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Backlink Marketplace

Setting a Backlink Campaign Budget

How to budget publisher fees, commission, content, and a revision reserve.

MPConsoleBoard Marketplace Team📅 Published October 1, 2026⏱ 7 min read

A backlink campaign budget covers publisher fees, the marketplace commission, content production, and a reserve for revisions or failed placements. Budgets that ignore the commission and revision reserve consistently overrun. This guide covers how to budget a marketplace campaign. See The Backlink Marketplace Buyer's Guide for the full process.

Budget components

ComponentWhat it coversTypical share
Publisher feesPayment to publishers for placementsLargest portion
Marketplace commissionPlatform fee per placementPercentage of publisher fee
Content productionWriting and editing the placement contentVaries by length
Revision reserveBuffer for revisions or failed placements10–20% of total

How to budget

  1. Define the number of placements needed.
  2. Estimate the average publisher fee per placement.
  3. Add the marketplace commission (percentage of publisher fees).
  4. Add content production costs (if the buyer provides content).
  5. Add a 10–20% revision reserve for unexpected revisions or failed placements.
  6. Sum all components for the total budget.

Primary sources

  • Link schemes — Google Search Central (accessed 2025-01-15)