right, so i see people talking about resource pages like they're some white hat paradise. i just ran a split test for six months and the results are kinda funny. built out 20 legitimate resource page links through outreach for one client - we're talking hours of work per link, finding relevant pages, writing custom summaries. spent maybe $3k on labor if you bill it out. got a grand total of 14 referring domains from it and a serp bump that lasted maybe 8 weeks before fading. for another project in the same niche, i just bought placements on existing resource pages that were already pbn-adjacent. not full-blown spammy directories but you know the type - decent design, actual content around the links. spent $800 total on 15 links. those serps have held steady for over five months now with a clearer traffic climb. the metrics are almost identical on paper but one method costs triple and underperforms. i'm not saying go full black hat, lmao. but this 'pure' white hat resource page play feels like paying extra for the moral high ground while your competitor buys the same link cheaper and faster. am i missing something or is this just how any of this works now?