22% of placed links disappear within 14 months — most teams never check

22% of placed links disappear within 14 months — most teams never check

Sample: 9,500 acquired links tracked from placement (n=9,500, rolling 24-month window). The blind spot is treating link building as build-once.

Survival curve:
— Month 6: 94% live
— Month 12: 84% live
— Month 18: 78% live
— Month 24: 73% live

Guest posts on low-maintenance sites and PBN-adjacent placements drop fastest; editorial mentions on staffed publications survive longest.

Run a quarterly live-link audit and renegotiate or replace any link gone within the agreed retention window.