The cost of a link is roughly the same price as sailing to the Caribbean.
Content creation and promotion generally costs around $600-$800 per link in the short term. Meanwhile, routes that start from Florida and sail to the Bahamas cost roughly $1,000 on budget cruise lines — and those come with a piña colada on the beach.
What I mean is, if you’re going to spend the price of a beach vacation on creating content, you’d better know how to get backlinks and quality backlinks at that.
Even as AI reshapes Google’s search results, helpful, high-quality content still “rules” the rankings. In practice, that means pairing great content with strategic outreach (digital PR) – and even leveraging AI tools for research and personalization – to earn backlinks at scale.
In this post, we reveal 15 link building tactics that we use for our clients to generate unmatched ROI through strategic backlinks. These tactics allow our 100-person content marketing agency to scale acquisition, generating 5,000+ links per month for our clients in total.
Table of Contents:
- Competitor Links
- Link Moves
- Broken Link Building
- Reciprocal Linking
- Guest Posting
- Long-Form Resources
- Link Reclamation
- Resource Pages and Review Roundups
- Pitch Sites With Testimonials
- Digital PR
- Organic Link Acquisition
- Create Image Assets People Want to Link To
- Utilize HARO
- Bring Additional Value to Popular Topics
- Build Free Tools
- Reach Out to Businesses and Organizations
What Are Backlinks and Why Are They Important for SEO?
In SEO, backlinks are when another website links to yours. This may be a hyperlink within the text, a button, or a clickable link on an image. Each of these counts as a backlink, which is one of the key factors for helping your website and its pages rank well.
Google aims to show search results that have accurate information. Backlinks are a key Google ranking factor because they send out a signal of trust. Basically, the more people vouching for your content, the better. For example, a website with one backlink won’t be as trustworthy as one with 100.
The quality of the backlinks matters, too. The value of a link depends on the authority, perceived quality, and relevancy of a site. A single link from a high-tier news site is worth inherently more than 10 links from low-authority guest posting sites.
Google’s algorithms now prioritize backlink relevance alongside authority, so a link from a contextually related site in your niche can carry more weight than one from an unrelated high-DA site.
Recent research shows the #1 Google result has significantly more backlinks than lower-ranked pages, underlining how critical backlinks are for ranking. (For example, many page one studies find the top result often has ~4x the backlinks of results #2–10),
Now that you understand the importance of backlinks, we have 15 different strategies for you to get relevant backlinks for your content. A major part of these strategies is digital PR, which is reaching out to different websites to gain backlinks.
1. Competitor Links
Believe it or not, sometimes getting backlinks is as easy as browsing sites that link to your competitor and borrowing that lead. This tactic can generate backlinks in three simple steps.
- Make a list: List your top 3 competitors that appear to be implementing a content strategy.(Pro tip → think about the frequency of posts, number of sites linking to posts, and terms they’re ranking for—are they all branded?)
- Find top-performing posts: Use tools like Content Explorer in Ahrefs and find posts that bring in the most traffic to your competitors.
- Send your pitch: Now, it’s time to craft a pitch. Send an outreach email briefly explaining the value the website’s audience will get if they include your brand in the post.
For example, you may want to write a blog post to target the keyword “how to sell jewelry online”. Looking at the SERP, Forbes has the top post with 153 referring domains.
Using a tool like Ahrefs, you can see each of the sites linking to this post. You can then filter them to find sites that are more likely to link back to your blog post. Some tips for using Ahrefs filters include:
- Try websites with DRs close to yours
- Avoid sites using nofollow links, unless high traffic
- Find sites that will find your content useful
- Aim for competitor backlinks from reputable, relevant sites
The idea behind this backlink strategy is to show evidence that the website links out to useful resources, so they may be interested in your post if it benefits their audience.
Many SEO tools now offer AI-driven insights to surface your competitors’ most-linked content. Consider using these to quickly identify high-value link opportunities and even to draft personalized outreach angles.
2. Link Moves
Say you have a new product page that you optimized for conversions. A backlink to that page will become more valuable than a link to an older product or resource.
Enter: link moves.
This strategy involves repitching sites where you already have a link attributed to your brand. While the older link is still a worthwhile mention, a link to newer resources or product pages will do more for your brand regarding SEO value and conversions.
Similar to link reclamation, the webmaster or journalist you’re reaching out to should see the immediate benefit for their audience by moving the link.
When repitching a link to a newer page, make it clear why it’s better. For example: If you’ve recently updated a resource or launched a new, more informative page, mention that in your outreach – showing it’s up-to-date and more valuable for their readers can encourage the webmaster to move the link.
