Why Link Building Still Matters

If you're leading growth, chances are you've already invested in great content, a solid site, maybe even a few media buys. But SEO…may still feel like a black box.

This is where link building comes in: quietly powerful, often overlooked, and frankly, misunderstood.

For many businesses, link building is still the missing piece of the marketing puzzle, often overshadowed by quick-win tactics. Yet this approach is essential for long-term search visibility. Search engines view each quality backlink as a vote of confidence in your content, elevating your site’s authority over time. 

Nevertheless, link building has also earned a bad reputation due to its association with overpromises, underdelivery, and spammy tactics that can put brands at risk. So, is link building even worth it in 2025? The short answer is yes. 

Consider that around 96% of all web pages get zero organic traffic primarily because they have no backlinks at all. In fact, we asked over 100 SEO specialists how important they considered link-building to be.

• 27% of them consider link-building to be an essential part of their SEO strategy
• 42% of them believe it to be a huge advantage
• 11% say that it's fairly important
• 20% report that content is far more important

Without a strong backlink profile, even great content can remain virtually invisible online. And we can go into detail on why link building remains relevant and how to drive a criterion-driven strategy for lasting results.

In the pages ahead, we’ll cover the core elements of a successful link-building strategy, including:

Is link building even worth it

Why link building is a critical (and often underleveraged) component of long-term online visibility.

White Hat Link-Building & Common Pitfalls to Avoid

How to spot real, white-hat strategies from stuff that gets you penalized.

Popular link-building approaches 

A detailed look at some popular link-building approaches: Digital PR, scholarship link building, lead generation, and guest posting— including when and how to implement each for actual results.

Link Building Metrics [+Expert’s Criteria]

How to understand link-building metrics and how to assess them based on expert criteria.

Bottom line: 6 Link Building Strategies

Link building strategies, including the essential dos and don’ts, for creating a sustainable and high-impact link profile.

Google’s link-building stance is pretty clear: Links are a ranking factor. But you shouldn’t try to build or buy links for the sole purpose of ranking higher. 

In April 2023, when covering the company’s anti-spam policies, the Google Search Console blog mentioned some improvements to SpamBrain that allowed it to detect 50x more spammy backlinks than ever before.

They also did so in March 2024, the core update introduced new spam policies targeting practices like expired domain abuse, scaled content abuse, and site reputation abuse. And it’s worth mentioning that link spam detection affects both the beneficiary of the backlink and the website that’s providing it.

Google's commitment to detecting and neutralizing manipulative behaviors that exploit its ranking systems is clear and constant.

Is Landing High-Authority Backlinks in 2025 Possible?

Maybe it’s because I run a website, maybe it’s because I’m a marketer, but almost every day, I receive a couple of emails and LinkedIn messages from link builders promising high-authority links at a moderate price. Link-building spammers are everywhere.

Additionally, some reputable content agencies have pivoted towards a link-centric service. And I don’t blame them.

White hat link building enhances your brand’s credibility, driving referral traffic and boosting your reputation.

Content is expensive to produce, it requires a team of highly capable people that are willing to learn about your brand, product, and audience. And they should also know SEO, and they should also write fairly well. 

There’s less friction in link-building. It’s easier to quantify and easier to scale. And, considering the current stage of the Google algorithm, there’s a linear correlation between backlinks and organic traffic. And every content creator worth their salt knows that. 

However, in link building, there's a big difference between white hat and black hat strategies. White hat link building focuses on earning backlinks ethically by creating value, following search guidelines, and building relationships. Black hat tactics, however, may provide a quick boost initially, but they lead to penalties, causing rankings to plummet or even resulting in de-indexing.

So, is landing high-authority backlinks in 2025 possible? Yes, it is. Will it require a budget? Yes, it will. In the next section, we’ll explore a couple of strategies that will help you land high-authority backlinks, even in this hyper-competitive landscape.

Looking for a strategic SEO partner?

