities and can help your brand win trust in the AI-driven SEO landscape.

How link building and SEO are changing

Gartner predicted search engine volume to drop by 25% as AI takes over more answers. That makes working with an agency that understands AI SEO essential.

But how do you know which agencies actually do?

The real indicators are holistic authority and AI visibility. Only one in five links cited in Google’s AI Overviews matched a top-10 organic result, according to an Authoritas study. Even more telling, 62.1% of cited links or domains didn’t rank in the top 10 at all.

The takeaway is simple. AI systems and search engines don’t evaluate websites the same way. We’re no longer building links just for Google’s crawler.

Link equity alone isn’t enough. Sites need topical authority, brand mentions, and real market presence. The goal is to build a footprint that AI models recognize and can’t ignore.

The new criteria: Evaluating a link building agency for AI SEO

Choosing the right link building agency comes down to how well they prioritize the factors that matter now.

This section shows you what to look for.

Prioritizing quality, relevance, and traffic

I see this mistake all the time. A marketing director evaluates link quality based only on Domain Rating (DR).

High DR matters, but at uSERP, we know it’s not the finish line. You should also look for:

• Relevance: A link from a DR 60, niche-specific site in your industry often beats a DR 80 general news site that covers everything from crypto to keto.
• Minimum traffic standards: If a site doesn’t rank for keywords or attract real traffic, its links won’t help you rank. That’s why strict traffic minimums matter.

When vetting an agency, ask for contractual site-traffic guarantees.

A confident agency won’t hesitate to sign a Statement of Work that guarantees every link comes from a site with a minimum traffic threshold, such as 5,000+ monthly organic visitors.

If they won’t put traffic minimums in writing, they’re likely planning to place links on “ghost town” sites. These domains appear strong, but they lack a real audience, which protects their margins rather than supporting your growth.

Look for a content-driven approach and digital PR

Links don’t exist in a vacuum. The strongest ones come from being part of a real conversation.

The best agencies no longer operate like traditional link builders. They act more like content marketing and digital PR teams. 

Instead of asking for links, the best agencies create linkable assets — data studies, expert commentary, and in-depth guides that journalists and publishers want to cite – because they understand:

• Google’s algorithms and AI models are continually getting better at identifying paid placements. A content-led approach keeps links natural, editorial, and valuable to readers.
• Guest posting in the AI SEO era isn’t about a disposable 500-word article. It’s about thought leadership that positions your CEO as a credible expert.
  

At uSERP, for example, we created — and continuously update — our State of Backlinks for SEO report.

Red flags: Recognizing outdated or dangerous tactics

Choosing the wrong partner doesn’t just waste your budget. It puts your brand reputation — and potentially your company’s future — at risk.

Here are the biggest red flags to avoid when hiring an agency:

Guaranteed rankings

No one can guarantee a number-one ranking on Google. Any agency that promises specific keyword positions on a fixed timeline is likely doing one of two things:

• Using risky, short-term tactics to force a temporary spike.
• Selling you snake oil.

These agencies often rely on private blog networks (PBNs) or aggressive anchor text manipulation to manufacture fast results.

You might see an early jump, but the crash that follows—and the risk of a penalty when Google’s spam systems catch up—is never worth it.

Lack of transparency

If an agency won’t explain how they earn links or where placements will come from before you pay, walk away.

Reputable agencies are transparent. They’ll show real examples of past placements and share relevant case studies from your industry.

Agencies that hide their inventory usually do it for a reason. Those sites are often part of a low-quality network or link farm.

Self-serve link portfolios

If you’re a marketer or SEO on LinkedIn, chances are you’ve received a message like this:

This is a common tactic among low-quality link builders: reselling backlinks from a shared inventory. I understand the appeal.

Strategic link acquisition is hard. Buying and flipping links is easy.

The problem — for you — is the footprint. If an agency can secure a link by filling out a form, anyone can. That includes casino affiliates, gambling sites, adult content, and outright scammers.

That’s not a natural link profile. Google has almost certainly already identified and burned those domains.

In the best case, you pay for a link that passes zero authority. In the worst case, Google flags your site as part of a link scheme.

Dirt-cheap packages

SEO and link building deliver incredible ROI, but they aren’t cheap.

You can’t buy a high-quality article with a real, earned link from an authoritative site for $50. Speaking as someone who runs an AI SEO agency, the true cost of quality content, editing, outreach, and relationship building is at least an order of magnitude higher.

That’s why cheap packages that promise multiple high-authority links are a major red flag. They almost always rely on:

• Fully AI-generated, barely edited content.
• Low-value link farms or resold inventory.
• Toxic backlinks.

None of those will help you show up on AI search engines or Google.

Partnering with a link building agency for a sustainable market presence

Link building in the AI era is a long-term investment. It’s about building a durable market presence, not chasing quick wins.

The right partner sees themselves as an extension of your team. They care about:

• Your backlink gap compared to competitors.
• Your brand mentions across LLMs.
• Your overall search and AI visibility.

They help you navigate content syndication, backlink audits, content marketing, and modern link building strategies with a unified approach.

If you’re ready to move past vanity metrics and start building authority that drives revenue and AI citations, it’s time to be selective about who you trust with your domain.

The right link building agency is out there. You just need to know how to spot them.