Why does learning how to get backlinks matter more than ever? If your website isn’t earning high-quality backlinks, chances are, it's struggling to rank on search engines—regardless of how great your content is.
“According to Ahrefs, a staggering 66.31% of web pages have zero backlinks”. And what does that mean? They don’t appear in search results, attract organic traffic, or establish authority online. Backlinks aren’t just nice to have, they’re one of Google’s most critical ranking factors, functioning like “votes of trust” from one site to another.
Whether you’re a marketer, a founder, or an SEO professional, learning how to build backlinks is foundational to driving visibility, credibility, and business growth.
There are four powerful strategies to do this:
- Add backlinks manually to directories, forums, and profiles
- Ask for backlinks through strategic outreach
- Earn backlinks by publishing high-quality, link-worthy content
- Buy backlinks, carefully, ethically, and sparingly
This guide breaks down each method in depth, providing actionable advice, white-hat techniques, and best practices to help you build a strong backlink profile without risking penalties.
What Are Backlinks and Why Do They Matter in SEO?
A backlink is a hyperlink from one website that points to a page on another website. Think of it as a digital endorsement, when another site links to yours, it’s telling Google, “This content is worth checking out.”
The more quality backlinks you earn, the more credible and authoritative your site becomes in the eyes of search engines. But not all backlinks are created equal.
Why Backlinks Matter:
- Improve Domain & Page Authority: Sites with more quality backlinks generally rank higher in search results.
- Boost Organic Rankings: Backlinks signal trust, which helps pages climb up the SERPs.
- Increase Referral Traffic: A well-placed backlink can drive highly relevant traffic from niche websites.
- Speed Up Indexing: New pages get crawled and indexed faster when linked to from trusted domains.
Backlinks are like digital currency in the SEO world, but unlike spammy link schemes, sustainable success comes from ethical, value-first tactics.
How Do I Add Backlinks Manually? (Add)
Manual backlink building is often the first step for new websites or those with limited authority. While these links may not carry the same SEO weight as earned ones, they play a key role in diversifying your link profile and boosting early trust signals.
1. Where Can You Add Backlinks Manually?
1. Business Directories
Submit your site to reputable platforms like Yelp, Google My Business, Clutch, and industry-specific directories. In the Real Estate industry, being listed on verified directories and property portals can enhance both search visibility and local SEO
2. Social Media Profiles
Optimize your bios on LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube by adding your website link.
3. Forum Signatures & Community Bios
Participate in relevant forums (e.g., Stack Overflow, Moz Community, Reddit) and link back to your site in your profile or signature—only when it makes sense.
4. Blog Comments
Thoughtful, relevant comments on high-authority blogs (with your name and URL) can still help build exposure, even if nofollow.
5. Q&A Platforms
Platforms like Quora or Reddit allow contextual links if you provide genuine, helpful answers. Avoid self-promotion without substance.
2. Pro Tip:
Manually added backlinks should never be your sole strategy for building backlinks. Use them to lay the groundwork while you build stronger, content-led links. For foundational SEO work, including manual link building and local listings, our Search Engine Optimization Services ensure your website is structured to earn and retain backlinks.
And remember: avoid spammy, irrelevant directories or automated tool, these can get you penalized.
How Can I Ask for Backlinks Through Outreach? (Ask)
Outreach-based link building is one of the most effective, scalable ways to get high-quality backlinks, especially if you have valuable content or tools to promote.
If you’re an eCommerce brand, learning how to search for words on a page or optimizing for local SEO reporting tools can help you understand which sites are more likely to link back to your content.
But here’s the key: people don’t link because you asked, they link because you offer value.
1. Step-by-Step Guide to Outreach Success:
1. Find the Right Prospects
Utilize tools like Ahrefs, BuzzSumo, or SEMrush to identify websites that link to similar content. This helps you identify likely linkers.
2. Craft Personalized Emails
Avoid mass templates. Address them by name, mention something specific about their content, and explain why your link adds value.