Link building is a critical component of long-term online visibility, but executing it effectively requires expertise. If you're ready to leverage link-building strategies for sustainable growth, we can help. Let’s chat about how we can help you build a strong online presence. Book a free consulting call today.

It’s important to recognize which practices help your cause and which hurt it. Here we contrast some white-hat principles with common link-building mistakes (including black-hat or low-value tactics) that many fall for:

Quality Over Quantity

• Mistake: Focusing on sheer volume of links—like chasing dozens of backlinks from link farms, low-tier directories, or irrelevant blogs. This can hurt your SEO.
  
  
• White Hat Approach: Focus on earning a few high-quality links from authoritative, relevant sites. Search engines prioritize these over a flood of low-value links. One link from a trusted publication is worth more than ten from random sources.

Avoiding Spammy Tactics

• Mistake: Paying for any link just to boost rankings. Manipulative tactics, like using Private Blog Networks (PBNs) or buying an excessive number of links are methods that can be easily spotted by Google’s algorithms. Yet, this doesn’t mean that those links come for free. 
  
  
• White Hat Approach: While it's commonly advised never to buy links, the reality of the link-building landscape is more nuanced. Sometimes, paying for links is a necessary part of the process. Sure, some links come from genuine exchanges—that's the ideal—but these are rare. Regardless of whether the link is paid or it’s an actual exchange, you should always focus on offering valuable content and being featured on reputable websites. This will not only benefit your SEO but also your brand’s reputation.
  
  

Don’t Over-Rely on DA Metrics & “off-brand” Links

• Mistake: Chasing high Domain Authority (DA) sites, thinking any link from a high DA site is valuable. A high DA doesn’t automatically mean a good link, especially if the site is irrelevant for your niche or poorly trafficked. For example, a B2B tech startup getting a link from a random travel blog adds little value. Not only will such a link likely deliver no qualified traffic, but it could appear manipulative to search engines (why would a travel site link to B2B software?). This ties back to focusing on relevance.
  
  
• White Hat Approach: Focus on relevance over DA. A link from a niche authority site or a respected general publication is much more valuable than one from a high-DA site that doesn’t align with your audience or content. A link’s value comes from context: a mention on a site that your potential customers actually read is far more meaningful than a link buried on an unrelated page
  

Neglecting Internal Links

• Mistake: Focusing only on external backlinks and forgetting about internal links. It’s easy to get distracted by new backlinks, but internal links are a quick, often overlooked win.
  
  
• White Hat Approach: Ensure your key pages are interlinked logically. When you publish high-value content, link to it from other pages on your site. This strengthens your SEO and enhances the user experience.
  

Link Building Without a Business Strategy in Mind

• Mistake: Focusing on backlinks without considering your business goals. Link-building shouldn't be done in isolation or just to check off an SEO box. Without a clear connection to your overall business strategy—whether it’s brand visibility, lead generation, or thought leadership—your link-building efforts are less likely to deliver meaningful, long-term results.
  
  
• White Hat approach: Before diving into any backlink tactics, define what success looks like for your business. A good link-building plan begins with clear, measurable objectives that tie into your broader goals. Are you aiming to boost brand awareness? Improve search rankings for certain keywords? Generate B2B leads in a new market? In other words, align your link-building approach with concrete business goals so that every backlink you earn serves a real purpose (not just an SEO vanity metric). For example, if brand visibility and press coverage are top priorities, a digital PR link-building campaign might be your best bet. For thought leadership and niche credibility, guest posting is a go-to strategy. 

In the next sections, we’ll dive into some popular link-building approaches that actually deliver results and explain when, why, and how they work.

• Digital PR link building 
• Scholarship link building 
• Link building for lead generation
• Guest posting for thought leadership
  

Need a white-hat SEO expert?

Spotting the difference between white-hat link building and spammy tactics is essential for long-term success. Don’t risk penalties. Our team of link-building specialists can guide you through ethical strategies that drive real results. Let’s talk about how we can build a strategy that works for you. Book a free call now!

