James Dooley Talks with Chris Panteli from Linkifi
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What Does “James Dooley Talks with Chris Panteli from Linkifi” Talk About?
In this episode of the Fatrank Podcast, James Dooley sits down with Chris Pantelli, co-founder of Linkify, to explore the world of expert quote link building and digital PR. They break down exactly how expert quote links work, explaining that journalists sourcing quotes for their articles often link back to the expert's website, creating powerful inbound links from top-tier publications. The conversation covers the major shift from HARO to Connectively, including how the move to a paid model has actually reduced AI spam and improved results for agencies like Linkify by raising the barrier to entry.
The discussion digs into how AI fits into the digital PR landscape, with Chris making a clear distinction between AI spam and smart AI usage. He shares practical workflow tips, including a voice-note trick to preserve an authentic tone while speeding up pitch writing. James and Chris also reference the Google leak and how it validated the importance of tier one publications and fresh pages, reinforcing digital PR as a long-term, safer strategy compared to PBNs or niche edits. They also touch on how brand mentions across trusted publications shape what AI models learn about a business, making PR relevant well beyond traditional SEO.
Toward the end of the episode, Chris provides a practical DIY guide for those who want to run their own digital PR efforts, covering free and paid tools like Connectively, Quoted, Press Plugs, Media Matchmaker, and Twitter hashtags like journorequest and PRrequest. The episode wraps up with a preview of the SEO Vibes conference in Limassol, Cyprus, a joint venture between Linkify and WhitePress featuring speakers from major brands including Alibaba and Boohoo.
“Getting featured builds brands and controls the narrative that AI will learn from. The more our names and businesses and messages are out there, the more we control what AI says about us.”
— Chris Pantelli
Who Are the Guests on “James Dooley Talks with Chris Panteli from Linkifi”?
Chris Pantelli is the co-founder of Linkify, a UK-based digital PR agency specialising in expert quote link building and PR campaigns. With deep experience sourcing placements in major publications, Chris has spoken at events like the Dubai SEO Conference and co-organises the SEO Vibes conference in Cyprus. He brings a practical, results-driven perspective on how digital PR intersects with modern SEO, AI entity building, and brand authority.
James Dooley is the host of the Fatrank Podcast and a well-known figure in the SEO industry. James brings a sharp interviewing style and real-world business perspective to each episode, often drawing on his own experience with outsourcing and scaling digital operations. He is known for cutting through theory and pressing guests for actionable insights that his audience can apply directly.
What Are the Key Takeaways From “James Dooley Talks with Chris Panteli from Linkifi”?
Here are the key points discussed in this episode:
- Expert quote link building works by responding to journalist requests for sources, which often results in inbound links from high-authority, tier one publications as a byproduct of being quoted.
- The transition from HARO to Connectively has actually benefited serious practitioners because the small cost barrier eliminated mass AI spam and improved the signal-to-noise ratio for genuine pitches.
- AI can be used productively in digital PR by helping rewrite pitches in your own tone, with a recommended workflow of voice-noting your answer and using AI to clean it up while preserving your authentic voice.
- The Google leak validated what digital PR practitioners already believed, that fresh pages on tier one publications carry significant trust signals, making PR a safer long-term strategy than PBNs or niche edits.
- Digital PR now extends beyond SEO because AI models extract entity data from published stories, meaning consistent coverage in trusted publications directly influences how AI systems understand and represent a brand.
“Journalists want quotable expert commentary with a unique voice. Not something ChatGPT spits out. AI can massively improve workflow and speed. It's great for analysing data and cross-analysing documents. But the pitches sent to journalists need originality. Journalists can smell AI.”
— Chris Pantelli
Is “James Dooley Talks with Chris Panteli from Linkifi” Worth Listening To?
This episode is worth listening to for anyone trying to understand why digital PR has become a central pillar of modern SEO strategy rather than a nice-to-have add-on. Chris Pantelli explains the mechanics of expert quote link building with genuine clarity, covering not just what it is but why it works, how it has evolved with the HARO to Connectively transition, and how to do it well in an era of AI-generated noise. The insights around AI are particularly valuable, drawing a practical line between AI as spam and AI as a workflow tool, with a memorable and immediately usable tip about voice-noting pitches to preserve tone.
The conversation also offers a broader strategic perspective that goes beyond link building. Chris makes a compelling case for why PR matters in the context of AI-driven search, arguing that the entities and narratives published across trusted sources shape what AI models say about your brand. Combined with the practical DIY toolkit covering Connectively, Quoted, Press Plugs, and Twitter hashtags, this episode delivers both the strategic rationale and the tactical steps to get started. The bonus discussion about the SEO Vibes conference in Cyprus adds a community dimension that makes this a well-rounded listen for anyone serious about building authority online.
Who Should Listen to “James Dooley Talks with Chris Panteli from Linkifi”?
This episode is ideal for:
- SEO professionals looking to diversify their link building strategy with legitimate, high-authority placements from tier one publications
- Digital marketing agency owners and freelancers who want to understand how digital PR fits into a broader SEO service offering
- Business owners and entrepreneurs who want to build their personal brand and control their online narrative across trusted media
- Content marketers and PR practitioners trying to understand how expert quote outreach intersects with modern search engine signals and AI-driven rankings
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What Are Listeners Saying About This Episode?
