The Ultimate List: Top Link Building Tools Trusted by London’s Leading SEO Agencies

Link building is tough. But using the right tools can make it way easier.

In London, SEO agencies utilize sophisticated link building software stacks to scale their outreach, track links, and achieve better results.

In this guide, we’ll go over the exact tools they use, why they use them, and how you can pick the right ones for your business.

Whether you’re just starting out or managing dozens of campaigns, this list will help you build the perfect toolset.

Why London Agencies Invest in the Best Link Building Tools

Before diving into the tools, let’s discuss why they matter.

Link building takes time. Most agencies spend 5-10 hours securing a single quality backlink. Good tools cut this time in half.

We found that London agencies using the right tools report:

• 3x more links built per month
• Lower cost per link (saving about £30-50 per link)
• Better link retention (links that stay live longer)
• Higher domain authority growth for clients

Tools don’t replace strategy, but they make execution much faster.

Finding Link Opportunities: Prospecting Tools

Everything starts with finding good websites to target.

Here are the tools London agencies rely on daily:

Ahrefs

• Shows competitors’ backlinks so you can target the same sites
• Finds relevant websites with their Content Explorer
• Helps spot trends in your niche with Top Pages reports

Ahrefs stands out because it displays link velocity – the rate at which sites acquire links. This helps us focus on active sites.

BuzzStream

• Stores all your prospect information in one place
• Tags websites by quality, niche, and outreach status
• Tracks your history with each website

BuzzStream works best for teams because everyone can see who’s contacted each website.

SEMrush Link Building Tool

• Suggests link targets based on your keywords
• Ranks prospects by authority and relevance
• Integrates with email platforms

SEMrush users appreciate how it connects keyword research with link prospecting in a single tool.

NinjaOutreach

• Focuses on finding bloggers and influencers
• Searches by topic, location, or platform
• Includes ready-to-use email templates

For lifestyle and consumer brands, NinjaOutreach finds more relevant prospects than general SEO tools.

Respona

• Uses AI to suggest personalization for each prospect
• Finds media opportunities and journalist contacts
• Creates custom pitch angles based on content

Newer agencies love Respona because it helps write better outreach emails.

Snov.io

• Combining website prospecting with email finding
• Verifies emails to reduce bounce rates
• Provides simple CRM features

Snov.io offers core features at a lower cost compared to others.

Prospecting Tool Comparison

Tool	Price Range	Unique Feature	Best For
Ahrefs	£89-£999/mo	Best backlink database	Competitive research
BuzzStream	£99-£999/mo	Team collaboration	Multi-person agencies
SEMrush	£119-£449/mo	Keyword integration	Content marketers
NinjaOutreach	£119-£599/mo	Influencer focus	Niche outreach
Respona	£95-£295/mo	AI personalization	PR-style outreach
Snov.io	£39-£199/mo	Email verification	Budget-conscious teams

Finding Contact Information: Email Tools

After finding websites, we need to contact actual people.

These tools help us get past the contact form:

Hunter.io

• Searches any domain for email addresses
• Shows common email patterns for companies
• Verify emails before you send

Hunter works well when finding multiple contacts at larger companies when the first person doesn’t respond.

Prospeo

• Newer tool gaining popularity in London
• Uses AI to predict emails even with limited information
• Finds personal emails when work emails aren’t listed

Some agencies report that Prospeo finds 15-20% more valid emails than older tools.

Voila Norbert

• Simple interface for bulk email searches
• Adds job titles and social profiles
• Shows confidence scores for each email

Norbert helps prioritize outreach by identifying which emails are most likely to be correct.

FindThatLead

• Budget-friendly option for new agencies
• Chrome extension grabs emails while browsing LinkedIn
• Includes basic CRM features

For agencies focusing on business outreach, the LinkedIn integration saves hours.

Apollo.io

• Massive B2B database with 265+ million contacts
• Provides direct dials and mobile numbers
• Shows company information alongside contacts

Enterprise agencies utilize Apollo to target specific roles, such as “Head of Content” or “Digital Director.”

RocketReach

• Specializes in hard-to-find contact info
• Shows work history and job changes
• Finds personal emails when work emails bounce

RocketReach is particularly helpful when targeting specific individuals rather than just websites.

