Realistic Link Building Strategies That Work

Every backlink your domain receives from other websites is confirmation that your resource has value. Primarily, backlinks techniques are used for SEO. By applying link building SEO techniques, you send a signal to search engines that these pages deserve ranking. A domain linking to you shares its reputation with you.

The second reason to create a link building plan today is that you will find your target audience and gain more clients (provided everything is done precisely). To do everything correctly, however, you need this backlink tracking techniques comprehensive guide.

Now, let’s break it down step by step: what you need to know, how to act, what to do, and how to check afterward whether everything worked out as you intended.

7 Fundamentals that Every Link Building Strategy Needs

Link building techniques in SEO are constantly evolving: new promotion methods are added, and fresh ideas emerge. But even when you adopt new link building techniques, you still need to follow the basic principles that have not changed since the internet began:

1. Quality always outweighs quantity. Acquire 10 high-quality backlinks from trusted domains instead of 500 from low-quality sites with minimal traffic and high spam rates.
2. Relevance is a measure of organic value. Your ideal backlink strategy should focus on getting mentions in publications that share a similar niche. For example, a recipe website links to specific products, and a construction site links to suppliers of quality materials. This appears organic and harmonious in the eyes of search engines, and it also brings genuinely interested audiences to your site.
3. All link building activities require creating quality content. Create linkable assets: reviews, research, case studies, interactive tools, articles, guides. High-quality content is the best bait for organic backlinks.
4. Diversify. Apply a variety of link building strategies in SEO. This way, you gain links of different types, and your profile looks natural and alive. Imagine having backlinks only from guest posts – nothing else. That looks suspicious and yields less effect. Work with different backlink building techniques.
5. Focus on value for your website visitors. The main goal of a link-building strategy is not just higher ranking but also gaining your share of the audience. So, take care of your user in advance: make your site convenient, intuitive, and provide valuable, useful content.
6. User experience matters more than you think. If a page loads slowly or returns a 404 error, even if authoritative domains link to it, these efforts are wasted.
7. Be consistent. Apply off-page link building techniques continuously, not just once. Backlink techniques are always a marathon, always a long-term game. You need to regularly post new content, conduct outreach, measure results, adapt strategies, implement the latest link building strategies, and build long-term relationships with editors and other site owners in niches related to yours.

Types of Link-Building Strategies

What is a backlink strategy? An SEO link building strategy is a set of actions and measures you take to acquire high-quality backlinks to your website. The strategy includes a step-by-step plan that allows you to establish partnerships with other editors or platform owners and “sell” them the idea that linking to your website is a smart and mutually beneficial decision. And since the first link building strategies appeared around the same time as the first websites, you now have plenty of successful examples to follow. You can take a ready-made link building strategy template, properly adapt it to the specifics of your resource, its niche, budget, and other characteristics, and you are confidently growing your backlink profile!

In general, all link building strategies for SEO can be divided into several categories:

1. Content-dependent link building strategies – these include solutions such as guest posts, research publications, product reviews, and so on.
2. Technical link building tactics – for example, broken link building or creating resource pages.
3. SEO link building strategies based on partnerships – these include joint case studies (for example, when a case is published by the contractor and the client), various collaborations (“I mention you, you mention me”), and the interview format, which also belongs to partnership-based link building ideas.

Among these, the easiest link building techniques are those where you immediately feel capable of doing them. For example, if you are already known in a particular field, an interview with a company owner is a simple and effective solution.

Effective Link Building Strategies: Beyond Backlink Mechanics

What is the best link building strategy? The answer will vary in each case. However, you can choose a good link building strategy from those that are proven to work.

Top-32 Link-Building Techniques

Browser extensions

This is not the most obvious among link building techniques, but it delivers excellent results. Create a browser extension that represents certain features of your main product. This way, you will attract attention to it and get a link to your site by leaving it in the extension description. If users like this functionality, you may also gain additional conversions.

Free tools

Various online calculators, converters, and even simple randomizers work great. A currency converter on a finance-related website is an excellent backlink strategy example using free tools.

Broken link building

Find large, reputable sites in your niche. Analyze their articles for broken backlinks. Contact the website editors and offer to replace their broken link with a working one that points to your relevant material.

Guest posting

This belongs to easy link building techniques and is used especially often. The idea is to offer other web resources a prepared article that meets the donor site’s requirements. In the guest post, you include a link to your platform and achieve results.

Link bait (creating bait content, interactive assets, studies)

This is also a great example of quality link building techniques. The optimizer’s task is to create high-quality content that is useful and attracts attention. Infographics illustrating complex statistical facts, making them easier to understand, work well. Bait can also include free lessons, digital materials, guides, and similar resources.