Always explain what’s in it for their audience – e.g. “Our new page includes the latest 2025 data on this topic, which your readers will appreciate.”
3. Broken Link Building (BLB)
Tried and true, broken link building (BLB) is an O.G. promotion method that survived the Penguin Update and still sees success today. The tactic calls for finding resources that return a 404, are outdated or no longer exist and reaching out to the sites that have linked to that resource.
To find sites with broken links, start by finding sites that have Resources pages in your niche. You can do this by searching for a keyword and adding -inurl:resources.
Using a Chrome extension like LinkMiner, you can see which links are broken so you can craft your pitch email.
You should frame your pitch as such, so your recipient sees that value as soon as they open the email.
Here’s what I mean:
BLB is a great way to get backlinks for your website because you’re bringing value to the webmaster (locating a broken link on their page) before you come in with your ask (adding a link to your resource).
Before pitching a site with broken links, consider the relevance of your content. A resource page for storm chasers won’t care about your guide to financial resources for single parents, and it’s highly unlikely that you’ll generate a backlink.
4. Reciprocal Linking
Do you have a large customer network or extensive list of vendors? Reciprocal linking is the process of requesting a link from known contacts. Think: the “order delivery” button at the bottom of your favorite restaurant’s website.
While you shouldn’t rely on these types of links as a complete backlink strategy, a handful of thoughtful reciprocated link placements are an easy win.
Let’s think of a less obvious example. Say you’re a local shop that provides toiletries and other amenities to cruise lines and hotel chains. You probably feature them as your client on your website, but do they? By linking to the hotel chains or vendors providing the amenities, they may link back to your page as well.
Pitch the vendor with the value-add of your link. Not only will their customers have a direct source to learn more about your product, but you’ll have the extra link juice in tow.
Another example: if you sponsor a local event or charity, ask if they’ll list your company (with a link) on their sponsors page – you get a backlink, and they get to show community support.
Be selective and genuine with reciprocal links. Exchanging too many links or doing so with unrelated sites can look manipulative – Google frowns on obvious “you link to me, I link to you” schemes.
5. Guest Posting
Guest posts can be beneficial, but they can also be a double-edged sword.
While these posts can be an effective way to get in front of new readers, you need to make sure you’re not engaging in tactical link building techniques, which can easily get devalued by Google.
Focus on quality not quantity – one well-written guest post on a respected site beats dozens of low-quality posts.
If you’re going to undertake guest posting as a backlink strategy, you have to be ready to go above and beyond. Only pitch sites where you have topical authority, and be prepared to write another high-quality post with around 800+ words.
You can use AI writing tools to help brainstorm or outline your guest article, but always infuse your own expertise and edit thoroughly. A purely AI-generated post won’t meet most editorial standards (and Google’s algorithms reward original, experience-driven content).
Here’s an example.
I do a lot of backpacking, so I pitched camping printables for my client. I have topical authority from backpacking for 10+ months as a solo female, and it’s within my personal brand to write a guest post for a site that creates content around camping for women.
The guest blog was genuine and drew from personal experiences, and I just happened to be able to tie in my client’s page with the piece without diluting authority.
Typically, you’ll have editorial guidelines to follow as a guest blogger, and there will be a formal process to publish the piece.
Take a look:
Pro tip → make yourself available after the post goes live to answer comments. Staying engaged after publication (answering comments, promoting the post) can turn a single guest spot into a lasting relationship and maybe future backlink opportunities.
6. Long-Form Resources
Consider creating an Ultimate Guide on your topic. Comprehensive, long-form guides (3,000+ words) act as link magnets because they cover everything on one page.
Pitching long-form resources looks similar to finding sites with broken links. You’ll use the same types of Google search operators (ie., inurl:resources | intitle:helpful-links | inurl:links). However, rather than only focusing on broken links, you’ll be pitching your guide as a new resource instead of replacing a link.
Site and post relevance is key here. Consider adding additional Google search operators that will narrow down your search. If you’re pitching a resource for veterans, you may want to use operators like intitle:military or intext:veteran.
Your value add is crucial. You want to make sure the resource you’re pitching is better than existing content to provide value to your prospect’s audience.
7. Link Reclamation
Link reclamation, or unlinked mentions, is the process of finding your brand referenced online without a backlink to your website. You’ll find these mentions in online publications, social media posts, product reviews, and everything in between.
Think big – even a powerhouse brand like Airbnb found thousands of articles mentioning them without links. If a company that famous still has to ask for links, don’t hesitate to reach out when you find your brand mentioned!
These tactics work when established brands already have some buzz and can create link opportunities to extremely valuable bottom-funnel pages. Link reclamation is unique to your brand, and your competitors can’t replicate these links because the websites are already talking about you.