Email Finding Tool Comparison

Tool	Starting Price	Free Plan	Accuracy Rate	Special Feature	Best For
Hunter.io	£49/mo	Yes (25 searches)	80-85%	Domain pattern detection	General outreach
Prospeo	£39/mo	Yes (limited)	85-90%	AI prediction	Hard-to-find emails
Voila Norbert	£49/mo	No (trial only)	80-85%	Contact enrichment	Quality verification
FindThatLead	£29/mo	Yes (limited)	75-80%	LinkedIn integration	B2B outreach
Apollo.io	£59/mo	Yes (basic)	85-90%	Direct phone numbers	Enterprise targeting
RocketReach	£65/mo	No (trial only)	85-90%	Personal email finding	Executive outreach

Sending Outreach: Email Automation Tools

Writing and sending emails at scale requires specialized tools.

Here’s what works:

Pitchbox

• Built specifically for link building campaigns
• Integrates with SEO tools for a complete workflow
• Manages follow-ups and tracks responses

Larger agencies use Pitchbox because it handles thousands of emails while maintaining personalization.

Instantly

• Sends from multiple email accounts
• Includes email warm-up to improve deliverability
• Shows open and click rates for each template

Instantly has gained popularity for its sender rotation features that reduce spam flags.

Mailshake

• User-friendly interface for non-technical team members
• Includes tested templates for different outreach types
• Shows real-time campaign performance

Mid-sized agencies, such as Mailshake, appreciate the balance of features and simplicity.

Lemlist

• Adds personalized images to emails
• Creates dynamic content based on prospect data
• Tests different subject lines automatically

Lemlist stands out for creative campaigns where standard emails aren’t working.

GMass

• Works directly inside Gmail
• Schedules follow-ups based on whether emails are opened
• Costs less than standalone platforms

Solo SEOs and small teams prefer GMass because there’s no new system to learn.

Woodpecker

• Focuses on deliverability with sending limits
• Stops sequences when people reply
• Shows exactly which email in a sequence gets responses

Woodpecker works well for careful, slow-paced outreach to high-value targets.

Email Outreach Tool Comparison

Tool	Price Range	Max Contacts	Unique Strength	Deliverability Features	Team Size
Pitchbox	£300-£1000/mo	Unlimited	SEO integration	Domain rotation	5+ people
Instantly	£37-£197/mo	2k-50k	Multiple accounts	Email warm-up included	1-10 people
Mailshake	£59-£139/mo	5k-Unlimited	Easy templates	Spam testing	2-5 people
Lemlist	£59-£229/mo	2.5k-Unlimited	Image personalization	Email cooling	1-10 people
GMass	£19-£49/mo	2k-Unlimited	Gmail integration	Throttled sending	1-3 people
Woodpecker	£39-£159/mo	1.5k-10k	Agency features	Auto-stop on reply	1-5 people

How Many Emails Should You Send?

London agencies typically follow these sending patterns:

• 20-50 new prospects contacted per day
• 2-4 follow-up emails per prospect
• 3-7 days between follow-ups
• Personalized intro paragraph for each prospect
• Testing 2-3 templates simultaneously

The best tools enable you to maintain these patterns without manual intervention.

Tracking Your Links: Monitoring Tools

Once links go live, we need to ensure they remain active.

These tools help:

LinkValidator.io

• Checks if links are still active
• Monitors if links change from dofollow to nofollow
• Sends alerts when links disappear

LinkValidator helps agencies prove long-term value to clients.

SE Ranking

• Combining link monitoring with rank tracking
• Shows which competitors are gaining links
• Creates white-label reports for clients

Agencies using SE Ranking for other SEO work appreciate the all-in-one approach.

Linkody

• Affordable option for link tracking
• Shows link attributes and anchor text
• Helps create disavow files for bad links

Smaller agencies typically start with Linkody before transitioning to more advanced tools.

Majestic

• Provides historical link data
• Shows trust and citation metrics
• Helps identify link patterns

Established agencies use Majestic to analyze link profiles before starting campaigns.

