/ knowledge base
Link building, defined and checked.
259 definitions and 10 checklists we use ourselves. Plain answers, with the limits of what anyone can promise.
/ checklists
Working checklists
The steps we run on every placement. Tick them off, print them, reuse them.
- Checklist 01 · 21 checks
Site Qualification (the rules every site must pass)
Use before any placement is proposed. One failure = the site is out. This is Husky Hamster's qualification floor; the same rules apply in every market and every placement type.
Open the checklist → - Checklist 02 · 18 checks
Link Requirements (before anything is bought)
Complete this before ordering any placement. Links point at URLs, not at "the site" — if you can't fill every field, the campaign isn't ready.
Open the checklist → - Checklist 03 · 17 checks
Placement Content Analysis
For every article that will carry a link (insertion target or guest post draft). Content that reads as built for links gets removed by publishers and ignored by AI engines.
Open the checklist → - Checklist 04 · 28 checks
Link Building for GEO (getting cited by AI answer engines)
Only the non-obvious moves. Standard hygiene (E-E-A-T, freshness, sitemaps) is assumed. Priority marks: 🔴 critical · 🟠 high · 🟡 medium.
Open the checklist → - Checklist 05 · 19 checks
Link Insertion Campaign
Insertions are the fastest placement to go live because the page already exists. That speed makes it tempting to skip checks — don't.
Open the checklist → - Checklist 06 · 22 checks
Guest Post Campaign
Guest posts give the most room to say something — and the most room to say nothing. The article has to stand on its own.
Open the checklist → - Checklist 07 · 19 checks
International Link Campaign
Links from publishers in the language and market you're entering, pointing at the page built for it. Same quality floor in every market.
Open the checklist → - Checklist 08 · 18 checks
Brand Mentions Campaign (for AI answer visibility)
Your name in the articles, reviews and lists AI engines draw from when buyers compare tools. We track it, we don't promise it.
Open the checklist → - Checklist 09 · 18 checks
Link Building Strategy (the written plan)
A strategy is a written plan that says which pages need links, from which kinds of sites, with which anchors, in what order — agreed before anything is bought. If you can't say which page each link is for, you don't have one.
Open the checklist → - Checklist 10 · 23 checks
Monitoring, Reporting and Guarantee Compliance
The part of the chain nobody else owns: from which page needs links to whether the link is still live in month nine.
Open the checklist →
/ glossary
259 terms, A to Z
A
- AI answer enginesGEO and AI visibility
- AI answer engines: which sources they draw fromGEO and AI visibility
- AI brand mentions (mentions in AI answers)Brand mentions
- AI citation vs mention: the measurable differenceGEO and AI visibility
- AI citations (citations in LLM answers)GEO and AI visibility
- AI content detection and originalityContent and on-page
- AI crawler access (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot)GEO and AI visibility
- AI keyword research (prompts as keywords)GEO and AI visibility
- AI Mode (Google)GEO and AI visibility
- AI Overviews (Google)GEO and AI visibility
- AI Overviews optimisation for SaaSGEO and AI visibility
- AI product cards and comparison surfacesGEO and AI visibility
- AI search visibility monitoringGEO and AI visibility
- AI training data (Common Crawl)GEO and AI visibility
- AI-drafted content policy for placementsContent and on-page
- Algorithmic demotion (link devaluation)Risk and quality
- Alt text and image attributesContent and on-page
- Alternatives pages ("alternatives to X")SaaS and technology
- Anchor plans per campaignLink building fundamentals
- Anchor textLink building fundamentals
- Anchor text distribution (anchor profile)Link building fundamentals
- Anchor text over-optimisationRisk and quality
- Anchors in non-English markets (natural phrasing)International link building
- Answer engine optimisation (AEO)GEO and AI visibility
- Approving placements before they go liveStrategy and process
- Artificial intelligence marketing for SaaSSaaS and technology
- Artificially inflated metrics (metric fraud)Risk and quality
- Authority linksLink building fundamentals
- Authority transfer through internal linksLink building fundamentals
B
- B2B review platforms (G2, Capterra, TrustRadius)SaaS and technology
- B2B tech media landscape (where links live)SaaS and technology
- BacklinkLink building fundamentals
