How to write a placement brief
A placement brief is the one-page instruction to the writer and publisher for a single link. It fixes the article angle, the target page, the acceptable anchors, where the link sits and what gets checked when it goes live.
In short
- A brief covers eleven fields, from the campaign objective to the acceptance checks at go-live.
- Plan anchors for the whole profile and not link by link, then give the writer two or three acceptable variants and let the sentence decide.
- A common working split sends 40% to 60% of links to the homepage and brand pages, with the rest shared between informational assets and commercial pages. It is a starting point, not a measured rule.
- The link belongs in the main body, in the first half of the article, inside a sentence a reader would want to click.
A placement brief is the instruction for one link. It goes to whoever writes the article and, in part, to the publisher. A good brief means the link you approved is the link that goes live: right page, right words, right place, agreed terms. A missing brief is how you end up with an exact-match anchor in an author bio on a page that is not indexed.
Write the brief after the publisher has passed vetting, and before anyone drafts a word.
The eleven fields
| # | Field | What it records |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Campaign and objective | Which group of pages the link supports and why |
| 2 | Publisher context | Site, section, audience, tone, word count, examples of their best posts |
| 3 | Topic and angle | An article that serves the publisher’s readers first |
| 4 | Target URL | The page that receives the link |
| 5 | Anchor text | Two or three acceptable variants |
| 6 | Placement in the page | Where the link sits in the article |
| 7 | Surrounding context | What appears around the link |
| 8 | Attributes and labelling | The agreed rel value and any “sponsored” label |
| 9 | Technical requirements | Indexable, in the sitemap, self-referencing canonical, linked from a category page |
| 10 | Prohibited content | What must not appear |
| 11 | Acceptance and QA | Who approves the draft and what is checked at go-live |
Topic and angle
The article has to earn its place on the publisher’s site. Pick a topic the publisher’s audience would read without your link in it, and aim it at a keyword the article itself can rank for. Pages that attract their own traffic tend to pass more value and are less likely to be deleted when the publisher prunes old content.
Choosing the landing page
Three rules decide the target.
Match intent. An informational article links naturally to a guide, a tool or a piece of research. A comparison article can link to a commercial page without looking forced.
Check the page is fit to receive a link. It should return a 200 status, be indexable and have a correct canonical. Never point a link at a page that is noindexed, redirected, thin or about to be migrated.
Keep the profile in proportion. A common working split is 40% to 60% of links to the homepage and brand pages, 20% to 30% to informational assets and 20% to 30% to commercial pages. This is practitioner convention, not a figure from Google or from a study. Adjust it to what the profiles of the ranking competitors look like.
If your appetite for risk is low, link to an asset that links internally to the commercial page, and not to the commercial page itself. Which pages need links explains why that works.
Anchors
Plan anchors for the whole profile, then allocate them to placements. If you choose anchors one link at a time, every brief ends up asking for the keyword.
Google publishes no safe ratio, so any percentage is a heuristic. One published example, a 2026 guide for iGaming from the agency ICODA, suggests 50% to 60% branded, 20% to 30% partial-match or topical, 5% to 10% exact-match and 10% to 15% generic or naked URL. Treat that as one agency’s view for one market. Benchmarking against the pages that already rank is safer than any universal ratio.
In the brief itself:
- Give the writer two or three acceptable variants and let the sentence decide.
- Do not repeat an exact-match anchor from the same publisher.
- Do not use an anchor that fails to describe the target page.
The anchor text lesson covers the types and the evidence.
Placement and surrounding context
Ask for the link in the main body, in the first half of the article, inside a sentence that a reader would want to click. Reject a link that appears only in the author bio, in a “resources” list at the end, or beside a competitor’s link.
Around the link, the brief should ask for three things: your brand or entity named near the link, related terms in the same paragraph, and one or two other outbound links to authoritative sources that do not compete with you. Those sources should not always be Wikipedia.
Attributes, labelling and technical terms
State the agreed rel value and whether the article carries a “sponsored” label. Google’s spam policies treat a paid link as compliant only when it carries rel=“sponsored” or rel=“nofollow”. Whether your business follows that or knowingly accepts the policy risk is a decision for your link buying policy, not for the writer.
Advertising disclosure law applies to paid content whatever the SEO position. In regulated sectors such as gambling, finance and health, compliance should approve the copy.
The technical line is short: the article is indexable, in the sitemap, has a self-referencing canonical, is linked from a category page and has no interstitial in front of it.
A filled example
The business and publisher below are invented to show the format.
| Field | Example entry |
|---|---|
| Campaign and objective | Q4 authority for the invoicing guides group. Goal: support the guide hub that links internally to the pricing page |
| Publisher context | Small-business finance blog, “Running a business” section. Readers are sole traders. Plain tone, 1,000 to 1,200 words. Vetting score 82 |
| Topic and angle | “How to chase a late invoice without losing the client”, aimed at a late-payment keyword the article can rank for |
| Target URL | The invoice template guide. Informational, indexable, returns 200, canonical correct |
| Anchor variants | “free invoice template guide”, “this invoice template”, or the brand name plus “invoice templates” |
| Placement | Main body, first half, in the paragraph on what a clear invoice must contain |
| Surrounding context | Brand named in the same paragraph. Terms such as payment terms and due date nearby. One link to the government page on late payment rules |
| Attributes and labelling | rel=“sponsored”, with the publisher’s standard “partner content” label |
| Technical | Indexable, in the sitemap, self-referencing canonical, linked from the section page |
| Prohibited | No competitor mentions, no links to restricted niches, no unedited AI text, no statistics without a source |
| Acceptance and QA | Strategist approves the draft. Link ops checks the live page within 48 hours before payment is released |
What to check when it goes live
Within two days of publication, confirm that the page is live on the agreed domain and section, that the link is present in the rendered page with the right target, anchor and rel value, and that nothing blocks indexing. Check that no competitor or restricted-niche link has been added beside yours. Save a screenshot, update the tracker and only then release payment.
Where to go next
Once the link is live, how to track backlinks covers the checks that follow. For the mechanics of each placement type, see paid guest posts and niche edits.
Common questions
What is a placement brief in link building?
It is the written instruction for one placement. It tells the writer and the publisher what the article is about, which page to link to, which anchors are acceptable, where the link goes and what the agreed terms are.
How many anchor options should a brief give?
Two or three. One fixed anchor forces awkward sentences and repeated phrases across publishers. A short list lets the writer pick the one that fits.
Which page should a guest post link to?
Match the page to the article's intent. Informational articles link naturally to guides and tools, while comparison articles can link to commercial pages. Never link to a page that is noindexed, redirected, thin or about to move.
Where in the article should the link go?
In the main body, in the first half, inside a sentence that makes sense to click. Avoid links that appear only in the author bio or in a list of resources at the end.