Let’s talk logistics. By reaching out to the person who wrote the post, you can present your link as a way for their readers to find more information and, therefore, provide value before your big ask.
Here’s what it looks like:
Notice that this email focuses on brevity. Journalists are busy, and they get hundreds of emails per day. Keep your pitch short so they can scan it easily. Make sure to include a link to the post your brand is mentioned in. Again, journalists are busy, and they won’t want to dig through old posts to do you a solid.
Set up Google Alerts (free) or use a tool like Ahrefs Alerts to catch new mentions of your brand like these.
8. Resource Pages and Review Roundups
You’re in an industry where relevant keywords ranking in the SERP are formatted as “Best [X].” Instead of trying to rank higher than the post with “136 Best …” it might be a better strategy to simply ask for your product to be included.
Craft your pitch to make your value proposition apparent. If you’re a software booking company, and there’s a list of “X Best Booking Software for Cruise Lines,” you’ll want to feature why your software is different. If the post is missing a better booking system, they will likely include your link to create a more comprehensive guide for their audience.
Disclaimer: Advertising or “publishing fees” may be requested.
If a site asks for a fee to include your link, evaluate the business value carefully. It might be worth it for a high-quality placement that drives awareness – but often, truly valuable resources will include you for free if you genuinely improve their page.
If you do pay for placement, note that Google guidelines ask you to nofollow those links.
9. Pitch Sites With Testimonials
Similar to creating review roundups, you can also use this as an opportunity to pitch testimonials. Not only does “Best X” content often perform well, but your outgoing links present an opportunity for incoming links. Once the content is published, you can contact various sites that made the list to see if they’re willing to link back to your article. It’s self-promotion for them and a backlink for you, so everybody wins.
This is also a strategy you can use when pitching news outlets. Here at Siege Media, we’ll sometimes write about relevant studies for our clients to create content. After publishing content like this, you can reach out to local reporters and news desks, highlighting that they’re among the top-ranking areas.
Here’s an example pitch to news outlets for a ranked study:
10. Digital PR
High-tier news backlinks are the holy grail of SEO – and securing them often comes down to smart digital PR campaigns.
If BLB is the budget cruise line of link building, then high-tier news coverage is like a private yacht. Our recent trends data backs this up – content marketers are increasingly shifting from mass link outreach to data-focused PR for link building.
But how do you get the attention of journalists who get hundreds of emails daily?
Data + value-added pitch = coverage.
Here comes the intimidating part. You have to gather data and create a research report that highlights enough points so journalists can spin it how they want to. You can do this by doing surveys, analyzing data from Google trends, or even using proprietary data.
Take a look:
This email cuts the fluff and pitches a piece offering interesting data handed to the journalist with a story idea on a silver platter. The easier you make it for a journalist to envision the headline, the more likely you will get that placement.
Leverage technology to your advantage – for example, AI tools can help analyze large data sets or survey results to spot newsworthy angles that journalists might find compelling.
11. Organic Link Acquisition
Organic link acquisition is arguably the strategy that generates the highest ROI and lowest cost per link over time.
Notably, only 21.4% of link builders now say manual outreach is their main strategy – down from 38.2% just a year prior. Instead, most are focusing on organic link acquisition and holistic content + PR strategies.
After you’re done with outreach, your post will continue generating organic placements and rank in a pitchable SERP.
These SEO linking strategies can include statistics posts, definitional posts, top-funnel topics with high search intent, and a shareable asset. While these pieces don’t generate as many links up front, after more than six months, they reap SEO backlinks and gain traction in the SERP.
For example, we have a post for must-know content marketing statistics that we update each year. It ranks #2 on the SERP for “content marketing statistics” and has gained over 800 links from 545 domains.
We refresh that post each year to keep it current – a crucial step. Regularly updating your content ensures it continues to earn backlinks over time instead of stagnating.
Naturally, other sites will begin to reference your post as it gains more authority. Not only can these garner organic links from mid-tier sites, but they can also achieve top-tier coverage naturally. Not to mention, these links are the least likely to be devalued by Google should another core update come along to rock the content marketing boat.
12. Create Image Assets People Want to Link To
Linking images counts as backlinks, which is why it’s a good strategy to create images people want to link to. One of the best ways you can do this is with shareable infographics. You can outline and write content specifically crafted to host a standout infographic, or you may find that a piece of content is great for an infographic after you finish writing it.
Beyond infographics, consider charts, original illustrations, or even short videos – any visual that makes information easier to consume can earn links.