- Backlink auditMetrics and measurement
- Backlink gap analysisTactics and techniques
- Backlink monitoring and link trackingMetrics and measurement
- Bing and IndexNow for AI visibilityGEO and AI visibility
- Blogger outreachTactics and techniques
- Brand anchorsLink building fundamentals
- Brand consistency across placementsBrand mentions
- Brand entity building (Wikidata, Wikipedia, sameAs)Brand mentions
- Brand mention (unlinked mention)Brand mentions
- Brand mention tracking toolsBrand mentions
- Brand mentions vs link buildingBrand mentions
- Brand SERP (branded search results)Brand mentions
- Brand velocity in AI answersBrand mentions
- Branded search volume as a link outcomeMetrics and measurement
- Broken link buildingTactics and techniques
- Budget allocation across placement typesStrategy and process
- Buyer committees and multi-stakeholder contentSaaS and technology
- Buyer questions as content seedsContent and on-page
- Buyer research habits (comparison-first behaviour)SaaS and technology
- Buying links (paid placements)Risk and quality
C
- Campaign briefs (what to send your vendor)Strategy and process
- Case studies and social proof on agency sitesStrategy and process
- Category creation and new-market mentionsBrand mentions
- Citations (local citations, NAP)Brand mentions
- Click-through rate and links (indirect effects)Metrics and measurement
- Client-side blockers (approvals, legal, brand)Strategy and process
- Cloaking for AI crawlersRisk and quality
- Cold email outreach (compliance and effectiveness)Tactics and techniques
- Common Crawl and AI training dataGEO and AI visibility
- Comparison pages (X vs Y) as link targetsSaaS and technology
- Comparison roundup pages (best-tools lists)SaaS and technology
- Competitive gap: pages and linksStrategy and process
- Competitor backlink analysisTactics and techniques
- Content briefs for guest postsContent and on-page
- Content decay (declining content)Content and on-page
- Content formats AI engines quote mostGEO and AI visibility
- Content negotiation with publishersContent and on-page
- Content refresh and link re-acquisitionContent and on-page
- Content standards for placements (AI-drafted, human-edited)Content and on-page
- Content syndicationContent and on-page
- Contextual backlinksLink building fundamentals
- Contract terms: guarantees, replacements, refundsStrategy and process
- Core Web Vitals and link valueMetrics and measurement
- Cost per link (unit economics)Metrics and measurement
- Crawling, indexing and link discoveryLink building fundamentals
- Cross-market placement boards (approval views)Strategy and process
- Customer evidence in placementsContent and on-page
D
- Data stories vs link placementsContent and on-page
- Definition content (owning "what is X")GEO and AI visibility
- Deindexation risk of publisher sitesRisk and quality
- Demo-led vs self-serve SaaS and link targetsSaaS and technology
- Digital footprint consistency (NAP, profiles)Brand mentions
- Digital PRStrategy and process
- Dofollow and nofollow linksLink building fundamentals
- Domain Rating (DR)Metrics and measurement
- Domain Rating vs Domain AuthorityMetrics and measurement
- DR 40+ as an entry filter (not the verdict)Metrics and measurement
- Duplicate content across placementsContent and on-page
E
- E-E-A-T and experience signalsContent and on-page
- Editorial calendars and go-live datesStrategy and process
- Editorial independence (what publishers will and won't say)Content and on-page
- Editorial judgement: when a site is right but wrong for youMetrics and measurement
- Editorial link vs paid placement (the honest distinction)Risk and quality
- Editorial linksLink building fundamentals
- Editorial standards of publishersContent and on-page
- Entity gap analysis in AI answersGEO and AI visibility
- Entity SEO and brand entitiesGEO and AI visibility
- Excerpt-worthy paragraphs (quotable answers)GEO and AI visibility
F
- First link priority (multiple links, one page)Link building fundamentals
- First-party data as a link magnetTactics and techniques
- Footprints and anchor patterns across clientsRisk and quality
- Founder-led content and personal brandsContent and on-page
- Free replacement guarantee (12-month monitoring)Strategy and process
- Free tools and calculators as link magnetsTactics and techniques
- Free trial pages as link targetsSaaS and technology
- Freshness (content freshness)Content and on-page
G
- GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)GEO and AI visibility
- GEO checklist for SaaS sitesGEO and AI visibility
