Backlink Building Strategies

Here's something no SEO agency wants to admit: Building backlinks directly to product pages is usually a complete waste of money. Google knows no website owner naturally links to product pages unless they're being paid or have an affiliate deal. These links look manipulative to search engines, so they're often devalued or completely ignored. Yet I constantly see brands spending thousands on backlinks to product pages wondering why they can't crack page one. Through 4+ years of testing with 70+ e-commerce brands, here's the strategy that consistently delivers results: 1. Build 50% of your links to your homepage using branded anchors 2. Build 25% to collection/category pages using relevant keyword anchors 3. Build 25% to informational blog posts that internally link to your money pages This distribution naturally mimics how websites are typically linked to on the internet. For most keywords, you only need 10-20 high-quality, relevant backlinks (not thousands of spammy ones). And don't overpay. Quality backlinks typically run between $100-400 each. If someone's charging you $2K+ for a single link, you're likely getting ripped off. The key is relevance. A DR40 link from a site in your niche is worth infinitely more than a DR80 link from an irrelevant site. This exact strategy helped us take a skincare brand from page 5 to position 2 for their main collection page targeting "organic face moisturizer" with just 12 strategic links. And my #1 piece of advice on backlinks? Always aim for quality over quantity.

We've built 2655 backlinks for clients in the past 2 years. But 95% of link building campaigns still fail miserably. After analyzing 500+ failed campaigns, I found the 7 deadly mistakes that kill results (and how to fix them): 🚨 MISTAKE #1: Mass Email Templates ❌ "Hi [Name], I found a broken link on your site..." This fails because: - Obviously templated - Zero personalization - Focuses on YOUR needs, not theirs ✅ Instead: Research their content, reference specific articles, offer value first 🚨 MISTAKE #2: Asking for Links Immediately ❌ First email = link request Why this kills your chances: - No relationship building - Comes across as spam - Zero trust established ✅ Instead: Share their content first, engage with posts, build relationship over weeks 🚨 MISTAKE #3: Low-Quality "Linkable Assets" ❌ Creating mediocre content as bait This fails because: - Not genuinely valuable - No unique insights - Others did it better ✅ Instead: Original research, comprehensive guides with new data, interactive tools 🚨 MISTAKE #4: Targeting Irrelevant Websites ❌ Spray and pray approach Why this doesn't work: - No topical relevance - Wrong audience - Low-quality links hurt you ✅ Instead: Target niche-relevant sites, focus on audience overlap, prioritize relevance over metrics 🚨 MISTAKE #5: No Follow-Up Strategy ❌ Send one email and give up This fails because: - People are busy - First email often missed - No persistence = no results ✅ Instead: 3-4 follow-ups spaced weeks apart, different angles each time, add value with each email 🚨 MISTAKE #6: Chasing Domain Authority Only ❌ High DA sites regardless of relevance Why this backfires: - DA ≠ link value Irrelevant links don't help rankings - Quality beats quantity every time ✅ Instead: Focus on topical authority, target communities, prioritize traffic 🚨 MISTAKE #7: Weak Value Proposition ❌ "This would be great for your readers" This fails because: - Vague, unspecific benefits - No clear audience value - Still focuses on what YOU want Here's the framework that gets 43% response rates: 📋 THE APOLLO DIGITAL LINK BUILDING FRAMEWORK 📍 PHASE 1: Research - Identify target websites and authors - Study their content and audience - Find genuine connection points The key: Know them before you pitch them 🤝 PHASE 2: Relationship Building - Share and comment on their content - Engage on social media - Build recognition and familiarity Be helpful, not pitchy 💡 PHASE 3: Value Creation - Create genuinely valuable content - Include original research or insights - Make it perfectly fit their audience If it's not valuable to their readers, it won't work 📧 PHASE 4: Outreach - Personalized, value-focused emails - Reference previous interactions - Clear, specific value proposition They should remember you before you ask 🔄 PHASE 5: Follow-Up - Strategic follow-ups with new value - Different angles each approach - Patience and persistence Most links come from follow-up #3 or #4

Client: "We've built 200 backlinks in 6 months. Why is the competitor ranking above us?" Me: "Show me their backlink profile." Them: "They have 12 backlinks total." Me: Checks rankings They're #1. Client is #8. The Confusion: We did everything "right": -Guest posts -Directory submissions -Forum links -Blog comments -200 backlinks built Competitor did "nothing." 12 backlinks only. What We Discovered: We chased quantity. They had quality. Our 200 backlinks: DA 15-30 websites Generic anchor texts Irrelevant industries No referral traffic 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝟭𝟮 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀: DA 70+ websites Industry-specific sources Natural anchor texts Actual referral traffic 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: One backlink from Times of India > 50 backlinks from random blogs One mention in an industry publication > 100 directory listings What Actually Mattered: 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴. 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 + 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝘅: Stopped chasing numbers. Started chasing quality. Got 3 backlinks in 2 months: -Industry association website -Government education portal -Leading education news site Result: Jumped from #8 to #3 in 60 days. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: 200 mediocre backlinks = Google ignores 10 authoritative backlinks = Google notices 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸: Count your backlinks. Now count how many actually drive traffic. If it's under 10%, you're building wrong links. 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆. What's your backlink strategy - quality or quantity? #SEO #Backlinks #DigitalMarketing #SEOStrategy #LinkBuilding #GTM_Gyan

