LinksThatRank Review 2026: Pricing, Quality & Honest Verdict
Verdict: LinksThatRank is a legitimate managed link building service with transparent per-link pricing ($177-$327 by DR) and a real quality filter. Worth it if you have $500+/month and want placements done for you. Skip it if you're under $200/month or want to pick your own target sites.
What is LinksThatRank?
A done-for-you guest post and niche edit service run by UK SEO Matthew Woodward.
You send target URLs and keywords. They write the content and place the link on a relevant site. No dashboard, no campaigns to run, you're buying placements.
Note: LinksThatRank is often confused with Authority Builders (ABC), which is Matt Diggity's service. Different owners, different companies.
How it works
- You submit target URLs, anchors, and a short brief
- They prospect niche-relevant sites that pass their 23-point check
- They write & pitch guest posts or niche edit placements
- They deliver within one calendar month, with a live URL
Pricing at a glance
| Tier | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| DR 20-34 link | $177 | One guest post on a lower-authority site |
| DR 35-49 link | $247 | One guest post on a mid-authority site |
| DR 50-80 link | $327 | One guest post on a high-authority site |
| Combo Pack (monthly) | From $697/mo | Mix of links across DR tiers, monthly |
| Gold plan (monthly) | $4,997/mo | Higher volume across all tiers |
Agencies spending $5,000+/month get a 15% discount plus faster turnaround. See our full LinksThatRank pricing breakdown.
The 23-point quality control
This is the feature LinksThatRank leans on hardest in their marketing. Every prospect site has to pass all 23 checks before a placement goes live. Publicly stated criteria include:
- Minimum 500 organic monthly visitors (Ahrefs/Semrush estimate)
- Niche relevance to your target page
- Editorial-style placement, not a sponsored footer or sidebar
- Not found for sale on Fiverr, marketplaces, or cold-pitch lists
- No evidence of PBN patterns (footprint, linking patterns, registration)
- Clean outbound link profile
They also maintain a free Backlink Blacklist of 60,000+ domains that have failed their checks. It's a real product, not just a marketing claim, and it's free to search.
Pros
- Transparent per-link pricing. You know exactly what a DR 20, 40, or 60 link costs. Many agencies hide this behind a sales call.
- The Backlink Blacklist is real. 60,000+ flagged domains. Useful even if you don't buy.
- Fast turnaround. Under a calendar month per order, which is faster than most managed services.
- 500+ organic traffic floor. Weeds out the dead-blog problem that plagues cheaper link services.
- No lock-in. Monthly packages have no contract or cancellation penalty.
Cons
- Per-link cost is high. A DR 30 link for $177 is above market if you can run your own outreach. Independent reviews on Trustpilot and BlackHatWorld call out overpricing compared to similar quality available elsewhere.
- No control over exact targets. You approve the final placement, but you don't pick the site upfront.
- 23-point QC is not externally audited. Critics have pointed out that the list is marketing, there's no way to verify each point was checked on every placement.
- Mixed review reputation. Trustpilot reviews are mixed, some customers reported receiving links that looked identical to Fiverr-tier placements.
- You still pay per link. If you want volume, monthly plans get expensive fast ($697 up to $4,997).
Before committing, use our free backlink ROI calculator to check whether $177-$327 per link clears your payback threshold.
LinksThatRank links start at $177. What's the minimum monthly traffic a placement site must have?
Right. Their 23-point check requires at least 500 organic visitors/month on the placement site, enough to rule out dead blogs but not a high bar for real sites.
500 organic monthly visitors is the published floor. It's deliberately low so they can still source DR 20-34 placements, but high enough to exclude most abandoned blogs.
Who is LinksThatRank best for?
- SEOs who want guest posts without running outreach themselves
- Agencies that want a white-label supplier with predictable per-link pricing
- Teams that have a budget for $500-$5,000/month in links but not a full in-house outreach team
- Buyers who specifically want pre-screened placements, not a marketplace
Who should look elsewhere?
- Budget under $500/month: One DR 50+ link eats your whole budget. Use MentionAgent ($99/mo) or BuzzStream ($24/mo) to run your own outreach.
