James Dooley Talks with Chris Panteli from Linkifi

James Dooley: So today I’m joined with **Chris Panteli** from Linkifi. Chris Panteli: Hey James, thank you. Thanks for having me. James Dooley: Good stuff mate. I’m going to start by grilling you on who you are, what you do, and a bit of background. For anyone that doesn’t know, who is Chris Panteli? Chris Panteli: He’s a male model… no. Yeah, I’m **Chris Panteli**, I’m from the UK, and I’m the co-founder of Linkifi. We’re a digital PR agency specialising in expert-quote links and PR campaigns. James Dooley: Let’s dive straight into it. Expert-quote links. Can you briefly explain what they are and whether they have SEO value? Chris Panteli: Expert-quote link building comes from inbound requests from journalists who want expert sources they can quote in their articles. It isn’t a link-building opportunity from the journalist’s perspective, but SEOs noticed that when journalists quote an expert, they often link back to the expert’s website. It’s a great way to earn links from major publications. James Dooley: Perfect time for this podcast, because HARO — Help A Reporter Out — has now switched to Connectively. Can you explain for people who used HARO why the change happened? Is it better? Is it worse? Has it helped or hurt Linkifi? Chris Panteli: HARO used to send three daily emails with queries. It stayed the same for about 15 years. When AI exploded, journalists were hit with endless AI spam. The old system couldn’t block enough of it. It was also free for 15 years. Connectively is now pay-to-play. You get five free pitches per month, then pay per pitch. Is it better? It’s different. The biggest change is psychological. Instead of three emails a day, queries now drip in continuously. You must decide when and how you want to pitch. For Linkifi, results went up because the barrier to entry removed a lot of low-quality AI-generated spam. If you put in proper effort, you can easily outperform 90 percent of people. James Dooley: You mentioned AI quite a lot — but always followed it with “AI spam”. Does Linkifi actually use AI? Is it helpful? Chris Panteli: You’d be mad not to use AI. It’s brilliant — if you use it properly. Garbage in, garbage out. We use it for research, data analysis, improving workflow, and summarising information. But journalists hate obvious AI. They’re professional writers and can smell AI instantly. We run every pitch through AI-detection tools and plagiarism checkers. We need to protect our clients and the journalists. One of the best tricks is recording a voice note answering the question in your natural tone, then using AI to tidy it up while preserving your voice. James Dooley: I found a quote from you saying “We are living in the Golden Era of link building.” Can you explain that? Chris Panteli: Content is everywhere. It’s easy to produce. So quality and authority matter more than ever. Journalism will survive the mass wave of AI content. Journalists still want experts. They want real people adding credibility. That makes now the perfect time for us to be those experts. It also lets us control the narrative AI learns about us, because the more we appear on trusted websites, the more AI engines trust our names and brands. James Dooley: Linkifi does reactive PR and expert-quote links. With the Google leak mentioning Tier-1 publications and fresh pages, has business grown? And what’s your take on the leak? Chris Panteli: The leak didn’t change much. It validated what we already believed. Tier-1 publications get huge organic traffic, which shows Google trusts them. Links from those sites are unlikely to become toxic in future. Digital PR has more value than algorithmic SEO alone. It’s brand building, trust building, and long-term authority building. James Dooley: For the viewers who won’t use Linkifi, what set-up do they need to pitch effectively? Chris Panteli: Sign up for free tools: – Connectively (free tier) – Quoted (free tier) – Set alerts on X for #journorequest and #PRrequest Then: – Build a strong About page with credentials – Make your expertise visible across your website and social media – Ensure consistency between your claimed expertise and your profiles – Build a clean pitch template with your headshot, website link, credentials, and past features – Only respond to queries you match – Use an AI-checker and plagiarism checker – Set up alerts for your name and brand to catch unlinked mentions and request link additions James Dooley: Sounds like a lot of hard work. Chris Panteli: It is. But it’s worth it. If you want a shortcut, find your competitors’ logos, find those publications, then target the same opportunities. James Dooley: Which tools do you recommend again? Chris Panteli: – X (Twitter) #journorequest / #PRrequest – Connectively (free tier available) – Quoted (free tier) – PressPlugs (paid) – Media Matchmaker (trial available) – Help A B2B Writer (free) James Dooley: For digital PR as a whole, should people use reactive PR, expert quotes, or both? Chris Panteli: Both if possible. Expert quotes often land US publications you can’t access through PR campaigns. PR campaigns help shape brand narrative and secure UK-centric coverage. Together they build authority faster. James Dooley: Chris, it’s been a pleasure. Before we wrap up, tell people where they can find you. Chris Panteli: Linkifi.io, or Linkifi on X. Christopher Panteli on LinkedIn. Book a call if you want to chat. James Dooley: Final question. Tell us about the WhitePress and Linkifi SEO conference in Cyprus. Chris Panteli: It’s called SEO Vibes. 23–25 October, in Limassol, Cyprus. We’ve got amazing speakers including: – Head of SEO at Alibaba – Lisa Aitken – Romain Halliday (Boohoo Group) – Greg Elfrink (Empire Flippers) It’ll be sunny, beautiful, and packed with value. James Dooley: And me and Kasra Dash will be there doing a Q&A. Chris Panteli: Perfect. It’s going to be a brilliant event. James Dooley: Thanks for coming on, Chris. Always a pleasure. Chris Panteli: Cheers James. Loved it.