- Geo-targeting of publishersInternational link building
- Google's stance on paid links (in plain terms)Risk and quality
- Guest postTactics and techniques
- Guest post outreach processTactics and techniques
H
I
- Illustrative examples vs client results (honest marketing)Strategy and process
- Integration pages and marketplace listingsSaaS and technology
- Internal linking architectureStrategy and process
- International campaigns: market brief to go-liveInternational link building
- International link buildingInternational link building
- International SEO vs international linksInternational link building
K
L
- Link attribution risk (carried by the buyer)Risk and quality
- Link buildingLink building fundamentals
- Link building agency: how to choose oneStrategy and process
- Link building basics for foundersLink building fundamentals
- Link building for AI companiesSaaS and technology
- Link building for new domains (zero-authority start)Strategy and process
- Link building for SaaSSaaS and technology
- Link building for software housesSaaS and technology
- Link building in regulated tech nichesSaaS and technology
- Link building KPIs for boards and investorsMetrics and measurement
- Link building pricing modelsStrategy and process
- Link building proposal and sales processStrategy and process
- Link building reports for leadershipMetrics and measurement
- Link context (surrounding text matters)Link building fundamentals
- Link insertion (niche edit)Tactics and techniques
- Link insertion quality checksTactics and techniques
- Link neighbourhood (bad neighbourhoods)Risk and quality
- Link placement (in-content, sidebar, footer)Link building fundamentals
- Link prospectingTactics and techniques
- Link reclamation (unlinked brand mentions)Tactics and techniques
- Link relevanceLink building fundamentals
- Link removal requestsRisk and quality
- Link risk screening (link-farm patterns)Risk and quality
- Link rot and link churnRisk and quality
- Link schemes (Google's definition)Risk and quality
- Link velocity (link growth rate)Metrics and measurement
- Linkable assetsTactics and techniques
- LLM optimisation (LLMO)GEO and AI visibility
- LLMs.txt (proposal and scepticism)GEO and AI visibility
- Localisation of content for link marketsInternational link building
- Long-term compounding of relevant linksMetrics and measurement
M
- Manual actions (penalties)Risk and quality
- Map pack and map platforms for AI contextGEO and AI visibility
- Market selection for international linksInternational link building
- Marketplaces vs direct publisher relationshipsStrategy and process
- Mention-to-citation workflowsGEO and AI visibility
- Metrics that matter when buying linksMetrics and measurement
- Migration support and link continuityStrategy and process
- Monthly reporting and go-live trackingMetrics and measurement
- Multi-market anchor strategyInternational link building
- Multilingual anchors (brand anchors travel, keywords don't)International link building
N
- Native advertising vs sponsored contentContent and on-page
- Native-language editing (why machine translation fails)International link building
- Negative SEO (link attacks)Risk and quality
- Negotiating placement pricesStrategy and process
- Niche edits vs guest posts (risk and speed)Tactics and techniques
- Nofollow, UGC and sponsored link attributesLink building fundamentals
O
- Off-page SEOLink building fundamentals
- On-page SEO essentials that make links workContent and on-page
- One page or one hundred: why links point at URLsStrategy and process
- Organic traffic of publishers (traffic check)Metrics and measurement
- Outreach emails that get repliesTactics and techniques
- Outreach negotiators (the human in the loop)Tactics and techniques
- Outreach personalisation at scaleTactics and techniques
- Outsourcing link building (in-house vs agency)Strategy and process
P
- Page Authority (PA) vs URL RatingMetrics and measurement
- Paid placements disclosure and labelsRisk and quality
- PBNs (private blog networks)Risk and quality
- People Also Ask and question miningStrategy and process
- Personal brands in AI answersBrand mentions
- Pillar pages and topic clustersContent and on-page
- Placement approval workflowsStrategy and process
- Placement lifetime (how long links last)Risk and quality
- Placement types compared (insertion vs guest post vs mention)Tactics and techniques
- Platform-specific citation sources (Reddit, YouTube)GEO and AI visibility
- Positioning pages (alternatives, vs, pricing)SaaS and technology
- Pricing pages as link targetsSaaS and technology
