Link building strategies are the repeatable methods you use to get other websites to link to yours. The ones that still work all give another site a real reason to link: a listing that describes your business, a relationship you already have, a dead page you can replace, data worth citing, or a story worth covering. The right mix depends on four things: what kind of site you run, how old it is, what you have worth linking to, and how much time you can give it.
Most lists online hand you 30 or 40 tactics and stop there. I don’t think that helps. A local plumber, a new online store and a SaaS startup should not run the same plan, so this guide is about choosing.
The boundary with its sister post: what are backlinks explains what links are and how Google treats them, while this page covers how to earn them.
What Counts as a Link Building Strategy Under Google’s Rules?
Start with the rule, because it decides which strategies are even on the menu. Google’s spam policies define link spam as “creating links to or from a site primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings.” Buying or selling links that pass ranking credit, excessive link exchanges and automated link programs are all named as examples.
Paid links aren’t banned outright. Google’s guide to qualifying outbound links says ads and paid placements should carry rel="sponsored", and rel="nofollow" is also accepted. If money, free products or any other compensation changed hands, the link gets one of those labels. That’s the whole rule, and I won’t help anyone work around it.
So every strategy below has the same test. Would the link exist if search engines didn’t? If yes, you’re earning it. If the only reason it exists is ranking credit, you’re building something Google’s systems are designed to ignore.
The Four Things That Decide Your Strategy
Before I suggest a single tactic to a client, I want answers to four questions. Each one moves the plan in a different direction.
- Site type. Local businesses can win links from their own town. Stores have suppliers and product reviewers. SaaS companies have integration partners and developers. Blogs have other bloggers.
- Stage. A site with zero links needs a foundation and a few pages worth citing. A site with a few hundred referring domains needs fewer, stronger links.
- Linkable assets. Do you have something people would cite without being asked? Original data, a free tool, a definitive guide or a real story all count.
- Time and budget. Some strategies take an afternoon. Others take a week of research per campaign, and the results are lumpy.
Keep your answers in mind as you read the menu. The decision matrix near the end pulls them together.
The Strategy Menu, From Quickest to Hardest
Here are the strategies I actually use, each with a short explanation and the post where I go deep on it. They’re ordered by how fast a beginner can start, not by how strong the links are.
Foundation Profiles and Listings
Brand profiles on platforms your customers use, accurate business listings and a few niche directories. They won’t rank a competitive page alone. They confirm your business exists, give Google more paths to your site, and make later links look natural.
The catch is that much of what gets sold as “foundation” work is low-quality directory spam, which Google names in its link spam examples. I explain the difference in foundation backlinks.
Relationships You Already Have
Suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, trade associations, the chamber of commerce, clients who are businesses themselves. Many of them have “where to buy,” “partners” or “members” pages. Asking takes one polite email. That’s it.
In my experience, this is the strategy people skip most. It’s also the one I start with most. The links are relevant by nature because the relationship is real. Just keep it from turning into a swap: a partner page that exists only to cross-link with everyone is on Google’s list as an excessive link exchange.
Unlinked Brand Mentions
Search for your business name, your founder’s name and your product names. Some sites will have mentioned you without linking. A short, friendly note asking them to add a link converts a decent share of those, because the writer already chose to talk about you.
I cover the search operators and how to ask without being pushy in backlinks vs brand mentions.
Broken Link Building
Find a page in your niche that died but still has links pointing at it. Check what it used to say in the Wayback Machine, publish a better version, then tell the sites with the dead link. They fix a problem for their readers and you earn a link.
It works best in niches with lots of older resource content. The step-by-step version, including the outreach email, is in my broken link building guide.
Resource Pages and Free Methods
Libraries, universities, associations and hobby sites often keep curated lists of useful resources. If you have a page that genuinely belongs on one, ask. Paired with mentions and partner links, this covers most of what a small business can do without spending a cent, which I rank by effort in how to get backlinks for free.
Original Data and Linkable Assets
A survey, a pricing index, an analysis of public data, a calculator people use every week. These earn links passively for years, because writers need a source to cite. They’re also the most expensive thing on this list to make well.
My rule: only build one if you have data or access no one else has. A rewritten version of someone else’s study earns nothing. And editorial contributions to respected publications in your field can work alongside data, as long as no payment is involved.
Digital PR
Digital PR means pitching journalists a story, data or expert comment they want to publish. The links come as a side effect of coverage, which is why they tend to be the strongest links a small company can get. Many quotes run with no link at all, though.
If you’re deciding where to spend a limited budget, read digital PR vs link building first. My view there: fund the basics before you fund a PR campaign.
Local Community Links
Sponsoring the youth football team, speaking at a local event, joining the business association, being featured in the local paper. For a business that serves one area, these links carry a location signal no national blog can match.
Sponsorship links need care because money changed hands, so they should be labeled. I go through which local ideas are worth it and how sponsorships fit Google’s rules in local link building.
Effort vs Value at a Glance
| Strategy | Effort to start | Typical link strength | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation profiles and listings | Low | Low | Every new business |
| Existing relationships | Low | Medium | Local businesses, stores, B2B |
| Unlinked brand mentions | Low | Medium | Anyone with some press or reviews |
| Resource pages | Medium | Medium | Sites with genuinely useful guides |
| Broken link building | Medium to high | Medium | Niches with older resource content |
| Local community links | Medium | Medium, strong locally | Service-area businesses |
| Original data and assets | High | High | Brands with unique data or access |
| Digital PR | High | High but unpredictable | Brands with a real story |
The Main Path: A Small Business Starting From Zero
If your site is new and you have no budget for big campaigns, then start with foundation profiles, then relationships, then mentions. That order gets you real, relevant links in the first couple of months without touching anything risky.
