Community Highlights: Meet Roman Malyshev And Alex Karnaukh of LinkBuilder.com

Today we’d like to introduce you to Roman Malyshev And Alex Karnaukh.

Roman Malyshev and Alex Karnaukh, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Roman:

My name is Roman Malyshev, and I’m a co-founder of LinkBuilder.com. I’ve been working in SEO and link building for more than 10 years and have personally experienced most of the challenges that specialists face when building backlinks for brands.

Alex:

I’m Alex Karnaukh, also a co-founder of LinkBuilder.com. I come from a strong SEO background and have been deeply involved in link building in practice for a long time.

We met long before the launch of their agency – at an SEO conference in Kremenchuk, Ukraine.

At that time, there was no talk of business plans or startups. It was simply a conversation between two people with shared professional interests.

Roman:

Later, one of us joined a company where the other was already working in SEO. After that, we crossed paths again – this time in marketing. And somehow, quite naturally, we started discussing potential joint projects.

At some point, we realized that we wanted to build a global IT product for the SEO community. Together, we founded LinkBuilder.com with the goal of making link building more transparent, convenient, and scalable for specialists, agencies, and businesses worldwide.

Today, LinkBuilder.com operates internationally and works with clients all over the world. In 2025, we took another important step in our global expansion by opening an office in the United States, in Santa Ana, California.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Alex:

It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. One of the biggest challenges was building the right team and processes. We started with just a simple Google spreadsheet, then grew to a small team of developers. However, creating a proper SaaS product required establishing clear roles and modern development processes, which took us almost the entire year to finalize.

Another major challenge was the interface. We redesigned it three times. The first two versions didn’t work well – users found them confusing and overloaded. Only the third version, built after we had clear processes and a professional UI approach, truly solved the problem.

Roman:

Branding was another turning point. Our service was first called LinkBuilderHelper with a hard-to-remember domain (linkbdhelper.com). We realized we needed a strong, global brand. We managed to acquire the domain linkbuilder.com and successfully trademark it in Europe, which was a pivotal but challenging step.

Remote work also created difficulties. For a long time, we worked without meeting in person. Once we finally came together in one place, decision-making became faster, and the project moved to a completely new level.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Roman:

Our work revolves around solving the core problem of price transparency and efficiency in link-building.

Our primary product is the LinkBuilder.com SaaS platform. It allows link-builders to compare prices for backlink placements across all major link marketplaces in real-time. Prices for the same site can vary wildly – from $150 on one platform to $750 on another. Our tool automates this comparison, saving specialists enormous time and money.

Alex:

Alongside the software, we also provide professional link-building services. This direction emerged naturally: many users explored the platform and then asked us to manage the entire process for them.

As a result, we built an ecosystem where software and services complement each other. We offer crowd links, outreach, and other link-building solutions using our own internal systems and databases. We work with clients globally – SEO specialists, agencies, digital PR teams, and businesses – across different markets and time zones.

Opening our office in Santa Ana in 2025 solidifies our commitment to serving the North American market directly. It allows us to be closer to a major segment of our clients, understand their needs better, and build stronger relationships. The Santa Ana office is now an integral part of our structure.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
(Can we give some advice instead?)

Roman:

Transparency is critical. Whether you’re building a product or choosing a link building partner, always separate the cost of services from the cost of placements. Ask clear questions and expect clear answers – strong businesses are built on trust.

Also, educate yourself and use tools to verify value. For instance, if someone quotes you $10,000 for a link, use available tools (like ours) to check the site’s real metrics and fair market price to avoid overpaying.

Alex:

Invest in quality over quantity. The market is moving towards authority. Links from small, low-quality sites are becoming less effective and will continue to do so. Focus on securing placements on authoritative, growing websites, even if they are more expensive upfront – their value will likely increase.

We also don’t recommend relying on freelancers for large or long-term projects. Without systems, automation, and accountability, the risks are too high. Scalable results come from teams, processes, and long-term thinking.

Finally, build something you truly believe in and would use yourself. We were our own first clients, and that belief helped us grow from a simple spreadsheet into an international product with a global vision.

Pricing:

• Complex link building – from $2000/month

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linkbuilder.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linkbuildercom
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/linkbuildercom
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/linkbuildercom