Key takeaways
- A backlink strategy starts with the pages that need links and a real reason for other sites to link to them.
- Quality backlinks are relevant, editorial and read by real people. Authority scores from SEO tools are only a rough filter.
- Relationships you already have, such as suppliers, partners and associations, are the safest first links.
- Buying links that pass ranking credit, link exchanges and keyword-stuffed guest posts break Google's spam policies.
A backlink strategy is a written plan for earning links from other websites to the pages that matter most for your business. It decides where links should point, which sites are worth approaching and what you will offer them. Done well, it builds quality backlinks that keep helping for years. Done badly, it buys risk. This guide supports my link building service, and it assumes you have already looked at your current links, as shown in how to check backlinks for free.
What is a good backlink strategy?
A good backlink strategy names three to five pages that need authority, gives each one a reason to be linked, such as a useful guide, a real partnership or local news, and lists the specific sites that could link. It sets a monthly rhythm of outreach and measures relevant linking sites and leads, not a raw count of links.
The best backlink strategy for a business is rarely the one with the most links. It is the one where every link makes sense to a reader on the other site. Google says it uses links as a signal to judge the relevance of pages and to find new ones. Relevance is the key word: a link from a site your customers read carries a meaning that a link from an unrelated blog does not.
What makes quality backlinks?
Quality backlinks come from real sites related to your industry or city, sit inside content an editor chose to publish, and send visitors who might become customers. The anchor text reads naturally, and the linking page is one Google can find and index. If the link would still be worth having without SEO, it is a quality link.
Relevant
The site covers your industry, your customers or your city.
Editorial
Someone chose to link because the content helps their readers.
Real audience
People read the page, so the link can send visits, not only signals.
Natural anchor
Your brand name or a plain description, not the same keyword everywhere.
Indexed page
The linking page appears in Google. If Google ignores the page, the link does little.
Lasting
Partners, associations and good guides keep their links for years.
Are high authority backlinks worth chasing?
Only when the site is also relevant. Domain Authority and Domain Rating are scores created by SEO tool companies to estimate a site's link strength. They are useful for filtering a long list, but they are not Google metrics. A high domain authority backlink from an unrelated site can do less than a link from a small local association.
I see this mistake often in proposals: a list of high authority backlinks priced by score, placed on general news or lifestyle sites that publish on any topic for a fee. The score looks impressive, but the site has no connection to your business and readers never see the article. Use authority scores as a first filter, then judge each site by hand: does it cover your topic, does it have real readers, and would you be glad if a customer saw the link?
A 90-day backlink strategy, step by step
- Weeks 1 and 2: audit. Export your links from the Search Console Links report. Note which pages already earn links and which important pages have none.
- Weeks 3 and 4: pick the pages and the reason. Choose three to five pages, such as a main service, a location page or a guide. Improve them first. A link to a weak page is wasted.
- Month 2: build the list. Start with relationships you already have, then local and industry sites, then media. Check every site by hand.
- Month 2 and 3: outreach. Personal emails, one follow-up, no mass templates. Offer something useful each time.
- Month 3: measure. New relevant linking sites, the rankings of the target pages, referral visits and leads.
| Tactic | Effort | Usual quality | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suppliers, partners and clients who list you | Low | High | Low |
| Industry associations and chambers of commerce | Low | High | Low |
| Local news, events and sponsorships | Medium | High | Low if paid links are marked sponsored |
| Guides or data other sites want to cite | High | High | Low |
| Guest posts on relevant sites (see guest post outreach) | Medium | Medium | Medium if anchors are optimized |
| Fixing links to pages you moved or deleted | Low | Varies | Low |
| Buying links that pass ranking credit | Low | Low | High: breaks Google's policies |
For local businesses, links are also part of local ranking. Google's local ranking tips say prominence is based partly on how many websites link to your business, which is why associations and local media sit near the top of the table.
Which tactics break Google's rules?
Google's spam policies call link spam any link created mainly to manipulate rankings. That includes buying or selling links for ranking, excessive link exchanges, automated link programs and links with optimized anchor text in articles, guest posts or press releases. Sites that break these policies may rank lower or disappear from results.
The full list is in Google's spam policies. The same page says paid links are not a violation when they are qualified, and Google's guide to qualifying outbound links says to mark paid placements with rel="sponsored", with nofollow still accepted. So a sponsorship is fine. A sponsorship that hides the payment to pass ranking credit is not.
How do you measure a backlink strategy?
Measure the number of new relevant sites linking to your target pages, the rankings and clicks of those pages, the referral visits from the links and the leads they bring. Do not judge it by total links or by an authority score going up. A good month can mean two strong links, not twenty.
Links work together with the rest of your SEO. On a recovery resource site I managed, with more than 70,000 location pages, internal links did as much as external ones to spread authority to the pages that needed it. Before you chase links, check that your own pages link well to each other, then look at the wider picture in the off-page SEO guide.
Getting help with your backlink strategy
If you want someone to build quality backlinks for you, my link building service starts at $400 a month, with manual outreach, every link reported and no private blog networks. Compare it with the monthly plans on the pricing page, or book the free diagnosis from the home page.
Frequently asked questions
How many backlinks do I need each month?
There is no fixed number. In most local and niche markets a few relevant links a month moves more than dozens of weak ones.
Should I build links to my home page or to inner pages?
Both receive links naturally. A strategy focuses effort on the inner pages that sell, such as services and locations, because they usually have the fewest links.
Is it bad to get links too fast?
Speed is not the problem. A sudden burst of unrelated links with the same anchor text is, because it looks like a scheme.
Are links from social media useful?
They help people find you, but links on social platforms are usually nofollow. Treat social profiles as reputation, not as a backlink strategy.
Can I do this myself?
Yes, the first steps especially: list your partners, suppliers and associations and ask each one to link to the right page.
About the author
Juan José Giraldo is an SEO consultant in Medellín, Colombia, with 5+ years of experience. He works on technical and local SEO for 600+ US car dealerships at Reunion Marketing, an Inc. 5000 agency, and supervises the SEO of 18 US online stores with more than 3 million products at Prontomowers. Read more · LinkedIn.