You may be wondering if you should invest in link-building or buy ad space on digital media platforms instead. But you don’t really have to choose.

In most cases, digital PR and link-building go hand-in-hand. Let us explain.

Outside of niche specificity, your ideal link-building contacts should have:

• High DR 
• High volumes of qualified traffic

Top publications have a high DR, and in some cases, their traffic volume is so high that qualified buyers are practically bound to find you. Especially if the publication covers your industry at large. So, a good digital PR strategy will probably help you build great links. Especially if your PR team remains connected to your SEO team and they collaborate on choosing partners and negotiating with them. Remember that unlinked mentions are far less impactful than direct links, both for lead generation and for link-building.

Here’s how it works.

What Is Digital PR?

While link-building is typically more transactional: find relevant pages, insert or earn a backlink, move on. Digital PR link building is bigger-picture. It’s about earning backlinks as a natural result of meaningful exposure and storytelling.

In other words:

• Link-building chases the backlink.
• Digital PR earns the backlink by earning attention.

Digital PR is the evolution of public relations into digital channels. Think of it as the proactive, relationship-based work of getting your brand featured—not just for press coverage, but for high-authority backlinks that actually support your visibility in search engines.

A well-executed digital PR strategy includes:

• High-authority backlinks from media outlets, not random directories
• Brand credibility via third-party validation
• Compounding visibility—you earn coverage and ranking power at once
• SEO lift for product launches, campaigns, and executive content
• Referral traffic from outlets your audience already trusts
  
  

Digital PR for Link Building Formats

A few proven formats lead the way when it comes to earning coverage and links:

• Original Data & Research
  Unique industry stats or reports (like “The State of [X] in 2025”) are journalist gold.
  They drive inbound requests, press mentions, and backlinks from media looking to cite reliable data.
  
  
• Creative Campaigns
  Unexpected formats—like viral social moments or brand storytelling—can attract both attention and high-quality links.
  Think: Duolingo’s offbeat TikTok strategy or Notion’s use-case playbooks.
  
  
• Newsjacking
  Tying your brand to trending topics (in a way that feels timely and insightful) can earn fast coverage.
  E.g. Reacting to AI regulation, layoffs, or tech shifts with your POV.
  
  
• Expert Commentary
  Connect your brand with journalists who need quotes. A simple expert insight can land you a backlink on a major news site.
  
  
• Product-Focused PR
  Launching a new feature, entering a market, or reaching a milestone?
  Position it as a story worth telling—not just a press release. If it’s timely, credible, and relevant, publications will often pick it up and link to your site.

Ready to boost your link profile with proven tactics?

Whether it's digital PR, scholarship link building, guest posting, or lead generation, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. We tailor our link-building strategy to your specific business needs, ensuring that every tactic we use drives real, measurable results, without wasting your budget. Schedule a free call today! 

Scholarship link building used to be one of the most talked-about SEO tactics in the early 2010s. The premise was simple: create a scholarship, get universities to link to your site, and benefit from high-authority .edu backlinks. And for a time, it worked well—until it didn’t.

Today, scholarship link building is a much more controversial, limited-use strategy. In many cases, it's outdated. Search engines—especially Google—have caught on to the tactic's potential for abuse, and in 2021, they formally categorized manipulative scholarship campaigns as part of their link scheme policy. What was once a reliable way to build domain authority is now a tactic that comes with risk, reputational concerns, and rapidly diminishing SEO returns.

That said, it’s not completely obsolete.

There’s a clear distinction between exploitative link-building schemes and genuine scholarship programs that are integrated into a company’s social impact or community strategy. When done transparently—with a real scholarship, actual funding, and relevance to your brand—it can still generate PR value, some visibility, and the occasional high-authority backlink. In those cases, it’s less of a “link-building hack” and more of a white hat linkbuilding tactic with side effects that benefit both SEO and brand equity.