- Teams that want target control: If you need to hand-pick publications, outreach software gives you that, this service doesn't.
- High-volume needs: 20+ links/month at LinksThatRank costs $5K+. Automated outreach scales cheaper.
- Digital PR / journalist mentions: Wrong tool. See our digital PR tools guide.
How to vet a link service before ordering (step by step)
- Ask for 3 sample placements from the last 60 days. Real services will show you recent work.
- Check the traffic of each sample site in Ahrefs or Semrush. Under 500 organic/month is a red flag.
- Search the site's footer for "write for us" or "sponsored by" patterns. These are marketplace signals.
- Run each sample through LinksThatRank's free Backlink Blacklist. If a vendor's own samples fail, walk.
- Google "[vendor] + review" and skim Trustpilot plus BlackHatWorld threads. Pay more attention to detailed complaints than star ratings.
- Start with one link, not a monthly package. Test quality before committing.
LinksThatRank vs self-service outreach
| Factor | LinksThatRank | Self-service (MentionAgent) |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $177-$327/link or $697+/mo | $99/mo flat |
| Your time | Submit brief, review placements | Approve outgoing emails |
| Control over targets | You approve final, not pre-select | Full, you see every prospect |
| Volume scaling | Linear, more links = more money | Flat price, volume depends on niche |
| Quality gate | 23-point vendor check | Your own filters |
You want 10 guest post links per month on DR 35-49 sites. Roughly what will LinksThatRank cost?
Correct. DR 35-49 links are $247 each, so 10 links = $2,470/month before any volume discount. That's before content fees on some campaigns.
DR 35-49 sits at $247 per link. 10 links × $247 = $2,470/month. Agencies spending $5K+ monthly get a 15% discount, but at $2,470 you're below that threshold.
You're bootstrapped at $150/month and want to build backlinks. Is LinksThatRank realistic?
Right. The cheapest single link is $177, above your budget. MentionAgent at $99/mo automates outreach without per-link fees, which fits under $150.
LinksThatRank's cheapest link is $177 and there's no $99 entry plan. At $150/month, automated outreach (MentionAgent, $99/mo) is the only realistic path.
Link building without the per-link tax
MentionAgent finds relevant blogs in your niche, looks up contacts, writes personalized pitches, and follows up automatically. $99/mo flat, you approve emails, the agent does the rest.
Start Getting Mentioned For $99/moFrequently asked questions
Who owns LinksThatRank?
Matthew Woodward, a UK-based SEO and keynote speaker who runs the matthewwoodward.co.uk blog. It's a separate company from Matt Diggity's Authority Builders (ABC).
How much does LinksThatRank cost?
Individual links: $177 (DR 20-34), $247 (DR 35-49), $327 (DR 50-80). Monthly packages start at $697 (Combo Pack) up to $4,997 (Gold). See our pricing breakdown.
Is LinksThatRank white-hat?
They describe their placements as editorial guest posts on real, traffic-qualified sites, and run a Backlink Blacklist to avoid PBNs. Google doesn't formally approve any third-party link vendor, but LinksThatRank avoids the patterns Google targets (footprints, sold on marketplaces, PBN networks).
Is there a cheaper alternative?
Yes. MentionAgent ($99/mo) automates outreach with no per-link fees, BuzzStream ($24/mo) supports manual outreach, and Pitchbox ($165/mo) handles enterprise workflows. See our LinksThatRank alternatives.
How long does LinksThatRank take to deliver?
Under one calendar month per order. Agency accounts spending $5,000+/month get priority turnaround as part of the volume tier.
Can I choose the exact site my link goes on?
No. You submit a brief with targets and anchors, their team sources niche-relevant sites, and you approve the final placement. You don't pre-select specific domains.
Will LinksThatRank links hurt my site?
They're editorial guest posts on sites with real traffic, which is what Google guidelines treat as legitimate. There's inherent risk with any purchased link, but the Backlink Blacklist screens out PBN patterns, which is better than most marketplace vendors.
Does the per-link price include content?
Yes for guest posts. The price covers prospecting, content writing, outreach, and placement. Confirm campaign-specific scope (like niche edits) with the vendor since it can vary.