Make buzz and get mentioned

This link-building plan works best when implemented alongside marketers to achieve the best results. Think about how often you still hear “Just Do It” – and the famous Nike ad immediately comes to mind.

Participate in webinars, workshops, and podcasts

The more media exposure, the more recognition and backlinks you gain. At the very least, you get a backlink from the platforms owned by other participants in the podcast, for example.

Product review link-building strategy

This is one of the best SEO link building strategies in terms of ease of implementation – promoting through reviews of your product. The review link building strategy also works well because it appears organic and directly influences sales. The essence of this backlink SEO strategy: reach out to influencers, bloggers, podcasters, and specialized sites that review similar products or operate in a niche close to yours. Offer your product for free review and ask them to include a link to it.

Leverage white-hat link exchange communities

By engaging in these communities, you can always come across excellent collaboration opportunities.

Work with unlinked brand mentions

If your brand is mentioned without a direct link, it is already a marketing success. To turn this into a link building SEO strategy, ask the author to “embed” a link to your resource. Most are happy to comply with this request.

These are far from all the best link building techniques. Next, we will explore several more interesting options.

Digital PR

Get backlinks to your website through media publications. To achieve this, present yourself, your business, or your services as a source of expertise in your niche. Provide expert comments to journalists and bloggers. Find collaboration opportunities on platforms like Help a B2B Writer, Qwoted, and HARO. Expert opinions, evaluations, and reactions to news in your industry are also great ways to make others reference you. Create a media kit and a “For Press” page. Also, include a “Press About Us” section featuring media mentions of your brand.

Newsjacking

Newsjacking works best for those who are not afraid to react quickly – ideally within the first 12 hours after an event. 

Podcasts

Take part in niche podcasts and host engaging webinars. Aim for at least 2–3 appearances per month. Links to your brand can be added to podcast landing pages or show notes (or video descriptions if the podcast is on YouTube). Other podcast participants might also link to you, which brings extra backlink benefits.

Create Short How-To Guides on Trending Topics

There are countless ideas that can start with “How to…”. The more relevant the topic is to your audience, the better. Create simple, clear, and useful tutorials – people love sharing them, and this naturally earns you backlinks.

Get Listed in Dealer, Retailer, and Distributor Lists

If you sell spare parts, make sure you’re listed in parts catalogs, compatibility databases, and assembly or installation manuals and guides. These directories often link to verified businesses, boosting your site’s authority.

Awards

Participate in every possible competition in your niche. Winners receive not only awards but also backlinks. Alternatively, organize your own award or competition – become the host who brings together major players in your industry.

Collaborations: “Use X with Y”

Smart collaborations bring both backlinks and new customers. For example, Milka works with Oreo, or cereal brands partner with milk brands. Think about what products complement yours and set up a collaboration that brings marketing exposure and backlinks.

B2B Partnerships

Create a “Our Partners / Integrations” page on your website listing all reputable partner companies or platforms. Then, ask those partners to do the same – this mutual linking strengthens both sides.

Case Studies

Describe what you’ve achieved for your clients and how you did it. Share the challenges you faced and how you overcame them. Add a link to your client’s website and ask them to share their experience with a backlink to your case study in return.

Local SEO Citations

Add your business to Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, and Bing Places so it appears in local search results – this brings double the benefit. Also, register your business in local directories, yellow pages, and similar listings.

Get Listed on Industry Platforms

Be present on major review platforms like Yelp, Hotfrog, and TripAdvisor. Register on services where people can leave feedback about your products or business. Always interact with your customers there – respond to every review.

Sponsor Local or Global Events

Sponsorship builds brand awareness, attracts a relevant audience, and, as a pleasant bonus, gives you backlinks from event websites that mention sponsors. Choose popular events, especially sports ones, that gather large audiences.

Share Your Materials

If you’ve created interesting infographics, presentations, or slides for podcasts or webinars, publish them on SlideShare or SpeakerDeck. This gives you natural backlinks to your website with minimal effort.

Educational & Academic Backlinks

Whenever possible, offer scholarships, workshops for students, teacher training, university events, or research sponsorships. You can even support building a new lab or renovating facilities – all of this earns you high-quality educational backlinks.

By providing educational resources, grants, or other assistance, you’ll gain mentions from university social media accounts, students, and, most importantly, from .edu domains, which greatly enhance your site’s credibility in the eyes of search engines.

Recovering Lost and Broken Backlinks

Revisit your past collaborations: if some sites still link to old or deleted pages, redirect those URLs to new ones or ask editors to update the links. Do the same with incorrect URLs. Use Ahrefs’ “Best by links” tool to identify lost backlinks and recover them.

