Methods

This hub collects our detailed guides on link building methods. I've organized them around the decisions you actually need to make: which channel fits your niche, what it costs in time and money, and what policy risks come with it.

You won't find inflated metric scores or generic promises here. Each guide focuses on evidence, trade-offs, and checks you can repeat.

If you're new to link building, start with How to Get Backlinks for a step-by-step overview. Then narrow your focus using the more specific guides below.

For established teams, the Enterprise Link Building guide covers scale and agency comparison. Digital PR Links is useful if you need editorial placements. I also recommend Guest Posts and Brand Mentions as foundational channels.

I recommend a four-step process: define the page and audience you need links for; choose a relevant channel or provider model; vet the publisher and placement before committing; record the live URL, attributes, anchor text, and outcome.

This framework keeps you honest and makes it easier to compare results across campaigns. It also helps you spot patterns in what works and what doesn't.

Paying for a placement is a commercial decision. Whether a placement is legal is separate from whether it complies with Google's spam policies. Paid links intended to influence rankings can create policy risk, especially when they are undisclosed or designed to pass ranking credit.

I cover these distinctions in detail in the Hazards hub. For now, understand that a contract doesn't make a paid link Google-compliant.

Not every channel works for every site. A local service business might get more value from Brand Mentions and local citations than from guest posts on national publications. An ecommerce site might prioritize Ecommerce Link Building with product roundups.

The Competitor Backlinks guide can help you reverse-engineer what's working in your niche. Use it to identify gaps and opportunities before committing budget.

Track more than domain authority. Relevance, real readership, editorial control, traffic patterns, and placement context matter more than a single metric. I discuss tools in the Backlink Analysis Tools guide.

Set a baseline before you start a campaign. Record referral traffic, ranking changes, and link quality indicators. Without a baseline, you're guessing.