Underrated SEO advantage: Backlinks aren’t built. They’re earned with intention. Most people chase links. Smart ones build systems that attract them. Ask better questions: What would make someone want to reference you? What makes your content impossible to ignore? Then execute where it matters: 1/ Create content worth linking to 2/ Build real relationships (not cold spam) 3/ Use AI to scale research, not shortcuts 4/ Think in funnels, not one-off links 5/ Show up where your audience already trusts 6/ Optimize what’s working, cut what’s not The gap isn’t knowledge. It’s consistency and strategy. Backlinks follow those who build value first.

Want to know how Backlinko has earned more than 1.5 million backlinks and how our strategy is evolving in 2025? Here’s the truth: backlinks still matter. But not for the same reasons they did five years ago. We’re no longer optimizing only for Google PageRank. We’re optimizing for something bigger: presence in the AI era. That means focusing on: -Brand building (being cited alongside trusted names in your space) -Topic associations (training algorithms to connect your brand with key concepts) -Co-citations (earning mentions even without a link) Why? Because large language models like ChatGPT don’t pick sources based on anchor text or DA. They pick sources based on contextual trust. Think about it: -A Reddit, Inc. thread where your product is compared next to HubSpot -A blog post that lists your tool alongside Semrush -A podcast that quotes your insight alongside other industry leaders None of those need a clickable link to move the needle. Yet all of them shape how AI and search engines understand your authority. In other words, the goal has shifted from getting links to becoming part of the conversation. The brands winning in 2025 are doing both: ✔ Building backlinks for search rankings ✔ Earning co-citations for AI visibility and long-term discoverability That’s the playbook we’re using at Backlinko and it’s what’s helping us future-proof our visibility in search and AI.

If I could change one thing about how most eCommerce brands approach link building? 👉 I’d ban the numbers game. Too many stores still think it’s about: → “How many backlinks did we get this month?” → “What’s our DA/DR score?” → “Can we just buy 100 links and call it a win?” But here’s the truth: One great link builds more trust with Google than 50 random ones. For example: → Selling running shoes? A link from Runner’s World tells Google you’re an authority. → Selling furniture? A feature in Architectural Digest signals real credibility in your niche. Google’s smarter now. Context matters. Those days of stacking unrelated backlinks? Long gone. Instead of chasing numbers, brands should ask: → Is this site relevant to our niche? → Does Google already trust this site? → Does our content deserve to be cited here? A better way to build links in 2025: → Build relationships in your industry (partners, influencers, niche publishers). → Publish content worth referencing—size guides, comparison charts, surveys. → Focus on context, not quantity. Link building isn’t about collecting as many links as possible. It’s about sending Google the strongest trust signals possible. So next time someone asks, “How many links did you get this month?” Say: “Just one, but it’s the link Google actually values.”

I've tested over 50+ different link building methods since 2009. Most are a waste of time in 2025, yet some SEOs are still using them. These 5 methods are the ones consistently delivering ROI right now: 1. Digital PR campaigns The holy grail of link building in 2025: • Create newsworthy content based on original research or data. • Target journalists that are already covering your topic. • Use tools like Muck Rack or Prowly to pitch them. • One campaign can generate 40+ high-authority links in a single month. 2. Strategic guest posting Not the spray-and-pray approach most use: • Reverse engineer your competitors in Ahrefs. • Pitch sites that already accept guest posts and rank for your keywords. • Offer value in the pitch: optimize a post for a keyword they’re missing. • Focus on quality over quantity - one DR70+ link beats twenty DR30 links. 3. Link insertions in existing content A quick way to get high-quality links: • Reach out to site owners and offer to update an old article for free. • Google: site:example. com intitle:2024 to find outdated pages. • Rewrite the piece to bring it up to date, with your link naturally added. • Link insertions alone can look unnatural. Mix in other types of links in your profile. 4. Reactive PR opportunities The HARO(RIP) replacement strategy: • Monitor journalist requests on Twitter, Linkedin, Qwoted, and Featured. • Set up alerts for topics in your expertise. • Respond quickly with concise, quotable insights. • Include relevant credentials that make you citation-worthy. 5. PBNs (grey hat, not for newbies) Still one of the best ways to get quick rankings if done right: • Build or buy clean expired domains with relevant backlinks. • Avoid spammy link farms. Look for sites with real history and traffic. • Or join a reputable PBN network. (like RankClub. io)