“The breakdown of what actually changed when HARO became Connectively was exactly what I needed. Chris explains it in a really balanced way, acknowledging the frustrations while making a clear case for why the shift actually helps people doing this properly. Immediately signed up for the free account after watching.”
“The voice-note tip alone was worth my time. I have been struggling to make AI-assisted pitches sound like me and that simple workflow solves it. Really practical episode with no fluff, just two people who clearly know what they are talking about.”
“I appreciate that they covered the DIY route honestly rather than just pushing Linkify the whole time. The tools list with Connectively, Quoted, and the Twitter hashtags gave me a real starting point. Also the point about chasing unlinked mentions being 40 to 60 percent of client links was genuinely surprising to me.”
James Dooley and Chris Pantelli analyse modern digital PR because expert quote links, reactive PR, and tier one publication coverage shape authority signals across the web. Their discussion shows how journalists cite credible experts because credible sources improve article quality. Link placement strengthens brand visibility because Google trusts fresh pages on high authority domains. Chris argues that PR now matters more than ever because AI models extract entity data from published stories, which influences rankings and reputation. The conversation positions digital PR as essential infrastructure because search engines reward brands that demonstrate expertise, visibility, and consistency across platforms.
James Dooley: So today I'm joined with Chris Pantelli from Linkify.
Chris Pantelli: Hey James. Thank you. Thanks for having me.
James Dooley: Good stuff mate. Good stuff. I'm going to start grilling you now with who you are and what you do and your bit of background. So for anyone that doesn't know who is Chris Pantelli.
Chris Pantelli: Uh he's a male model. No. Yeah Chris Pantelli. I'm from the UK and I co-founder of Linkify. So we are a digital PR agency specialising in expert quote links and PR campaigns.
James Dooley: So let's dive straight into it then. Expert quote links. Can you briefly explain for anyone that doesn't know what expert quote links is and has it got SEO value.
Chris Pantelli: Yeah so expert quote link building is inbound requests from journalists looking to source experts that they can quote in their article. It's not a link building opportunity per se from the journalist perspective but as seos we noticed that often times the journalists when they quote an expert they will link back to the expert’s website or the website that the expert is representing and therefore it is a wonderful opportunity to win links from some of the world's biggest publications.
James Dooley: So obviously it's a great time to be doing a podcast with yourself because recently HARO, Help A Reporter Out, has now upgraded to Connectively. So can you explain a little bit about for anyone that knows about HARO why the change. Is it better. The dashboard now. Is it making it harder for people who are trying to do expert quote link building. Has it made it better for Linkify. Why have they upgraded and is it good or is it bad for you as a company.
Chris Pantelli: Yeah so it used to be three emails a day. Anyone that knows the old system or remembers it. It's been around for nearly 15 years. It was three emails a day from multiple journalists sourcing experts. Everybody got very used to that. Fifteen years is a long time to be doing something the same way. As the introduction of AI became prevalent maybe 20 months ago journalists were getting bombarded with AI spam. Although there were some blocking systems with the old system it wasn't enough for journalists not to be annoyed by the mass onset of AI spam. Anything in SEO that’s good gets taken over quickly and becomes a bad thing. Also it was free. It had been free for 15 years. Peter Shankman the original founder started it as a free way to connect journalists with expert sources. The new system is now pay to play. You’ve got to pay if you want to play. It's not prohibitively expensive but there is a cost. You get five free pitches per month and then on top of that any additional pitches you want to do there's a cost. Is it better. It's different. It takes some getting used to. The biggest change is the psychology behind it. You used to get three emails a day and you'd maybe set aside time to look through and pitch. Now it's a continual roll of source requests dripping in continually. So now you have to decide how to approach it. Us as an agency we find it better. Our results have gone up because the barrier to entry even though small is there. Those mass AI spam systems are wiped out. If you want to be involved you’ve got to pay a small amount which means less AI spam. It’s a golden opportunity to create better pitches than people who pay but don’t take care. If you go one step above you will beat 90 percent of what’s being sent in.
James Dooley: So what was interesting then is several times you mentioned AI but you followed it with AI spam. Obviously artificial intelligence is everywhere. Does Chris Pantelli at Linkify use AI. Garbage in garbage out. It's how good your prompts are. Not all AI is spam. Some can be used in a good way. Is Linkify using AI in any way to integrate further growth.
Chris Pantelli: I think you’d be mad not to be using AI. It’s fantastic. But it's how you use it. I spoke at Dubai SEO conference last year about how journalists choose what they want and what they don't want. You should be using AI. We do. But the best thing you can do is have individuality to the voice and the English language you're using. Journalists want quotable expert commentary with a unique voice. Not something ChatGPT spits out. AI can massively improve workflow and speed. It's great for analysing data and cross-analysing documents. But the pitches sent to journalists need originality. Journalists can smell AI. They won't read past the first sentence if it’s obviously AI. They also need to protect their reputations. Publications may ban AI. So journalists will use AI detection tools. You need to pass those tools. AI can help rewrite things in your tone of voice. A really neat trick is to voice-note your answer on your phone for five minutes, then feed the messy text into AI with a prompt to keep your tone but tidy it up. You get a strong pitch that passes AI and plagiarism and is in your own voice.