3. Use the Skyscraper Technique
Find popular posts in your niche, create something 10x better, and ask everyone linking to the original to link to your superior version.
4. Try Broken Link Building
Use tools like Check My Links or Broken Link Checker to find dead links on relevant blogs. Suggest your content as a replacement.
5. Contribute Guest Posts
Offer to write high-quality, original posts for industry blogs with a backlink included. Brands in the Automotive Industry can leverage guest posting to showcase product innovations and earn mentions on auto review sites.
With B2B Marketing Services, help identify high-value outreach targets and craft personalized pitches that resonate with decision-makers.
2. What NOT to Do:
- Don’t send spammy or generic emails
- Don’t ask for links to thin or low-value content
- Don’t offer money or link swaps in your first contact, it’s off-putting and often against guidelines
Outreach is a numbers game, but quality and authenticity always outperform volume in the long run.
How to Earn Backlinks Organically Through Content? (Earn)
This is the holy grail of backlink building, when people link to you naturally because your content is just that good.
If you're looking for best lead generation for realtors, publishing valuable, shareable content in your industry can play a crucial role.
Unlike adding or asking, earned backlinks build long-term SEO value and Google's trust, without any risk of penalties. For example, brands in the Food and Beverage space can publish consumer trend reports or recipe benchmarks to earn citations from culinary bloggers and lifestyle sites.
Whether you're a marketer or a technology marketing agency, creating engaging and shareable content should be at the core of your backlink strategy.
1. What Kind of Content Earns Links?
1. Original Research
Surveys, benchmarks, or data that no one else has. Journalists and bloggers love citing stats.
2. Case Studies
Detailed real-world outcomes from your clients or experiments are both shareable and credible.
3. Infographics & Data Visualizations
Visual content gets more backlinks and shares than text-only content.
4. How-To Guides & Tutorials
Actionable guides that genuinely help readers are often cited in other blog posts.
5. Expert Roundups or Interviews
Collaborate with influencers, thought leaders, or experts. They’ll often link to the content they contributed to.
The Travel and Tourism industry thrives on stunning visuals, infographics about top destinations or travel tips can earn backlinks from bloggers and travel platforms.
2. Tips to Increase Linkability:
- Include reliable data, expert quotes, and visuals
- Format for readability with bullet points and subheadings
- Promote your content via email, LinkedIn, and PR outreach
Great content alone doesn’t always attract links, you need to distribute it strategically. Content Marketing Services help brands create thought-leadership assets and data-driven stories that attract quality backlinks organically.
Get Your Free SEO Audit Report Today!
Is It Okay to Buy Backlinks? What to Know Before You Do (Buy)
Buying backlinks is controversial and risky if you don’t know what you’re doing. But when approached carefully, it can be part of a well-rounded strategy.
But when approached carefully, it can be part of a well-rounded strategy, especially when you consider how does Shopify work for eCommerce businesses or Google keyword ranking for content-driven results.
The key is to do it ethically, transparently, and with long-term SEO in mind.
White-Hat vs. Black-Hat Backlink Buying
Buying backlinks can either help your SEO or completely destroy your domain’s credibility, depending on how you do it. Here's how to understand the difference between white-hat (ethical) and black-hat (risky) backlink buying practices:
1. White-Hat Backlink Buying (Ethical & Safe)
These are Google-compliant methods of obtaining backlinks through transparent, value-driven collaborations:
- Sponsored Content on Reputable Websites
Pay to publish high-quality articles on authoritative blogs or media sites, where your link is naturally embedded in context.
- Partnerships with Niche Influencers or Bloggers
Work with well-known voices in your industry who can reference your content in return for access to your product, data, or expertise.
- Paid Listings in High-Authority Directories
Some trusted directories (like Clutch or DesignRush) charge for listing but offer valuable backlinks in return.
- Press Releases or Digital PR Campaigns
Professionally written press releases distributed through news outlets can generate organic backlinks from media mentions.
These methods are transparent, add value to the web, and are typically disclosed with a “sponsored” or “partner” label, thereby complying with Google’s guidelines.