11 Proven Ways to Build High Quality Backlinks (to rank on Google & ChatGPT): 1. Guest Post on Authority Sites → Not just blogs...go for newsletters and industry publications → Think: niche newsletters, Substack guest editions, local biz sites 2. HARO + Featured Mentions → Still works, but now also try: Terkel, Qwoted, Help a B2B Writer → Faster and often more responsive than HARO 3. Partner Collaboration Pages → Add a “Partners” page and ask vendors, clients, and tools to do the same → You link to them, they link to you 4. Resource Pages & “Best Tools” Lists → Search: intitle:resources + [your industry] → Pitch your brand/tool/blog as an addition 5. Launch a Public SOP Library → Create step-by-step SOPs in your niche → People love linking to process docs + free templates → Bonus: Update monthly, turn it into a backlink magnet 6. Create an Industry Data Report → Run a survey, publish the data, design a PDF → Add original charts + insights → Outreach to bloggers who cover your space 7. Build a Free Tool (Even a Simple One) → ROI calculator, audit checklist, SEO grader, etc. → Tools get 10x more backlinks than blogs...if they’re useful 8. Interview Your Customers or Influencers → Turn interviews into long-form blog posts → The person you feature will often link back to it → Works great for consultants, coaches, service businesses 9. Turn Your Blog into a Book (Then Launch It) → Turn 5-10 pillar posts into an ebook → Publish on Gumroad or Amazon → Promote with a “Free Resources” campaign...backlinks follow 10. Sponsor a Niche Newsletter or Creator → Pick ones with solid SEO sites (Substack, Ghost, Medium) → Your brand gets a mention + backlink in the archive 11. Create an “Ultimate Linkable Asset” → Think: “100+ stats for [industry]”, “Complete guide to [X]”, “Tool comparisons” → Make it better than anything on Page 1 → Promote it once a month on social + through outreach --- Link building should start before outreach. If it’s not worth linking to, no one will. Most SEOs avoid doing hard work → that’s your edge. Give people value + reasons to reference you. Create once, promote monthly, stack links over time. --- Whatcha think? Agree or disagree? Repost ♻️ and let's start a discussion around backlinks. P.S. I'm Connor Gillivan. Follow me and hit my 🔔 for daily Marketing insights.

Stop guessing. Start doing. Here are 5 link building tactics delivering results in 2024: 1️⃣ Podcast Guesting 2.0 Don't just show up create a resource page for every episode. Hosts link to it. You get 2-3 links per appearance. 2️⃣ Original Data Studies Survey your audience. Publish findings. Journalists and bloggers cite original data. One study = links for 2+ years. 3️⃣ Broken Link Building (But Smarter) Don't just find broken links. Find broken links on HIGH-TRAFFIC pages. Use Wayback Machine to see what content existed. Recreate it better. 4️⃣ Help a Reporter Out (HARO) 2.0 Skip the daily firehose. Use Connectively (HARO's replacement) with specific filters. Respond within 2 hours. Success rate jumps from 2% to 15%. 5️⃣ Linkable Asset Strategy Create tools, calculators, or templates. Not blog postsnUTILITIES. Example: "SEO ROI Calculator" > "SEO ROI Guide" Tools get 10x more links. Which one will you try this week? 👇v

Authority isn't built overnight. Most sites focus on backlinks and call it done. But Google (and AI systems) look at a wider set of trust signals. I pulled the most effective tactics from our research at Semrush into 5 specific actions you can apply this week: Tip 1: Get quality backlinks with valuable content Create original research, case studies, or comprehensive guides that journalists and bloggers can cite. Use the Link Building Tool to find high-authority prospects and reach out with personalized pitches. Tip 2: Optimize content for relevant keywords Use Keyword Magic Tool to find keywords with manageable difficulty scores for your domain. Group them into topic clusters, then create content that matches search intent and is structured for AI retrieval with clear headings and complete answers. Tip 3: Develop a solid internal linking strategy Find your highest-authority pages in the Backlinks tool and use them to distribute link equity across your site. Connect topic clusters, fix orphan pages, and repair broken internal links to keep your link graph healthy. Tip 4: Get mentions from across the web Identify trust hubs in your industry (sites that rank for buyer-intent searches), build relationships through podcasts and newsletters, and use Brand Monitoring to turn unlinked mentions into backlinks. Get active in communities like Reddit, Inc. and LinkedIn where AI systems frequently pull answers. Tip 5: Build an AI-friendly content structure Make sure AI crawlers can access your pages (check robots.txt and Site Audit's "Blocked from AI Search" widget), reduce JavaScript dependency for core content, and add schema markup for Organization, Person, and Product entities with @id and sameAs properties.