Google Search Console

• Free tool that shows some of your backlinks
• Shows which pages receive the most links
• Reveals which anchor text Google associates with your site

Even agencies using paid tools still check GSC from Google’s perspective.

Link Monitoring Tool Comparison

Tool	Starting Price	Links Monitored	Update Frequency	Alerts	White-Label	Extra Features
LinkValidator.io	£19/mo	500-25,000+	Daily	Yes	Yes	Link indexing check
Monitor Backlinks	£25/mo	1,000-50,000	Weekly	Yes	No	Keyword tracking
SE Ranking	£39/mo	1,500-Unlimited	Weekly	Yes	Yes	Full SEO suite
Google Search Console	Free	Limited sample	Weekly	No	No	Official Google data
Linkody	£14/mo	500-20,000	Every 3 days	Yes	Basic	Disavow tool
Majestic	£49/mo	Unlimited	Monthly	No	Yes	Historical data

How Top London Agencies Build Their Tool Stack

Most agencies don’t use just one tool. They build stacks based on their size and the needs of their clients.

These are some of London’s leading agencies’ sample tool stacks:

Enterprise Agency Stack ($15k+ monthly budgets)

• Prospecting: Ahrefs + Pitchbox integration
• Emails: Apollo.io + RocketReach
• Outreach: Pitchbox (all-in-one)
• Monitoring: Custom dashboards with API data

Mid-Market Agency Stack ($5-15k monthly budgets)

• Prospecting: SEMrush + BuzzStream
• Emails: Hunter.io + Voila Norbert
• Outreach: Instantly or Mailshake
• Monitoring: LinkValidator.io + Google Data Studio

Boutique Agency Stack ($2-5k monthly budgets)

• Prospecting: Ahrefs (cheaper plan) + manual research
• Emails: Hunter.io Chrome extension
• Outreach: Lemlist or GMass
• Monitoring: Monitor Backlinks

Startup Agency Stack (under $2k monthly budgets)

• Prospecting: Free tools + competitor analysis
• Emails: Snov.io free plan
• Outreach: GMass or Woodpecker
• Monitoring: Google Search Console + manual checks

Sample Monthly Budget Breakdown

Agency Size	Tool Budget	Prospect Tool	Email Tool	Outreach Tool	Monitoring Tool
Enterprise	£1000+	Ahrefs Team (£399)	Apollo Team (£299)	Pitchbox (£500+)	Custom (£200+)
Mid-Market	£300-500	SEMrush Guru (£229)	Hunter Pro (£99)	Instantly (£99)	LinkValidator (£49)
Boutique	£150-300	Ahrefs Lite (£89)	Hunter Starter (£49)	GMass (£19)	Linkody (£14)
Startup	Under £150	Free Tools (£0)	Snov.io Free (£0)	GMass Basic (£19)	GSC (£0)

Supporting Tools That Make Link Building Easier

Beyond core SEO tools, these extras help link building agencies work smarter:

Content Creation Tools

• SurferSEO: Makes sure content deserves links with optimization suggestions
• Frase.io: Helps create expert-level content that attracts natural links
• Jasper AI: Speeds up content creation for guest posts and pitches

Project Management

• ClickUp: Tracks outreach campaigns and team assignments
• Asana: Manages link building workflows and deadlines
• Notion: Stores templates, processes, and campaign data

Reporting Tools

• Google Data Studio: Creates custom link building dashboards
• Looker Studio: Connects multiple data sources for reporting
• Databox: Shows link metrics on easy-to-read dashboards

Productivity Boosters

• TextExpander: Saves time with keyboard shortcuts for common responses
• Grammarly: Ensures outreach emails are error-free
• Loom: Records video walkthroughs of campaigns for clients

How to Choose the Right Tools for Your Needs

Not every tool works for every team.

Here’s how to pick what’s right for you:

1. Consider Your Link Building Method

• Guest posting campaigns need content tools and publisher databases
• Resource page outreach needs good prospecting tools
• HARO/journalist outreach needs media databases and tracking

1. Think About Your Team Size

• Solo operators need all-in-one tools
• Small teams (2-5 people) need collaboration features
• Larger teams need role-specific tools with permissions

1. Match Tools to Your Volume

• 0-10 links per month: Basic, manual tools work fine
• 10-50 links per month: Need some automation
• 50+ links per month: Need full-scale systems

1. Evaluate Integration Needs

• Do tools need to be connected to each other?
• Do you need client reporting features?
• Will data need to move between systems?

