Gave up on automated link tools after 8 months of zero results

I spent 8 months using one of those popular link building tools that promises to find you tons of backlinks automatically. Set it up, let it run, checked in every week. After all that time I had maybe 2 links that actually stuck and they were from garbage sites. The issue was the tool kept pitching my content to random blogs that had nothing to do with my niche. I wasted so much time on follow ups that led nowhere. Now I just do manual outreach to 5 solid sites a week and I've gotten more links in 2 months than that tool gave me all year. Anybody else ditch the automated stuff and go back to doing it by hand?

2 comments

2 Comments

angelar571mo ago

Blasting your stuff into the void" pretty much sums up my entire 2023.

rowan_roberts491mo ago

Can't believe you stuck with that thing for 8 months. That's crazy to me (I would've quit after like 2 weeks tops). Those automated tools are basically just blasting your stuff into the void and hoping something sticks. Half the sites they find are probably run by bots too. Manual outreach is way more work but at least you're targeting real people in your niche. I've seen way too many people waste a year on those tools and end up with nothing but spammy links that hurt them later.