James Dooley: Great knowledge bomb there. I like that. So as I've come to interview Chris Pantelli at Linkify I wanted to dig into what you've said recently. There's a quote where you said we are living in the golden era of link building. Can you explain what you mean.
Chris Pantelli: What we're noticing is content is everywhere now. It's easy to produce. The distinguishing features now are quality and where it’s coming from. News publications and journalistic content will survive AI mass production. Journalists enhance their articles by quoting experts. So this is a great time for us to be those experts. Getting featured builds brands and controls the narrative that AI will learn from. The more our names and businesses and messages are out there, the more we control what AI says about us.
James Dooley: Linkify does reactive PR campaigns and expert quote link building. For anyone wanting to know the difference check the link in the description. I'm now going to ask about the Google leak. Because the leak talks about tier one publications and fresh pages which screams digital PR. The SEO community now seems obsessed with fresh T1 links. Has business grown because of the leak. What’s your thoughts.
Chris Pantelli: It hasn’t really changed much for us. It just validated what we were already saying. Tier one publications get huge organic traffic which shows Google trusts them. Getting links there is safer long term than PBNS or Niche edits. The leak validated that tier one publications and fresh pages matter. PR goes beyond SEO. PR is older than the internet. PR builds brands and touchpoints. PR affects what AI learns about you. It grows E-E-A-T. When a human quality rater reviews your site, being featured in trusted publications helps you pass.
James Dooley: With digital PR you've sold the viewers. They all want to do digital PR. But for whatever reason they don't want to use Chris Pantelli. They think you look like my business partner Scott. They don't want to use Linkify. So if they want to do it themselves what setup, what profile, what visibility is needed.
Chris Pantelli: Sign up for the free platforms. Free Connectively account. Set alerts on X for #journorequest and #PRrequest. Make sure your about page reflects your credentials. You must look like an expert. Everything needs to be visible on your site and your social profiles. Consistency matters. Build a clean pitch template. Go for opportunities that match your expertise. Use AI detection and plagiarism checks. Set alerts on your name because 40 to 60 percent of our client links come after the fact from unlinked mentions. Chase those mentions and get the links added.
James Dooley: Sounds like a lot of hard work to me Chris. Anyone watching knows if I'm building an extension I get the bricklayer, the roofer, the electrician. For me it’s just better to outsource to people like Linkify.
Chris Pantelli: You can absolutely do it on your own. My advice for people with no budget is to find competitors, see what logos they’ve got, find those opportunities on the platforms, and pitch those exact ones.
James Dooley: Just a couple of things. If people are doing it themselves you mentioned tools. HARO has changed to Connectively. Is it pay and play or free tier. You mentioned Quoted. Press Plugs. Twitter hashtags. What's the four things people should do.
Chris Pantelli: Twitter with #journorequest and #PRrequest. Connectively free account with five free pitches. Quoted has a free tier. Press Plugs is paid. Media Matchmaker has a decent trial. Help A B2B Writer is free. All good places to source requests.
James Dooley: So last bits. Digital PR as a whole. Should people do everything or specialise.
Chris Pantelli: More referring domains brings more authority. If budget allows then yes do everything. Expert quotes get US-centric unique domains. PR campaigns get different publications. Both support each other. Both make you more visible to more journalists.
James Dooley: Well anyway Chris it's been an absolute pleasure interviewing you. Check the links in the description. I dig deeper into HARO to Connectively, why seos should use expert commentary, etc. For anyone that doesn't know where to find you, where's the best place.
Chris Pantelli: Linkify.io. Linkify on X. Christopher Pantelli on LinkedIn. Book a call. Or see me at a conference soon.
James Dooley: Chris Pantelli at Linkify it's been an absolute pleasure. Before we leave can you explain the WhitePress and Linkify joint venture SEO conference in Cyprus for anyone without tickets.
Chris Pantelli: Yes. SEO Vibes. With WhitePress and Linkify. October 23rd to 25th in Limassol Cyprus. Beautiful weather. Great speakers including the head of SEO at Alibaba, Lisa from Boohoo, Roman Halliday, Greg Elfrink from Empire Flippers.
James Dooley: Just so you know they’ve got a secret assassin, me and Kasra are coming. We’re doing a Q&A. I love the SEO Vibes conferences. They’re not a profit-making machine. They provide value worldwide. Massive hats off to WhitePress. I'm excited. Hope you've enjoyed the interview with Chris Pantelli from Linkify. Leave a comment and check out the other videos.
Chris Pantelli: Cheers James. It's been awesome.
James Dooley: Cheers mate.
Creators & Guests
Guest
Chris Panteli is the co-founder of UK-based digital PR link building agency, Linkifi. Chris Panteli's also the co-host of the Market Movers podcast.
Host
James Dooley is the founder of FatRank which is a UK lead generation company. James Dooley is the current CEO of FatRank that provides high-quality leads for UK business owners.