linkIf you’re serious about getting noticed in Google, you can’t ignore link building. It’s a core part of SEO. And no, that hasn’t changed. What has changed is how we do it and which methods still work without draining your time or risking a penalty.
At its core, link building is the process of earning backlinks, one-way hyperlinks pointing to your website. Think of them as digital endorsements. When done right, they can move your site up in the rankings and strengthen your authority in the eyes of Google.
There are plenty of ways to build links. Each one has its own pros, risks, and use cases. Some rely on creating great content. Others are all about smart outreach or leveraging technical gaps. A few – like PBNs – give you more control and speed, which is why they’re still part of the toolbox for many advanced SEOs.
Find out more about buying PBN links: Where to buy PBN links?
Here’s a breakdown of the most common link building methods:
- Content marketing where you create something useful (so called linkable content) or compelling enough that other sites want to link to it.
- Email outreach which means contacting site owners or influencers and asking for a backlink.
- Broken link building where you find dead links on relevant pages and suggest your content as a replacement.
- Digital PR and branding where you build visibility through media coverage and influencer amplification.
- Sponsored articles & guest blogging which is a form of paid media that imitates result of PR campaigns.
Understanding the full range of link building strategies is the first step toward picking the right ones for your goals. And if you’re comparing them to PBNs, knowing the fundamentals of each gives you a clearer sense of what’s effective, what scales, and what puts your site at risk.
Want to go deeper into practical link building tactics?
Read: Link Building Tactics For 2025
What is Link Building?
Link building is about one thing: getting other sites to link to yours. These backlinks are still one of the strongest ranking signals Google uses. The more high-quality, relevant backlinks you earn, the better your site tends to perform in search.
The common methods include:
- Content marketing
- Email outreach
- Fixing broken links (also skyscraper technique based on your competition)
- Sponsored articles
These links work because they signal trust. Google sees a backlink as a vote of confidence from one site to another. When you get enough of those, especially from authoritative sources, your content starts to rank higher.
But here’s the catch: not every link counts the same. And not every method scales the way you might want it to.
Importance of Backlinks in SEO
Backlinks are foundational in how Google understands trust, relevance, and authority. They’ve been a key part of the PageRank algorithm from the start. The logic is simple. If reputable sites are linking to you, your content probably has value.
But it’s not just about getting more links. Quality matters more than quantity. A few links from respected sites can do more than hundreds from low-quality pages.
Google’s algorithm doesn’t just look at how many links you have: it looks at where they’re coming from. That’s why earning backlinks from credible, relevant domains is essential if you want lasting SEO results.
Quality vs. Quantity in Link Building
In link building, quality trumps quantity every time. One link from a high-authority site in your niche can do more than dozens of irrelevant or low-value links. Google’s updates over the years have made this crystal clear.
What defines quality? Relevance, authority, and trust. A backlink from a niche blog with real traffic, proper indexation, and decent content will always be more valuable than a comment link from some forgotten forum.
If you’re building links manually, through outreach, guest blogging, or even with PBNs, your focus should always be on getting links that actually influence rankings. That means keeping your link profile clean and free of link spam.
Effective Link Building Strategies
Want to rank? You need a strategy. Here’s what actually works in today’s SEO strategies: from content-based methods to more hands-on tactics.
One reliable approach is building linkable content like:
- Infographics
- List-style blog posts
- Comprehensive guides
These formats are designed to be shared and referenced. Infographics, for instance, are easy to embed and often picked up by blogs and social media accounts. But remember, even great content won’t earn links on its own. You need visibility and distribution too.
Email outreach still plays a big role. Whether you’re pitching a new guide or suggesting a link exchange, personalization is key. The more relevant your pitch, the better your chances of getting a backlink.
Broken link building is another smart tactic. You help another site fix a dead link by suggesting yours as the replacement. It’s helpful and opportunistic. It’s a classic win-win.
Guest posting gives you access to new audiences and typically comes with a backlink or two. Similarly, engaging with resource pages in your industry can land valuable placements if your content fits what they’re looking for.
Then there’s interactive content like tools, quizzes, or calculators. These are naturally engaging and often earn links just by being useful.
Used together, these strategies help you earn high-quality backlinks and more importantly, sustain them.
PBNs vs. Other Methods: A Quick Comparison
| Method | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Guest Posts | Relevant, niche-targeted links | Sometimes costly and often overused |
| Niche Edits | Fast, contextual, sometimes cheaper | Risky if done in bulk or poorly disclosed |
| Digital PR | Big wins when it works | Highly unpredictable |
| PBNs | Full control, scalable, consistent, applicable when you need links for hard niches | Risk of deindexation if not done well |
| Natural Links | Google’s dream scenario | Rare without massive distribution effort |
| Link Exchanges | Mutually beneficial, easy to arrange | Obvious footprint if abused |
What’s the weapon of your choice? 🙂
Content Marketing and Linkable Assets
Content marketing is one of the most popular ways to earn backlinks, especially when it’s centered around linkable assets. These are content pieces that naturally attract links because they offer unique value.