We recommend starting simple and adding tools as you identify specific problems.

The Real Costs: What to Budget for Tools

Tool costs add up quickly.

Here’s what to expect:

Entry-Level Stack

• Total estimated cost: £75-150 per month
• Capabilities: Basic prospecting, simple outreach, manual tracking
• Best for: New agencies, solo SEOs, small businesses

Growth Stack

• Total estimated cost: £200-350 per month
• Capabilities: Good prospecting, automated outreach, basic tracking
• Best for: Established agencies, in-house teams

Professional Stack

• Total estimated cost: £400-750 per month
• Capabilities: Advanced prospecting, multi-channel outreach, comprehensive tracking
• Best for: Dedicated link building teams, full-service agencies

Enterprise Stack

• Total estimated cost: £800+ per month
• Capabilities: Full automation, multi-user, API access, white-label
• Best for: Large agencies, multiple clients, high-volume campaigns

Ways to Save Money

• Look for annual discounts (usually 15-20% off)
• Check AppSumo for lifetime deals on newer tools
• Use free Google tools where possible
• Share accounts between team members (when allowed)
• Start with fewer tools and add as you grow

Common Tool Implementation Mistakes to Avoid

We’ve seen agencies waste money on tools.

Here’s what to avoid:

Mistake #1: Tool Overlap

Many agencies pay for multiple tools that do the same thing. Audit your stack regularly.

Mistake #2: Underutilization

Some teams only use 20% of a tool’s features but pay for 100%. Get proper training.

Mistake #3: Poor Integration

Tools that don’t talk to each other create manual work. Choose compatible systems.

Mistake #4: Ignoring Data Security

Free tools often collect and sell your outreach data. Understand privacy policies.

Mistake #5: Focusing on Features Over Results

A simpler tool that gets used beats a complex one that doesn’t. Prioritize adoption.

Future Link Building Tool Trends for 2025-2026

The tool landscape is changing.

Here’s what we’re seeing:

Trend #1: AI Integration

Tools now use AI to:

• Write personalized outreach at scale
• Predict which prospects will respond
• Suggest content angles that earn links

Trend #2: Automation Beyond Email

Newer tools connect with:

• LinkedIn for direct messaging
• Twitter for relationship-building
• Podcast platforms for guest opportunities

Trend #3: Improved Analytics

Modern tools track:

• Revenue impact of links
• Traffic changes from new links
• Competitor link velocity

Trend #4: All-In-One Solutions

The market is moving toward comprehensive platforms that handle the entire process.

How Often to Evaluate Your Tool Stack

We recommend reviewing your tools:

• Every 6 months for core tools
• After any strategy change
• When team size changes
• When budgets are reviewed

Ask team members which tools they find most helpful and which ones cause frustration.

Getting Started: Your First Month With New Tools

When implementing new backlink building tools:

1. Start with one area (prospecting, outreach, or monitoring)
2. Run a small test campaign (50-100 prospects)
3. Train your team thoroughly
4. Create standard processes for using each tool
5. Set realistic expectations for results

Most tools require 30-60 days to demonstrate their value fully.

Free Tool Stack Audit: Let’s Review Your Setup

Not sure if you’re using the right tools? We can help.

Book a free 30-minute consultation with our team. We’ll review your current tool stack setup and suggest improvements based on your goals.

Our lead SEO strategist, Daryl, has helped over 50 agencies optimize their tool stacks and can provide you with specific advice tailored to your situation.

Conclusion: Build a Tool Stack That Grows With You

The right backlink management tools make a massive difference in results. London’s top agencies constantly test and refine their tools to stay competitive.

Start with the basics, focus on tools that solve your specific challenges, and add more advanced options as you grow.

Remember that tools support strategy—they don’t replace it. The best agencies combine smart tools with creative approaches to build links that drive meaningful results.

What tools are you using now? Let us know in the comments what’s working for your team.