- Product update notes as link-worthy contentContent and on-page
- Product-led growth and content loopsSaaS and technology
- Programme pacing (links per month)Strategy and process
- Prompt research (what buyers ask AI)GEO and AI visibility
- Prompt sets (building the measurement baseline)GEO and AI visibility
- Publisher base (1,200+ relationships)Strategy and process
- Publisher fee transparencyStrategy and process
- Publisher relationships (owning the graph)Strategy and process
- Publisher vetting checklistMetrics and measurement
Q
R
- Rank tracking in the AI eraMetrics and measurement
- Reciprocal links and link exchangesRisk and quality
- Redirect safety in placements (no redirect chains)Link building fundamentals
- Referring domains vs backlinksLink building fundamentals
- Relaunch of stale campaignsStrategy and process
- Relevance-first link buildingLink building fundamentals
- Replacement workflow when links dropStrategy and process
- Reporting cadence and stakeholder updatesMetrics and measurement
- Reporting honesty (what cannot be promised)Metrics and measurement
- Reporting in multiple marketsInternational link building
- Resource pages and linkable hubsTactics and techniques
- Response rates in outreach (benchmarks)Metrics and measurement
- Reviews of link vendors (Clutch, G2 and reality)Strategy and process
- ROI of link buildingMetrics and measurement
S
- SaaS funding announcements and coverage windowsSaaS and technology
- SaaS SEO and the role of linksSaaS and technology
- Sales page vs content page as link targetStrategy and process
- Sales-led vs content-led SaaS growthSaaS and technology
- Search intent and link intent mappingStrategy and process
- Share of model (brand presence across LLMs)Brand mentions
- Share of voice in AI answersBrand mentions
- Single team ownership (plan to placed link)Strategy and process
- Site risk at scale (screening hundreds of sites)Risk and quality
- Site-level vs page-level qualificationMetrics and measurement
- Sitelinks and brand SERP featuresBrand mentions
- Skyscraper technique (and its limits)Tactics and techniques
- Software buyer journeys (how tech buyers shortlist)SaaS and technology
- Spam score and toxicity metricsRisk and quality
- Sponsored posts and advertorialsContent and on-page
- Startup link building on a small budgetSaaS and technology
- Structured data (schema) for link-worthy pagesContent and on-page
- Structured data for AI extractionGEO and AI visibility
- Subscription fatigue and owned audiencesContent and on-page
- Success metrics: rankings, traffic, pipelineMetrics and measurement
T
- Target page selectionStrategy and process
- Target URL readiness (thin, noindex, mid-migration)Strategy and process
- Technical SEO prerequisites for link campaignsStrategy and process
- Testimonials, reviews and directoriesTactics and techniques
- Tool pages and free tiers as link magnetsTactics and techniques
- Topical authorityLink building fundamentals
- Toxic links and when to disavowRisk and quality
- Traffic quality of publishers (beyond the number)Metrics and measurement
- Traffic verification (Ahrefs vs analytics)Metrics and measurement
- Training data presence vs retrieval (RAG)GEO and AI visibility
- Twelve-month monitoring (what gets checked)Strategy and process
U
V
W
Y
Nothing matches that. Try a shorter word, or clear the category filter.
/ by topic
Browse by topic
- 24 terms
Link building fundamentals
The basic vocabulary of links: what they are, how they are described and what separates a useful one from noise.
- 25 terms
Tactics and techniques
How links are earned or placed in practice, and what each method is good and bad at.
- 13 terms
International link building
What changes when links have to work in another language and market.
- 18 terms
Brand mentions
Mentions of your product in third-party articles, reviews and lists, with or without a link.
- 32 terms
GEO and AI visibility
How AI answer engines find, choose and cite sources, and what a link building programme can do about it.
- 24 terms
SaaS and technology
Terms specific to software, AI products and the way their buyers research.
- 43 terms
Strategy and process
Planning, budgeting, and choosing between vendors and placement types.
- 30 terms
Metrics and measurement
What can be measured, how, and which numbers to distrust.
- 25 terms
Risk and quality
Penalties, devaluation, link farms and the other ways good money buys bad links.
- 25 terms
Content and on-page
The pages and copy that carry a link, and what makes them worth publishing.
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