- Infographics that simplify complex topics and are easy to share
- List posts that give quick, digestible takeaways
- Original research with exclusive data or insights others can cite
Creating these assets increases the chances other sites will reference your content. Why? Because it saves them time. Instead of running their own study or building their own explainer, they can just link to yours.
In short, linkable content builds backlinks by being the best answer to a specific problem. When paired with smart content distribution or social media promotion, it works even harder.
Email Outreach and Relationship Building
Outreach is where a lot of links are won or lost. The idea is simple: find people who might want to link to your content, then ask them. But the execution matters.
Start by identifying relevant sites. Who’s linking to your competitors? Who covers your topic? Then, track down the right contact info.
Now comes the pitch. A personalized email (one that shows you actually understand their content and audience) stands out. Explain how your link benefits them. Is it fixing a dead link? Adding value to an existing post? Backing up a claim with better data?
The more authentic your approach, the better your results.
Email outreach isn’t just about short-term wins either. It’s also about building relationship-based link building connections with bloggers, editors, and other SEOs. Comment on their posts. Share their content. Stay in touch. Over time, those connections lead to more natural links.
Broken Link Building and Link Reclamation
Broken link building is both tactical and helpful. You find broken links on other websites, then suggest your own content as a replacement. It helps the site owner clean up their content while giving you a new backlink.
Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush make this easier by spotting dead links across the web. Once you find one, reach out with a fix. Done right, it’s one of the most effective ways to earn links at scale, especially if your replacement content is relevant and high quality.
Then there’s link reclamation, which is all about recovering links you already earned but lost over time. Maybe the page got deleted or moved without a redirect. Either way, you can reach out and ask the site to update the link.
These tactics are all about being opportunistic – spotting gaps and turning them into gains.
Resource Pages and Guest Posting
Resource pages and guest posting still work as long as your content fits the audience and adds real value.
- Resource pages are curated lists of useful links. If your content genuinely fits, they’re a great place to earn a contextual backlink.
- Guest posting gives you editorial control and access to someone else’s audience. The key is to write something worth publishing.
Focus on relevance, tone, and formatting. If it reads like a lazy link insertion, it’s getting ignored.
Both of these methods help build authority. They also put you in front of people who might link to your work in the future.
Using Visual and Interactive Content
People love visuals. And search engines love content that people engage with. That’s why visuals and interactive elements can be powerful link magnets.
Infographics, charts, and comparison tables break down complex ideas and make content easier to understand. They also get shared and linked to more often, especially on blogs and social media.
Interactive tools, like calculators or quizzes, take things a step further. They encourage people to engage, spend more time on your page, and often come back. That stickiness can lead to more links over time.
The point is this: if your content is easy to use, easy to share, and provides unique value, backlinks will follow.
Advanced Link Building Techniques
Once you’ve mastered the basics, it’s time to level up. Here are some advanced strategies that top-tier link builders use to stay ahead.
One popular method is the Skyscraper Technique. Here’s how it works:
- Find content in your niche that already has a ton of backlinks
- Create something better, more comprehensive, more current, more engaging
- Reach out to everyone linking to the original and suggest your version instead
It’s simple, smart, and scales surprisingly well when executed right.
Another winning strategy is original research. Unique data is linkable content by nature. People love citing fresh stats, especially if they’re well visualized and easy to quote.
List posts also perform well. They’re easy to skim, easy to understand, and easy to link to, especially when you’re covering trending tools, tactics, or stats.
Finally, don’t overlook community engagement and social media. Sharing your content in relevant groups or platforms like Reddit, LinkedIn, or Twitter puts it in front of the right people, some of whom might link to it later.
Skyscraper Technique
The Skyscraper Technique is all about making good content even better, and using that upgrade to win backlinks.
- Start by identifying top-performing articles in your niche
- Create a version that’s more detailed, more accurate, or more up to date
- Reach out to the websites linking to the original piece and pitch yours as a better alternative
Because you’re tapping into existing link equity, this method can quickly snowball when done properly.
Original Research and Data-Driven Content
Publishing original research gives other sites something to reference. Whether it’s a survey, case study, or unique industry analysis, these data-rich assets can earn natural backlinks from blogs, journalists, and content creators.
The best part? These links are often organic and high quality, which means they carry serious weight in search rankings.
Regularly publishing trustworthy research can position you as a go-to resource in your industry. That builds authority and long-term link equity.
Utilizing List Posts for Backlinks
List posts are still some of the most linkable formats on the internet. They’re easy to digest, easy to reference, and naturally encourage sharing.
Examples include:
- Top 10 tools in your niche
- 5 tactics that still work in 2025
- 7 common mistakes in link building
Because of their clarity and structure, list posts tend to attract backlinks, especially when paired with original insights or data.