Syndication & Republishing

Publish your articles on platforms like Medium, Substack, and LinkedIn. Always add a canonical link to the original article on your website. You can post a shortened version with a call to action at the end, for example: “Read the full article,” followed by a link to your blog.

Link Insertions

Reach out to editors of websites that already have well-polished articles on topics related to your niche. Ask them to update the content by adding a link to your resource, where readers can find similar material or a more in-depth study.

Link Roundups

If you have a useful guide or tool, for example, a service cost calculator, currency converter, or interactive checklist, suggest it as a helpful resource that other websites can reference in their link roundup articles.

Ego-Bait

The idea is to create content that flatters or highlights key figures in your industry. For instance, publish a Top 10 or Top 100 Experts list in your niche, or a Top 50 Websites on a specific topic. This approach naturally encourages those mentioned to link back to your article and share it on social media.

Here’s how to apply the method:

• Publish the article.
• Reach out to each featured expert.
• Tell them they’ve been included in your ranking and thank them for their contribution to the industry.

This strategy works exceptionally well because it taps into people’s desire to share positive recognition.

User-Generated Content

Encourage your clients to talk about you: record reviews and product overviews, share their experiences with your brand or services. You can reward this type of content or simply create a product that people naturally want to talk about. Additionally, you can reuse these testimonials on your website or social media, showing real trust and engagement from your audience.

Limited Barter Reviews

This method involves providing a product or service for bloggers to try in exchange for an honest, detailed review. It can even include a “Sponsored” tag – transparency builds credibility and still earns valuable backlinks.

Community Directories

Join industry associations, local community lists, and business directories. Also, look for industry event calendars and actively participate in conferences or local events. Such involvement often leads to mentions of your brand in organizer publications or local news, along with backlinks.

Advanced Link Building Techniques

Advanced link building strategies in SEO are not always more difficult to implement. Some of them you can start applying even if you have never dealt with link building before.

Earned link building strategies

Stay on-trend – this is an actionable strategy for acquiring backlinks. React to important events in your industry, release press releases about innovative products you create, collaborate with industry experts who can provide professional commentary (which other publications will reference).

Another effective way to earn links is by publishing content that evokes emotions. For example, surprise your audience with a video showing an unexpected way to use your product. For instance, a blender manufacturer demonstrated how their product can crush… an iPhone! The video challenged established norms, created amazement, and hit the mark perfectly!

Resource page link building

This method is also considered part of point blank SEO link building strategies. This link-building method was developed by Jon Cooper. He outlined the algorithm:

1. Create a linkable asset.
2. Find a Prospecting Query for this asset. You can do this with queries like “inurl:blog ‘best tools’ [your niche]”
3. Contact the authors of relevant websites. Ask them to include your guide, review, infographic, research, or other material specifically in the collections that perfectly match the target query.

This is one of the best backlink strategies because it eliminates randomness. There is a clear link building plan template, and you act strictly according to it.

Skyscraper technique

This is a complex but effective link building technique. First, identify the key queries for which you want to promote the chosen page. Then look at the skyscraper pages: these are already ranking at the top. Analyze the content that other sites link to. Make it better: add more visual elements, make it easier to read, and dive deeper into the topic.

Next comes the most challenging part of implementing this backlink strategy: reaching out to everyone who links to the skyscraper content. In your email, mention that you noticed the link to this or that material, but you can offer an even better version. Ask them to add your link to your potential partner’s page or even tactfully request replacing the skyscraper link with a link to your page.

Latest & New Link-Building Ideas

The power of social media

The weekly measure basecamp for ppc social sharing link building strategies is something that might be needed and can work! Don’t be afraid to create provocative content on Reddit and Twitter, publish engaging images and collections on trending topics in Pinterest, and stay active on LinkedIn.

You can also apply around 10 more link building strategies for after the holidays: create cool gift idea collections, mood boards, timely tips, and more. Social media requires raising hot and trending topics, being in the spotlight, abandoning dry language, and riding the wave. And this is one of the best backlink builder strategies.

Getting into AI recommendations

You cannot directly influence AI chats to recommend your website as a source they cite. However, it is possible to achieve this indirectly: create unique data-driven research, give interviews, and produce digital products people talk about.

YouTube Mentions

Look for which bloggers and which YouTube channels mention your website in their videos. Ask the channel owners to include a link to your resource in the video description. Such links are clickable and, therefore, especially valuable. Be open to new collaborations with YouTube bloggers. You don’t necessarily need channels with tens of thousands of subscribers. Niche-relevant small blogs can be an even better option for collaboration, as they have a lively and engaged audience.

