The fastest way to get backlinks is to build something other sites have a reason to cite, then make sure the right people see it — original data, a genuinely better resource, or a tool that saves someone time. Tactically, that means a small stack of repeatable plays: digital PR and data studies, broken-link reclamation, strategic guest contributions, and relationship-led outreach. Below we walk through how to get backlinks that survive a core update, how to judge a link before you chase it, and which “tactics” we tell clients to stop paying for.
How To Get Backlinks
Getting backlinks is the process of earning incoming hyperlinks from other websites — through link-worthy content, outreach, and digital PR — that pass authority and referral traffic to your pages.
What “good” actually means now
Not all links are equal, and post-AI-Overviews this matters more, not less. When Google surfaces an AI Overview or AI Mode answer, it leans on sources it already trusts — domains with real authority, topical relevance, and a track record. A link from a respected industry publication earns you a seat in that consideration set. A link from a private blog network or a $40 Fiverr package only adds risk.
Four properties separate a link worth chasing from a link worth ignoring:
- Authority of the linking domain — is this a site search engines already trust in your space? Public proxies like domain rating help, but use them directionally, not as gospel.
- Topical relevance — a link from a site in your niche carries far more weight than a high-authority link from an unrelated one. Relevance is the signal that survived every spam update.
- Placement and visibility — an editorial link inside the body of an article beats a link buried in a footer, sidebar, or author bio that no human will ever click.
- Anchor text — natural, varied anchor text signals an earned link; over-optimized exact-match anchors at scale signal manipulation and invite a Google penalty.
We tell clients this constantly: one editorial link from a relevant authority outperforms fifty directory submissions. Stop counting links. Start weighing them.
The plays we actually run
There’s no shortage of “101 link building tactics” listicles. In practice, a handful of plays produce almost all the durable links — here’s our working stack, roughly in order of ROI.
1. Digital PR and original data
The most reliable way to earn links at scale is to publish something journalists and bloggers need to cite: original research, a survey, a proprietary dataset, an industry benchmark. Reporters link to data sources by reflex. One well-pitched study can earn dozens of editorial links from domains you could never buy your way onto — and those links compound for years. This is the backbone of any serious link-building program.
2. Linkable assets
Adjacent to data: build reference-grade assets people want to cite without being asked. Free tools, calculators, definitive guides, original frameworks, well-designed visualizations. These are link bait in the good sense — they earn links passively because they’re genuinely the best resource on the topic. Build it once, promote it deliberately, and it keeps accruing links.
3. Broken-link building
Find dead links on relevant, authoritative pages, then offer your equivalent resource as the replacement. It works because you’re solving a real problem for the site owner — a broken link hurts their UX and crawlability. Our full method lives in broken-link building; the same skills also help you find and fix broken links on your own site.
4. Strategic guest contributions
Guest posting still works if you target genuinely relevant, edited publications and lead with value, not links. The death of guest posting was the death of spammy guest posting on networks that publish anything. A thoughtful contributed article on a respected industry site earns a contextual link and brand exposure at once.
5. Relationship-led outreach
Most of the above depends on outreach — and outreach is a relationship game, not a mail-merge game. Warm contacts, podcast appearances, expert roundups, co-created content, and genuine engagement with the people in your niche convert at multiples of cold templated email. Slow, unglamorous, and the most defensible link source there is.
6. Unlinked mention reclamation
If people already mention your brand without linking, that’s the lowest-effort win on the board. Monitor for mentions, reach out, ask for the link — the relationship and the context already exist.
What to stop paying for
Some “tactics” are net-negative. We’ve audited too many sites carrying penalties from exactly this list:
| Tactic | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Original data / digital PR | Do | Earns editorial links at scale; compounds for years |
| Linkable tools & guides | Do | Passive links from being the best resource |
| Broken-link & guest (relevant sites) | Do | Contextual, earned, defensible |
| Bulk directory submissions | Skip | Near-zero value; can look manipulative |
| Comment/forum link drops | Skip | Nofollowed, ignored, and spammy |
| PBNs & link networks | Avoid | Classic black-hat; penalty risk |
| Buying links at scale | Avoid | Violates guidelines; algorithmic and manual risk |
The honest middle ground is forums and communities: genuinely helpful answers that link to your content only when it solves the question. These links are usually nofollow, and that’s fine — they drive qualified referral traffic and put your asset in front of the exact people who might link to it editorially later. The same logic applies to UGC links from social and community platforms.
How to find link prospects
You can’t out-create the link gap on instinct alone. The repeatable loop:
- Reverse-engineer competitors. Pull the backlink profiles of pages outranking you. Every link they have that you don’t is a prospect, and the patterns reveal what your niche actually links to.
- Map the asset to the audience. For each linkable asset, list who has a reason to cite it: journalists, niche bloggers, resource-page curators, course creators.
- Personalize the pitch. One specific, relevant reason this person should care beats any template. Reference their work; make the link the obvious answer to a problem they have.
- Track and follow up. Most replies come on the second touch. A lightweight tracker beats a CRM you’ll abandon.
Pair this with a deliberate content distribution habit, and links start arriving before you even ask — because the right people have already seen the work. One note on link types: a dofollow link passes ranking authority, while nofollow, sponsored, or UGC-tagged links are discounted but still drive traffic and discovery. A healthy profile has both.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get backlinks to affect rankings?
Earning quality links takes weeks to months — digital PR campaigns and outreach don’t pay off overnight. Once links land, search engines need to crawl and reassess the page, so movement typically shows over weeks. Treat link building as a compounding investment, not a quick fix; the durable wins arrive on a quarter-by-quarter horizon.
Should I buy backlinks to rank faster?
No. Buying links at scale violates Google’s guidelines and exposes you to penalties that can erase years of progress, so the risk-adjusted return is negative. Invest the same budget in original data, linkable assets, and outreach — slower, but those links survive core updates instead of triggering them.
How many backlinks do I need to rank on the first page?
There’s no magic number — relevance and authority beat raw count every time. A handful of editorial links from trusted, on-topic sites can outrank a competitor with hundreds of low-quality links. Study the backlink profiles of pages already ranking for your target query; match their quality and topical fit, not their tally.
Do nofollow links help SEO at all?
Yes, indirectly. Nofollow, UGC, and sponsored links generally don’t pass ranking authority, but they drive qualified referral traffic, aid discovery, and put your content in front of people who may link to it editorially later. A natural profile mixes both — an all-dofollow profile looks manufactured and can attract scrutiny.
What’s the best backlink strategy for a small business?
Start with one genuinely linkable asset — a local data study, a free tool, or the definitive guide in your niche — then run targeted outreach to relevant sites and reclaim unlinked brand mentions. Skip directories and link-buying entirely. For most small businesses, ten relevant editorial links beat a thousand purchased ones.
Want links built into the strategy from day one rather than bolted on later? That’s the difference between our growth program and a list of tactics — see how we build authority alongside content instead of chasing it after the fact.