Community and Social Media Outreach
Getting involved in online communities can supercharge your content distribution. Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook Groups, Reddit, or niche forums give you direct access to engaged audiences.
When you consistently provide value, whether it’s advice, insights, or even just useful links, you earn trust. And over time, those interactions can lead to organic backlinks.
This is especially effective when combined with other strategies like guest posts or interactive content. The more places your content lives, the more chances people have to discover and link to it.
Leveraging Niche and Local Directories
Niche directories and local listings still serve a purpose in 2025, especially for grounding your site with foundational links. These are the links that build trust and legitimacy, particularly in location-specific or industry-specific searches.
- Niche directories help you connect with targeted audiences and get links from relevant sites
- Local directories help with local SEO, increasing your visibility in geo-based searches
- Community or alumni listings give you high-trust backlinks that reinforce your brand’s authenticity
Submitting your site to these directories is a low-effort, high-reward way to strengthen your backlink profile and support other link building efforts.
Company Directory Submissions
Company directories often have strong domain authority. By listing your business in relevant ones, you earn high-quality backlinks that boost both SEO and discoverability.
It also helps reinforce brand consistency across the web, which Google pays attention to when evaluating credibility.
Alumni and Niche Directories
Alumni directories and industry-specific lists are underused but highly effective. These links are contextually relevant, high trust, and often overlooked by competitors.
- Submit your site to alumni networks tied to your education or past companies
- Find industry-specific directories and listings that align with your niche
These aren’t flashy, but they quietly build authority and relevance behind the scenes.
Local Listings and Event Resources
Don’t sleep on local directories. Getting your site listed on event pages, chambers of commerce, or city-specific blogs can lead to highly trusted local backlinks.
These links are especially important for businesses targeting a regional audience. They also support your appearance in Google’s local pack making them a smart play even for national brands with local branches.
Common Link Building Mistakes to Avoid
There are a few mistakes that can tank your link building efforts — or worse, get your site penalized.
First, avoid spammy tactics like buying low-quality links, joining link farms, or engaging in obvious link exchanges. These are easy for Google to detect and can lead to severe penalties.
Second, don’t chase volume over value. A hundred junk links won’t help you. In fact, they might hurt. Instead, focus on earning links from sites that are relevant and trustworthy.
Third, overlooking relationship-building is a common misstep. Cold outreach is tough, but forming genuine connections with site owners, bloggers, or influencers can lead to more effective, long-term opportunities for natural links.
The goal should be to build a clean, diversified backlink profile. That means using ethical methods and avoiding shortcuts that leave footprints.
Understanding Google’s Penalties
Google’s penalties are real, and they’re usually triggered by manipulative or unnatural backlink patterns. At the center of this is the Penguin algorithm, which zeroes in on link spam and low-quality links.
If your backlink profile includes too many toxic or irrelevant links, your rankings can take a hit — or disappear entirely. That’s why it’s crucial to keep your link building tactics within acceptable risk thresholds, even if you’re using more aggressive strategies like PBNs or link insertions.
Always audit your links, stay updated on algorithm changes, and aim to get backlinks from reputable, indexable sources.
Avoiding Black Hat Techniques
Black hat techniques might work in the short term, but they almost always come with risk. Examples include:
- Buying or renting links on obvious networks
- Using link farms or mass-generated spammy blogs
- Hiding links in invisible text or cloaked redirects
These methods violate Google’s guidelines and can damage your site’s visibility. Instead, invest in building or acquiring links from relevant, high-quality pages — whether that’s through guest posts, PBNs done right, or digital PR that gets picked up naturally.
Ethical SEO isn’t about playing it safe. It’s about knowing where the line is — and how to work within (or around) it without triggering red flags.
Measuring Success in Link Building
You’ve put in the work — now it’s time to see if it’s paying off. To measure the effectiveness of your link building strategy, focus on three things:
- The number of backlinks you’ve earned
- The authority and relevance of the linking domains
- Your movement in search engine rankings over time
These indicators will tell you whether your links are making an impact. Sometimes it’s not immediate — but steady growth in rankings and domain authority is a good sign your strategy is on track.
Key Metrics for Link Building Success
Track these key metrics to evaluate your progress:
- New vs lost backlinks over time
- Referring domains and their trust scores
- Keyword rankings and traffic growth
It’s not just about getting links — it’s about getting the right ones. Monitoring these numbers helps you double down on what works and drop what doesn’t.
Tools for Tracking Backlink Performance
There are several tools that can give you deep insight into your backlink profile. Some of the most popular include:
- Ahrefs — Great for tracking links, analyzing anchor text, and comparing competitors
- SEMrush — Useful for link audits and identifying potentially toxic backlinks
- Moz Link Explorer — Solid for measuring domain authority and spotting opportunities
These tools make it easier to track performance, adjust strategy, and ensure your link building efforts are moving your site in the right direction.
Also remember about proper anchor text distribution: Anchor-text Optimization for PBNs