2. Black-Hat Backlink Buying (Risky & Spammy)
These tactics are manipulative, violate search engine policies, and can lead to penalties or deindexing:
1. Link Farms
Networks of low-quality websites built solely to sell links. These often have no real content or audience, and Google can detect them.
2. PBNs (Private Blog Networks)
A group of fake or expired domains is used to artificially inflate backlink profiles. They may work short-term, but are easily penalized.
3. Automated Link-Building Software
Tools that blast your site across thousands of low-quality forums or blogs. Not only ineffective, but they also damage your brand reputation.
4. Hidden or Irrelevant Links
Backlinks placed in footers, sidebars, or completely unrelated content, often in exchange for money, these scream “manipulation” to search engines.
Using these tactics may give you a temporary rankings boost, but Google is getting smarter.
Once flagged, your site could suffer long-term damage, including lost rankings, credibility, and revenue. When integrated responsibly, backlink acquisition can amplify campaign performance, especially when paired with broader Digital Marketing Services.
3. Bottom Line:
If you're going to buy backlinks, do it the right way:
- Focus on context, relevance, and transparency
- Avoid anything that feels automated, shady, or secretive
- Treat backlink purchases like PR investments, not SEO hacks
When in doubt, always prioritize earning links through quality content—and use buying as a supplement, not a shortcut.
4. How to Buy Backlinks the Right Way?
- Vet vendors for domain authority, traffic, and relevance
- Request examples of past placements
- Ask about the content quality and anchor placement
- Avoid backlinks in sidebars, footers, or templated blog rolls
Buying should supplement your organic efforts, not replace them. When used responsibly, it can amplify visibility, especially for competitive keywords.
Absolutely! Let’s continue by expanding the remaining part of your blog, starting from the last FAQ and continuing through to a fully developed conclusion.
FAQs: How To Get Backlinks?
How do I build backlinks consistently?
Building backlinks consistently requires a long-term content strategy and regular outreach. Publishing evergreen, high-quality content on a schedule helps attract organic links over time. Repurposing top-performing content into new formats also keeps your link-building efforts fresh and scalable.
Why am I not getting quality backlinks?
If you're struggling to attract high-quality backlinks, your content may not be unique, valuable, or sufficiently targeted. You may also be targeting the wrong audience or using generic outreach messages. Enhance your results by prioritizing relevance, personalization, and relationship-building with the right publishers.
Do backlinks still matter for SEO in 2025?
Yes, backlinks remain one of Google's most important ranking signals in 2025. They help search engines assess the trust and authority of your content in an increasingly AI-saturated web. High-quality editorial links from reputable domains remain crucial for achieving long-term organic visibility.
What’s the fastest way to get backlinks?
The fastest methods include guest posting, broken link building, and niche directory submissions. These tactics offer relatively quick wins when paired with strong content and smart outreach. However, fast backlinks should still be relevant, contextual, and earned through value.
Where can I get backlinks safely?
Safe backlinks originate from authoritative, relevant sources such as industry blogs, digital PR sites, or professional directories. Focus on getting links through guest posts, partnerships, or earned media coverage. Avoid using automated tools, PBNs, or irrelevant sites, as they can harm your SEO in the long run.
Conclusion: A Holistic Approach Wins in Backlink Building
In a digital world full of noise, earning trust and authority is the new SEO currency, and backlinks are the clearest signal of both.
When you truly understand how to get backlinks—not just from one channel but from a combination of ethical, high-impact strategies, you stop chasing rankings and start building sustainable growth.
Here’s your four-part backlink blueprint one more time:
- Add – Start by building foundational links via directories, social media, and forums
- Ask – Reach out to relevant sites with valuable, personalized pitches
- Earn – Create high-quality, original content that others want to cite and share
- Buy – Invest carefully in white-hat placements to supplement your efforts
Remember, backlink building is not about shortcuts, it’s about consistently delivering value, creating share-worthy content, and fostering meaningful relationships within your industry.
