🔗 Overview
Before you buy a placement in LinkLab, you may want to know which site your link will appear on, whether you can change a site that cannot fulfill the order, how long delivery will take, and whether the link is dofollow or nofollow. This article explains what the catalog shows before checkout and what happens if a publisher cannot complete the placement.
Note: Details can vary by placement type and by the specific listing or order. Always treat the information shown on your listing, cart, or order page as the final word for that purchase.
🌐 Seeing the Full Domain Before Purchase
What you see before checkout depends on the type of placement you choose:
- If the listing shows the full domain, you can review it before you buy. Marquee listings always show it, and some accounts have publisher visibility turned on so every listing shows it.
- Every LinkLab listing is a specific site. When the domain is masked, you still see that site's metrics, such as Domain Authority, Domain Rating, traffic, and Domain Power, but not its full name.
If the listing masks the domain, the full name is not available on the listing, cart, or order page before you pay.
- Open the listing and review the site metrics. The domain name is shown in full only when the listing is unmasked.
- If the domain is masked, use the metrics shown for that site, including topic categories and authority or traffic numbers, to decide whether it fits.
- If your team requires the domain up front, ask in the chat widget before you place the order, and ask whether it can be shared.
Asking before purchase avoids surprises, and it is the best way to get an answer you can rely on.
✋ Rejecting an Assigned Site Before It Goes Live
You choose the site before checkout. If that publisher later cannot fulfill the placement, the order status changes to Pending Action and you can review replacement sites before a new one is published. You can pick one, use Choose for Me, or refund the HDC for that placement.
To give yourself the best chance of a smooth rejection:
- Check your order status regularly so you see the assignment as soon as it appears.
- Review the site against your requirements, such as relevance to your niche, content quality, and the sites you want to avoid.
- If the assigned publisher cannot fulfill the placement, open the order while it says Pending Action and choose a replacement, Choose for Me, or Refund HDC. Do this before the link is published; include the order only if you also contact support through the Intercom chat.
Once a link is published, changes are more limited, so act while the order still says Pending Action if a replacement or refund is offered. LinkLab does not let you pre-approve a rejection right before purchase.
⏱️ Understanding Turnaround Times
Turnaround differs by publisher and publication. Expand the listing's offers to see the Turnaround label, which is based on how long similar placements recently took and can range from less than an hour to more than 7 days.
- A short Turnaround, such as less than a day or less than 3 days, means that publisher's recent placements were delivered quickly. It is not a separate order type.
- A longer Turnaround, including more than 7 days, means that publisher's recent placements took longer. The listing does not break this down into outreach, content creation, or editorial approval.
A few things can also affect timing:
- How quickly content or details are approved on your side
- The publisher's editorial calendar and review process
- Revisions requested after the first draft
The estimate on your listing and order page is the one to rely on for that purchase. If your order is taking longer than that estimate, send us your order number in chat and we will check its status.
🏷️ Tagging Links as rel="sponsored"
The rel="sponsored" attribute tells search engines that a link is paid or part of an advertising arrangement. Google recommends it for paid links.
Here is what to keep in mind:
- Whether a link carries the sponsored tag can depend on the publisher's policy and the placement type.
- If you need every link tagged as sponsored, for compliance or risk-management reasons, say so in chat before you order so we can confirm what is possible.
- Sponsored links are labeled for transparency. They may pass less ranking value than standard links, but they are the safer choice when following search engine guidelines is your priority.
After your link goes live, you can check its attribute by viewing the page source or using a browser extension that highlights link attributes.
✅ Pre-Purchase Checklist
- Check whether the listing shows the full domain or only criteria.
- Decide whether you need to see the domain before paying, and ask in chat if it is not shown.
- Confirm whether you can reject an assigned site, and how to do it.
- Read the turnaround estimate on the listing and order page.
- Confirm whether you need the link tagged as sponsored.
- Keep your order number handy for any follow-up.
💬 Need More Help?
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be instantly connected with a member of our team.