Every link building vendor's sales page says the same things: quality sites, fast delivery, real results. The words are cheap. Here's what to actually hold a vendor to before you trust them with a client's campaign.
Don't accept "we only use high-quality sites" as an answer. Ask what specifically gets checked, traffic, backlink history, topical fit. Then ask to see an example before you commit to a full order.
"A few weeks" isn't a delivery window. Demand an actual range, 7 to 14 days, 5 to 10 days, whatever it is. Then watch whether they consistently hit it. On agency work we've handled, links agreed to a 7-14 day window were regularly delivered in 2-3 days; that kind of consistency over time is what actually matters, not one fast delivery.
If a link disappears, what happens? "We'll look into it" is not a policy. A real guarantee is a free replacement or a refund, spelled out before you order, not negotiated after something goes wrong.
If you're white labeling the work, the report needs to be something you can hand to a client as-is, live URL, site metrics, what was published. If you're spending an hour reformatting what a vendor sends you, that's an hour they should have saved you.
Anyone can deliver one good link. The real test is whether quality holds when an order goes from 5 links to 50, ask specifically how bulk orders are handled before you find out the hard way, mid-campaign.
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