When (and Why) Scholarship Link Building Might Make Sense:

• Your business already has a strong social impact or education mission. If you’re in EdTech, career development, or any education-adjacent field, a scholarship could be a logical extension of your mission.
  
  
• You're willing to do it right. That means launching a real scholarship, doing the legwork on outreach, and vetting submissions. Anything less is either ignored or flagged.
  
  
• You see PR as the primary outcome. These campaigns can earn media coverage, be shared on social media, and build goodwill. When they work, it's because they support the brand holistically—not just for a quick DA bump.
  
  

But even in the best-case scenario, this is not a reliable way to scale link acquisition. Many schools have stopped listing external scholarships due to overuse of the tactic. And for companies with limited time or budget, there are more impactful strategies to pursue first.

A qualified linkbuilding specialist or white label linkbuilding provider will rarely lead with this tactic today—because while technically still viable in very specific use cases, it’s no longer a core part of modern SEO strategy.

In short, scholarship link building in 2025 is mostly useful as a digital PR play. If you’re looking to support your community and maybe earn some .edu links along the way, it can still serve a purpose. But if you're looking for predictable link-building ROI, there are smarter, safer, and more scalable approaches to prioritize.

Looking for a Great SEO and Link-Building Specialists team?

Looking for the right SEO partner for your team? Chosen by bootstrapped and VC-backed startups from all over the world, we’re a process-conscious, expertise-driven content studio. We help our clients to:

• Connect with their target audience
• Position themselves as niche experts
• Turn SEO into a reliable lead acquisition channel
  
  

Maybe we could help your startup meet those same goals. Want to give it a try? Book a free consulting call. 

‍

“Will this get me leads?”
That’s one of the first questions that comes up when a CMO or growth lead considers a link-building strategy. And it’s a fair one. Lead generation is a clear, measurable outcome—while link-building often feels like a long game with indirect returns.

So let’s be direct: yes, link-building can support lead generation. But its effectiveness depends on where those links live, who sees them, and how your overall content performs.

When Link Building Drives Demand

Link-building isn’t just about search rankings—it’s also about visibility in the right places. If your backlinks come from trusted, well-trafficked sites with high topical alignment, they can expose your brand to relevant audiences. That visibility can lead directly to clicks, and in some cases, conversions.

This is especially true when:

• You’re featured in a tools listicle, roundup, or curated guide
  
  
• Your content appears on industry-leading blogs with strong social engagement
  
  
• The platform’s audience shares your users’ pain points, even if it's outside your exact niche
  
  

Let’s say you're promoting a project management tool via a guest post on a leading SEO software blog. If your article addresses bottlenecks that SEO teams face—like managing campaigns or streamlining revisions—you’re creating a crossover moment. The right reader, at the right time, might click through and convert. In that sense, you’re not just earning a link; you’re creating a lead pathway.

This kind of outreach linkbuilding growth requires careful planning. You’re not just checking boxes for DR or DA—you’re evaluating relevance, audience intent, and potential for impact.

Why It Sometimes Falls Flat

That said, not every backlink drives action. Even links from high-DR domains can underperform if:

• The post lives in a corner of the site with low traffic or poor engagement
  
  
• Your brand isn’t directly relevant to the publication’s core audience
  
  
• The link context doesn’t make a clear case for your product or solution
  
  

It’s common for blog traffic to be unevenly distributed. A site might show impressive overall metrics, but the post you contribute may see little exposure—especially if it's not promoted via email or social channels. And without alignment between your offer and their readers’ needs, even a well-placed link won’t generate leads.

In short: a backlink doesn’t guarantee a lead. It guarantees an opportunity—what happens next depends on content, context, and visibility.

Unpopular opinion: It Works Even When it Doesn’t 

Here’s the less talked-about truth: even when your backlinks don’t convert directly, they still support your lead funnel.

Why? Because Google watches who links to you.
Sites with strong backlinks tend to rank higher. And higher-ranked content is more easily discovered by your target audience—especially if that content is optimized for the right search intent.