If you already have those basics, then pick one harder strategy that matches your assets, usually broken link building or a single resource worth citing, and run it properly for a quarter. One strategy done well beats five done halfway.
If neither applies because the site already has a healthy profile, then your problem is probably not link count. Look at content and on-page fixes first. My guide to link building for new websites lays out the first six months in detail.
Branch 1: When You Run an Online Store
Stores have link sources other sites don’t. Brands you stock may list stockists. Discontinued products may still have links you can redirect. Gifted product reviews work too, as long as the reviewer discloses the gift and labels the link.
The bigger question for a store is where the links should point. Category pages and buying guides usually deserve them more than single product pages that come and go. I cover that and the affiliate-link rules in link building for ecommerce.
Branch 2: When You Run a SaaS Company
For software, the stage matters more than the tactic. Before product-market fit, the easy links come from the product simply existing: integration partner directories, review sites, your own documentation that developers reference.
After traction, original data and free tools are what earn links that move rankings. The full stage-based plan is in link building for SaaS.
Branch 3: When You Serve One Town or Region
If your customers come from one area, then local relevance beats raw authority. A link from the town’s news site or the local trade association is worth more to a plumber than a link from a big national marketing blog.
So flip the order on the menu. Put relationships and community links first, foundation listings alongside them, and leave data studies and national PR until later, if ever.
How Fast Should You Build Links?
Slower than vendors suggest. Much slower. Google’s December 2022 link spam update post said its SpamBrain system can detect sites buying links and sites used to pass outgoing links, and that credit from unnatural links is lost. Speed is a symptom it doesn’t need to measure. The pattern of the links is what gives a scheme away.
My practical answer is steady, earned growth: a few relevant referring domains each month, from real sites, with natural anchors. I explain how I pace campaigns in drip feed link building.
Which Link Building Strategies Should You Skip?
Skip anything whose only purpose is ranking credit. No exceptions. That means private blog networks, automated link tools, link exchanges at scale, paid links without a sponsored or nofollow label, and comment or forum spam.
Some of these still “work” for a while, which is why people sell them. My position, explained fully in white hat vs black hat link building, is that for any business you plan to run for years, the risk and the wasted spend aren’t worth it. Paid placements sold with client-chosen keyword anchors and no rel label fall squarely under Google’s link spam policy.
If someone sold you links like that in the past, don’t panic. Google’s disavow documentation says most sites will not need the tool. Read my posts on toxic backlinks and how to disavow backlinks before you do anything.
How Do You Know a Strategy Is Working?
Watch referring domains, not raw backlinks. One new site linking from its footer can add thousands of backlinks and change nothing. I explain why in backlinks vs referring domains.
Then judge each new link on its own merits. Is the page relevant, does the site have real readers, did an editor choose to place it? My backlink quality checks turn that into a scorecard. Every few months I also run a backlink audit to catch lost links and broken targets.
Rankings lag behind links, often by months. Be patient. When I review a campaign, I judge it over a quarter, by how many relevant sites it produced and whether the pages those links point to start moving in Search Console.
Decision Matrix: Which Strategy First?
| If your site is | And you have | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| New, any type | Little time, no assets | Foundation profiles, then existing relationships |
| Local service business | Community ties | Relationships and local community links |
| Online store | Brands you stock | Supplier pages, then redirected product links |
| Early SaaS | Integrations | Partner directories and review sites |
| Growth-stage SaaS or brand | Unique data | Original data, then digital PR |
| Established site, any type | Older content in your niche | Broken link building and resource pages |
| Any site | A past link scheme | Audit first, build later |
Edge Cases That Change the Plan
- You got a manual action for unnatural links. Stop all link building, clean up, and file a reconsideration request before anything else.
- You’re in a YMYL niche like health or finance. Expertise-led strategies, like expert commentary and data, matter more, and cheap directories matter even less.
- Your competitors all buy links. That’s their risk, not a reason to copy them. Compete on relevance and content instead.
- You have no time at all. Do the foundation work once, ask your partners, and accept slower growth rather than outsourcing to the cheapest seller.
When Does It Make Sense to Get Help?
Most of the strategies above can be done in-house if someone owns them. I’d bring in help when nobody on the team has time for the foundation work, or when you’ve inherited a link profile you don’t trust.
For the foundation layer, my team runs a basic link building service at $90–$220 per site: brand profiles, business listings and niche directories only, never social signals, blog comment blasts or fake edu links. If you’d like a second opinion on where links fit in your plan, request a free SEO audit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Best Link Building Strategy for Beginners?
Start with foundation profiles and listings, then ask businesses you already work with to link to you. Both are low effort, low risk and relevant by nature. Once those are in place, add one harder strategy, such as broken link building or a resource worth citing, and run it for a full quarter before judging it.
Are Paid Links Ever Allowed by Google?
Yes, as advertising. Google says paid placements should carry rel=”sponsored” or rel=”nofollow”. With that label, a paid link can send visitors and build awareness, but it isn’t meant to pass ranking credit. Paying for an unlabeled link to boost rankings is link spam under Google’s policies.
How Long Does Link Building Take to Show Results?
Usually months, not weeks. New links have to be crawled and weighed alongside everything else Google knows about your pages. I judge a strategy over at least a quarter, looking at new relevant referring domains and whether the target pages start to climb in Search Console.
Do I Need Backlinks to Rank at All?
Not always. Google’s Gary Illyes has said a page can rank with no links, and low-competition or local queries often need very few. On competitive queries, though, several pages usually have good content, and links are often what separates them.
Last updated: October 2026 by Mizanur Rahman