TikTok Mentions

Create viral clips or short videos that may have social resonance (or be a response to trending events). A video can attract the attention of other media outlets that will then write about your brand. In this way, these platforms can become a source of backlinks for you.

Black-Hat Methods

Black-hat SEO techniques are still used by some to get fast results. But “fast” doesn’t mean “safe.”Reputable SEO specialists have long abandoned these tactics because black-hat methods almost always lead to penalties, such as search engine filters, deindexing, or complete bans.

White-hat strategies require more effort and time but carry far less risk. You should be aware of black-hat techniques, but never use them.

Here are some you should avoid if your link-building team suggests them:

• Link buying or rental. Such links usually appear on low-quality sites with poor domain authority and damage your brand’s reputation.
• Private Blog Networks (PBNs). These are groups of sites linking to each other in circles to manipulate rankings. Once a PBN is shut down, you instantly lose all those backlinks and drop in search results.
• Auto-generated content and doorway pages. These can quickly trigger search engine penalties.
• Mass forum commenting. Considered spam. Instead, build genuine engagement by joining conversations on platforms like Twitter (X), Threads, or Reddit.
• Cloaking, hidden redirects, and invisible links. These tricks are easily detected and can get your site permanently banned from search results.

How to Create a Backlink Strategy as a Pro?

SEO backlink strategy is a systematic process. The planning and implementation of a backlink building strategy can be divided into stages.

1. Research your starting point

With the help of MOZ or Ahrefs, analyze the current state of your resource. You need to understand your starting point (this will later help you evaluate effectiveness when you begin measuring results).

2. Competitor analysis

Select websites in your niche or related topics. Analyze them to understand which opportunities they are using. This becomes a ready-made backlink strategy template for you. You can either follow similar paths or take advantage of missed golden opportunities to outrun your competitors.

3. Create a portrait of your target audience

This is necessary for your link building strategy to understand what interests your potential visitors and where you can find them. By knowing who your possible readers are, you will be able to purposefully search for websites for partnerships and the implementation of backlink strategies.

4. Consider all the options among the best link building strategies that may suit you.

Draft an outline of which backlink building strategies in general you could apply to your website. From this list, select two or three to start with. Later, you will be able to connect the next ones, combining different ways of promotion and building a high-quality backlink profile.

5. Content plan

Based on those 2–3 best backlink building strategies you are considering, create a content plan. This will give you an understanding of what to do next: conduct research, develop a digital product, add fresh product reviews, arrange an interview, etc.

6. Execute link building strategy and outreach

Any backlink strategy is primarily about building relationships with editors and website owners. Make a list of contacts to whom you should offer cooperation, develop personalized offers, and send them to potential partners. When making offers, remember that another person will read your email. Why should they be interested in cooperating? How will this partnership benefit both sides? What is your value?

The next stage comes when you have already started implementing SEO link building strategies. And this stage is measuring the results.

Tracking SEO Link Building Success

Key KPIs for tracking the effectiveness of your SEO backlink strategy can be divided into two main groups: SEO metrics and business metrics.

SEO metrics can be measured using Google Analytics/Google Search Console. These are the basic tools to evaluate how effective your link-building strategies are. Additionally, you can use tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz. They are paid, but they can provide a deeper understanding of how efficient your link-building strategies have been. You should focus on metrics such as:

• Domain Authority (DA) or Domain Rating (DR) of your site. This indicator should gradually increase.

• Referral traffic – the number of visitors who come directly from placed backlinks. Pay attention to how much time they spend on the site.
• Keyword ranking of target pages. Monitor how keyword positions change after applying a specific backlink strategy.
• Organic traffic growth. Quality backlinks should bring more visitors to your resource. It’s the ultimate proof of your website’s real popularity. Track its growth and prioritize collaborations with sites that have high DR (Domain Rating) and strong organic traffic.
• Link Velocity – monitor backlink growth speed. If the number of backlinks rises too quickly, Google may flag it as manipulation. Gradual, steady growth looks natural.
• Anchor Text Distribution – maintain a healthy balance between branded, generic, exact-match, and partial-match anchors: 

• Branded – include your brand name as anchor text.
• Generic – phrases like “read more” or “check the full article here.”
• Partial-match – contains your main keyword along with other words.

Improving SEO metrics is aimed at achieving business goals. Therefore, you can also track the effectiveness of a backlink SEO strategy by measuring conversions into leads, sales, and other key business indicators.

Final Thoughts

Now, you clearly understand what a link building strategy is. More than that, you can confidently take this backlink strategy list and start using it today. In some sense, Google link building strategies are an art form: while the methods are standardized, every professional selects a unique combination of approaches. Which strategies will you choose?