So even if a reader doesn’t click on the backlink itself, the presence of that link may have helped the article rank, leading to organic traffic and, eventually, a conversion. This makes link-building a strategic amplifier, not a silver bullet.

Where It Fits in the Lead Gen Stack

If your website has strong UX, conversion-ready landing pages, and solid content, link-building can elevate those assets by making them more visible. But if those foundations aren’t in place, links won’t move the needle.

That’s why most SEO specialists see link-building as a priority—but not the top one.

In that light, link-building for lead generation works best as part of a full-funnel strategy—one that includes:

• Competitive content that ranks and converts
  
  
• A well-performing, responsive website
  
  
• Smart, relevant link acquisition to drive both discovery and authority
  
  

When approached this way, backlinks don’t just help your rankings. They help your audience find you—so your content and product can do the rest.

A Five-Star Content Marketing Partner

Looking for the right content partner for your team? Chosen by bootstrapped and VC-backed startups from all over the world, we’re a process-conscious, expertise-driven content studio. We help our clients to:

• Connect with their target audience
• Position themselves as niche experts
• Turn SEO into a reliable lead acquisition channel

Maybe we could help your startup meet those same goals. Want to give it a try? Book a free consulting call.

‍

Guest posting for thought leadership involves contributing high-quality articles or content to other reputable publications in your industry, with the dual aim of showcasing expertise and earning a backlink. Unlike mass guest blogging purely for links, this approach is about being selective and strategic: you publish on platforms that elevate your brand’s profile. By sharing insightful, non-promotional content under your byline (for example, your CEO writing an op-ed or how-to guide on an industry site), you position your company as a thought leader. The backlink you gain (often in an author bio or within the content) is important, but equally valuable is the credibility and exposure you build.

The primary purpose is brand authority and trust. When your executives or brand voices regularly appear in respected industry blogs, magazines, or news sites, audiences start recognizing your company for its expertise. The backlinks acquired through these guest posts are high-quality and contextually relevant, reinforcing your SEO, but they come as a byproduct of your focus on sharing knowledge.

Guest posting in this manner supports growth in a few ways. 

• It introduces your brand to new, relevant audiences (readers of the host publication) – expanding your reach and potentially attracting new customers who discover you through your thought-provoking content. 
• Each guest article’s backlink bolsters your search engine visibility, helping more prospects find you organically. 
• It enhances trust. Stakeholders and potential clients often research a company’s leadership and brand reputation. Seeing your thought leadership pieces on well-known sites can be the credibility boost that sways a big prospect or partnership.

This approach is a staple for any linkbuilding specialist focused on long-term gains. It’s entirely white hat linkbuilding, because it’s based on merit – you earn the link by providing genuine value to an audience. Guest posting for thought leadership requires effort (developing quality content and doing outreach to pitch it), but it solidifies your brand’s position in the market. Over time, a portfolio of guest appearances can significantly elevate your company’s profile and contribute to steady organic growth both in traffic and in industry influence.

‍

Looking for a Trusted SEO Partner to Elevate your Brand?
 

Chosen by both bootstrapped and VC-backed startups globally, we’re a content studio driven by expertise and focused on process. Our team helps clients:

• Connect with their ideal audience
• Establish themselves as leaders in their niche
• Turn SEO into a powerful lead-generation tool
  
  

If you're ready to achieve these same results, we might be the right fit for your team. Book your free consulting call today and let’s start building a strategy that delivers.

‍

When it comes to SEO link building, the value of a backlink goes beyond surface-level numbers. While metrics help gauge a link’s quality, relevance, and potential impact, what truly sets a strong strategy apart is the judgment behind those numbers. In other words, metrics matter—but expert evaluation matters more.

In this section, we’ll break down:

• The most important link-building metrics to watch
• How to interpret them through the lens of real SEO experience

⚠️ Note: The specific metrics and labels you see may vary depending on your SEO tool of choice. Still, the criteria remain largely consistent.

