Link building team workflow: triangular model in practice

Executive overview

Most link building teams use a linear model where prospector, vetter, and outreach manager work sequentially. The triangular model runs these roles in parallel across multiple campaigns simultaneously, dramatically increasing throughput.

Parallelising across campaigns — not tasks — is what makes the triangular model fast.

The triangular model vs. linear model

• Linear model: each role waits for the previous to finish before starting
• Triangular model: prospector hands off and immediately starts the next campaign
• Vetter begins with blitz list prospects (valid emails first) to quickly validate the outreach angle
• Outreach manager drafts templates during prospecting, not after
• No campaign is fully completed before the next one begins validation

Prospector's workflow

• Start with a brainstorm meeting with the content lead; establish linkable pages and pitch angles
• Create a card per campaign in the project management tool with target URLs and guidance notes
• Research competing pages in Ahrefs Site Explorer; export prospects by segment
• Build a master Google Sheet: note linkable points, segment sizes, and reference details
• Filter out spam domains, irrelevant footprints (e.g. /job, /forum), and deduplicate by root domain
• Filter by traffic metrics (e.g. remove domains with fewer than 200 organic visits)
• Run a blitz list to surface valid email addresses quickly
• Hand off to the vetter via the project management tool; pick up the next campaign

Vetter's workflow

• Start with valid emails from the blitz list — fastest way to validate the outreach angle
• Visit each page and apply the vetting checklist; mark as Ready or Disqualified
• Ping the outreach manager once the blitz list batch is vetted
• Move to the next campaign while the outreach manager sends the first batch
• Once a campaign is validated (e.g. ~9.5% conversion rate), manually vet remaining URLs and find email addresses for qualified prospects
• Ping the outreach manager daily with each new batch before logging off

Outreach manager's workflow

• Receive the segment research sheet early — before the master list is built
• Draft email templates per segment while prospecting and vetting are still running
• Set up the campaign in the outreach tool in advance
• On receiving the vetted blitz list, export contacts with Ready status
• Change status from Ready to Sent before uploading to avoid duplicate sends
• Upload to outreach tool and send

Scaling and quality considerations

• A three-person team can send hundreds to thousands of personalised emails per week
• Output depends on vetting strictness and prospect volume
• High volume without quality is just complicated spam — results require creativity and personalisation
• Extra time spent on vetting and personalisation pays off in effectiveness