When your visualization is complete, you can research pages that are discussing the same topic and then explain how the infographic may be useful for their audience. The visualization may fit perfectly with something the prospect wrote, but you can also offer to write a custom intro so their piece flows smoothly into your visual.
You don’t need to send the full visual in the email, but it’s helpful to show a portion of it so the prospect has an idea of what it looks like.
In the example below, you’ll see how we pitched this image, the section we included in the email, and a link to the full post with the design.
13. Utilize HARO
If you’re in the market for creating relevant backlinks, Help a Reporter Out (HARO) can be a gold mine. It’s a resource that journalists use to get expert quotes when they’re writing stories.
When you sign up, click on the link for “I’m a Subject Matter Expert”, and then you’ll have access to all of the requests reporters, journalists, and bloggers have.
14. Bring Additional Value to Popular Topics
Naturally, some topics will be more popular than others. Sometimes, these topics are evergreen; other times, they may end up being a trend. Either way, you can start creating backlinks by writing about popular topics and doing it better. For example, many top-ranking posts for the topic “how to get backlinks” had lists of 10, so we went with 15 to add more value.
And since publishing, that number has only gone up — a sure sign this tactic influences the landscape!
This is known as the “skyscraper technique.” It follows three simple steps:
- Step 1: Find content that’s earning a lot of links.
- Step 2: Write about the topic in a better way.
- Step 3: Promote it to websites linking to the original piece as well as others.
To improve the content, you can showcase how you’re an expert in the field when you pitch it. You can also provide additional information that the top content isn’t providing.
For example, if a top piece of content on the SERP is “10 simple 10-minute dinners”, you can write a piece with 12 simple 10-minute dinners. As long as it’s quality content, you may be able to outshine the others in the space.
This said, the Skyscraper Technique works in 2025 only if you truly outshine the competition – don’t just add fluff. Bring new insights, better examples, or more recent data to the table.
Also, ensure your beefed-up content nails the search intent. If the top results all address a “how-to” angle, your longer post should as well – just more comprehensively.
15. Build Free Tools
Free resources are great for backlinks, but free tools are even better. If you know how to program, using AI tools or can hire an affordable programmer to create a tool, these pieces of content can be a great way to increase backlinks. Maybe you can create a spreadsheet that has a built-in functionality to help people, or you can create a helpful calculator.
One of our clients is in the fintech space, and we created a free loan calculator. Calculating the cost of a loan with interest over the long term can involve a lot of math, so this is a helpful tool.
This calculator is performing great when it comes to backlinks as well. As you can see, we’ve gained links from 130 unique domains.
It’s also important to note that we didn’t simply guess that this would be a useful tool. We researched the keywords and found that they’d be valuable for generating traffic and backlinks.
16. Reach Out to Businesses and Organizations
You don’t need to build links alone; consider contacting other businesses and partners to obtain backlinks. A local business association or chamber of commerce is likely available if you run a small or medium-sized business in a town or city. These organizations may be able to add your website to their directory, earning you a link from a reputable source.
Make sure your business is listed on all relevant “official” sites – local Chambers of Commerce, industry association directories, supplier or vendor “where to buy” pages, etc. Many small businesses miss these, so grabbing those links can give you a quick authority boost.
If you’re a store owner, contact product manufacturers and suppliers to see if they can add you to their website’s list of available product locations. As larger suppliers can have more domain authority, obtaining these links can have a healthy effect on how Google perceives your website.
Stick to reputable organizations – a link from your city’s business association is great, but avoid spammy generic directories that could do more harm than good.
TL;DR
Bottom line: Earning backlinks comes down to one overarching strategy – add value. Create content people want to share, then promote it through smart outreach (think digital PR over spam). Do this, and authoritative backlinks (and the rankings you deserve) will follow.
Backlink FAQ
How To Get Backlinks for Your Website as a Beginner
If you have a low DR website, some of the best strategies to begin getting backlinks are to become an expert source by using sites like HARO and writing guest posts for authoritative blogs.
How Do You Get Backlinks for Free?
Many websites will link to your site for free if you’re providing them with value. In your pitch, emphasize why you think your link will help their readers and add value propositions like a guest post on the subject. Journalists are also a great way to get backlinks for free.
One free tactic often overlooked is answering questions on platforms like Quora or Reddit and subtly mentioning your content if it truly helps.
Can You Create Your Own Backlinks?
Each of your pages and blog posts should have internal links to other useful pages and posts on your site. A good rule of thumb is to have five inbound and five outbound links to and from each new page and post.
Yes – you control internal backlinks (links between your own pages), and you should use them to improve navigation and SEO. But the backlinks that matter most are from other websites. Those you “create” by inspiring others to link to you (via the strategies above).