Core Authority & Quality Metrics

These indicate how strong and trustworthy a linking domain is:

• Domain Rating (DR) / Domain Authority (DA): Proprietary metrics (by Ahrefs and Moz respectively) that estimate the overall backlink strength of a domain. Useful for benchmarking, but don’t obsess—Google doesn’t use these.
  
  
• Page Authority (PA) / URL Rating (UR): These zoom into the authority of the specific page you’re getting a link from, which can matter more than overall domain metrics. Both are by Moz and Ahrefs, respectively. This only applies if the URL already exists, which differs from the case of publishing a new guest post.
  
  
• Trust Flow (TF) & Citation Flow (CF): From Majestic. Trust Flow gauges trustworthiness based on proximity to authoritative sources; Citation Flow measures link quantity. High TF relative to CF = good.

Traffic Metrics

These give insight into how much visibility and real-world value the link might generate:

• Organic Traffic (Estimated): Does the linking page/domain actually rank and get search traffic? A DR 70 domain with zero traffic might not be as valuable as a DR 40 domain with consistent traffic.
  
  
• Keyword Rankings (of Linking Page): If the linking page ranks for relevant keywords, the link may bring referral traffic and SEO value.

Spam & Toxicity Metrics

Make sure your links don’t come back to bite you:

• Spam Score (Moz): While not perfect, it flags potentially risky domains.
• Toxic Score (SEMrush): Highlights potentially penalized or spammy backlinks.
  
  

Additional Considerations

• Indexability: Is the page indexed by Google? A link on a page that’s not indexed = wasted effort.
  
  
• Dofollow vs. Nofollow: Dofollow passes authority, but nofollow can still have traffic and discovery value (and diversity looks natural).
  
  
• Link Freshness: Newer links can have a stronger short-term effect. A consistent flow of new backlinks is better than a one-time spike.
  
  
• Topical Relevance: .
  
  
• Anchor Text: Is the anchor text natural and descriptive? Over-optimized anchors (e.g. “best crypto exchange USA”) can trigger penalties.
  
  
• Link Placement & Context: In-content links, ideally placed early in a paragraph and surrounded by semantically relevant content, are far more powerful than footer/sidebar links.
  
  

Expert Insight: Go Beyond Metrics

While domain authority metrics can offer a useful first impression, they’re far from the full picture. As our SEO strategist, Circe Galanternik, puts it:

“I check everything. Authority scores are just the beginning — what really matters is whether you’d feel comfortable letting this site ‘transfer’ its reputation to your domain.”

In other words, don’t rely on a number alone. Visit the site yourself and ask:

• Would I trust this site as a source?
• Is this the kind of publication I want associated with my brand?
• Is the content well-maintained and interlinked, or is it a dead-end?

Also, does the site or page linking to you cover similar topics? A link from a fashion blog to a crypto exchange is weak, even if DR is high. A link from a site with huge traffic won’t help if the audience isn't aligned with yours.

A manual review goes a long way. Look at the site's backlink profile. Are their inbound links solid, or are they riddled with toxic or broken links? When was their last post? How does their organic traffic and keyword trend look over the past year?

Here’s an example:

“We were about to buy a backlink for $300 for a client. On paper, it looked great — a domain score of 54. But once we analyzed it deeper, we saw that their traffic and keyword rankings had been suffering for over a year. That would’ve been a waste.”

The takeaway? Link building isn't a numbers game — it's a due diligence process. Metrics can guide you, but context and judgment are what keep you from walking into a trap.

Looking for the Right SEO Partner to Drive Growth?

Chosen by startups worldwide, from bootstrapped to VC-backed, we’re a content studio that thrives on expertise and a systematic approach. We help clients:

• Build genuine connections with their target audience
• Establish authority and expertise in their niche
• Convert SEO into a consistent lead-generation machine
  
  

If you’re ready to see similar results for your business, we could be the perfect fit. Schedule a free consultation today and let’s explore how we can help you reach your goals.

‍