Backlink Building Strategies That Actually Work
Our previous post discussed how most backlink buying or building strategies go horribly wrong and what to do if you receive a manual action from ‘toxic’ backlinks.
Research backlinks for a while and you’ll soon find that there's more warnings than actionable suggestions. And even fewer if you're looking for backlink strategies that aren't shady or don't cost a ton of money.
The harsh truth is that legitimate backlink playbooks used by bigger brands won’t be as effective in the hands of smaller scale businesses.
At the same time, startup owners need something more than ‘just create great content and backlinks will come naturally’. Chances are, you have (or think you have) good content, but the backlinks and inquiries simply aren’t coming through.
Backlinks are essential for SEO, but content is essential for backlinks
Any content published on newer, lower authority sites will struggle to rank competitively, regardless of content quality. Sure, there are exceptions in less competitive niches that rise to the top, but in most cases, pages with fewer trust signals are sent to the back of search engines.
And if your thoroughly researched, non-commodity blog can’t be found, who’s going to link to it?
The reverse, however, is also true.
Marketers and journalists want to cite sources that give their readers value, not thin pages that exist for the sole purpose of collecting links.
So if you don’t have content worth referencing, you may end up spending weeks prospecting link opportunities with nothing to show for it.
Building a solid website and offering your own quality backlink, on the other hand, makes convincing reputable websites that much easier.
How small businesses can create backlinks (ranked by difficulty)
#1: Submit backlinks in directory listings (if applicable)
Difficulty: ⭐☆☆☆☆ | Time to results: 1–3 months
This is probably the fastest strategy for those who need backlinks urgently (although there's really no reason to rush the process). However, link equity obtained from this method will likely be modest. But you'll at least cover the bases by obtaining the lowest hanging fruit.
Essentially, you’ll want to find relevant, industry specific directories to list your business in. For example, pest control businesses can reach out to the Singapore Pest Management Association and National Environment Agency for registration. Review platforms are also a good option to look at. SaaS providers, for example, can list their products on platforms like G2 that also double up as review collection funnels. Do note that some directories may collect an administrative fee, and it's up to you to determine whether the site in question is worth the link equity.
But if you insist on doing this without spending a single dime, business listings on LinkedIn, Yelp, and even Wikipedia might move the needle slightly. Although these sites offer nofollow links by default, they still provide some link juice, which is better than nothing when you're starting out.
But whatever you do, always focus on quality over quantity. There’s no point opening up multiple accounts and listing rapidly on dead directories only to be flagged for spam. And if you’re going out of your way to set up backlinks, do yourself a favour and put some effort into customising your company description so that users actually have a reason to visit you.
#2: Write quality content according to EEAT principles
Difficulty: ⭐⭐☆☆☆ | Time to results: 6–12 months
Writing quality content is the most recommended strategy for a reason. It is the most accessible, and one that compounds over time if done right. The thing is, many business owners are sitting on content goldmines without knowing it.
We've lost count of the number of times we’ve encountered brilliant CEOs who have eye-opening market solutions to share, or even companies with tons of juicy information in their sales conversations and presentation decks.
And yet, these are the same companies with nothing to show for on their websites.
Look. We're not going to tell you what you can or cannot disclose, but unveiling some details is necessary not only for SEO, but to also give customers the confidence to open their wallets.
The last thing you want to do is over-sanitise web copy to the point where nobody even knows what you do or sell. And here's a litmus test to help determine if you're committing this error:
If you’re introducing ‘innovative’ and ‘cutting-edge’ ways to ‘synergise ecosystems’ or anything along those lines, Google has no idea what your business is about, and neither do your customers.
The good news is that writing quality content guided by EEAT principles consistently can compound over time as you work on other aspects of your business. We’ve written blogs that continue to pull in traffic and business years after they’ve been written. So the best time to start was really yesterday.
#3: Find backlink opportunities with business partners
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ | Time to results: 2–4 months
PR backlink campaigns can be extremely effective if you find a suitable agency and publication, but those costs rack up pretty quickly at a couple thousand dollars per post. But it may be worth the money if you can get even one high quality listing out of it.
However, if that isn’t for you, the next best thing will be to work with clients and business partners that you already have. Even better if you are currently working on projects together.
Mutual guest posting in this scenario not only gives free publicity for your collaboration, but also grants you posts written by industry experts that can be hard to come by.
By the way, this is the exact strategy we deployed with our collaborators as part of the promotion campaign for our 2026 SEO and AI Search Fast Lane webinar series.
Of course, your network may not always consist of relevant contacts in the same industry, or even businesses with a website. But if that’s the case, you may have a networking problem, not an SEO one.
#4: Build downloadable assets and gated content
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ | Time to results: 6–12 months
This is distinctly different from writing SEO blogs and landing pages. Because realistically, it can only happen after you've built a large enough audience or contact list.
Think about the types of resources that you look for when you’re drafting a proposal, pitching to investors, or even writing blogs. They are usually well researched documents, usually from reputable institutions, and ideally with a large enough sample size of anonymised client data.
Getting information on that scale means accessing thousands of customers who will respond to a survey. A couple of hundreds at the very least if you're working within a very specific niche.
To get information on that scale, you’ll need to have access to thousands of customers who will respond to a survey, or at least a few hundreds if you’re working within a very specific niche.
But if you’re able to aggregate all of that data and convert it into something that people are not only willing to link to, but exchange contact details for, then you've just created an SEO backlink magnet that also doubles up as a lead generator.
The icing on the cake is that once you have downloadable assets, you'll have the perfect material needed to reclaim broken links on other websites.
#5: Create interactive tools and calculators
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ | Time to results: 3–9 months
This one costs more in either your time (if you can code) or money (if you’re hiring someone). You can also use AI to code a tool, although I would strongly suggest getting an expert to review it so that you don’t encounter an embarrassing bug or security concern.
The concept, however, is simple. When it comes to creating pages that people will continuously come back to, you can’t go wrong with calculators, diagnostic quizzes, and analysis tools. These aren’t just effective link magnets that can potentially draw in rave reviews on social media (say hello to increased online presence and AI search visibility), but also invites potential customers to continuously familiarise themselves with your brand and push them closer towards a deal.
Earn backlinks naturally and legitimately to build customer confidence
Legitimate backlinks are valuable precisely because they are hard to earn. If these strategies feel out of reach for you, or you’re unsure about how to prepare yourself to start earning backlinks, reach out for a personalised consultation on how to get your website in shape.