🏗️ Introduction to Different Types of Link Building: Boost Your SEO the Smart Way
If you’ve been in digital marketing or SEO for even a short time, you’ve probably heard the phrase “link building.”
It sounds simple: get other websites to link back to yours.
But as soon as you dive in, you’ll discover there isn’t just one way to do it.
In fact, there are many types of link building strategies—some safe and sustainable, some risky, and some surprisingly creative.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the most common types of link building, explain why they matter, and share some practical tips to get started.
Whether you’re a beginner trying to understand the basics or a marketer looking to refresh your strategy, this guide will help you see the bigger picture.
🔗 Why Link Building Matters
Before we explore the types, let’s recap why link building is so important.
Links are one of Google’s core ranking factors.
A high-quality backlink acts like a vote of confidence from one site to another.
The more authoritative, relevant, and natural these backlinks look, the higher the chance your pages will rank well in search results.
But remember: it’s not about quantity—it’s about quality and relevance.
Bad or spammy links can do more harm than good.
📚 Types of Link Building: An Overview
Generally, we can divide link building into three broad categories:
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Editorial (Natural) Link Building
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Manual Link Building
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Self-Created or Non-Editorial Links
Within each, there are several specific tactics.
Let’s explore them in more detail.
🌱 1. Editorial (Natural) Link Building
These are the gold standard of backlinks.
They happen organically because your content is genuinely useful, interesting, or newsworthy.
✅ a) Content-Based Link Building
When you create high-quality content—think blog posts, infographics, original research, or tools—other sites naturally want to reference it.
For example:
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A marketing blog links to your original study on consumer trends.
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A journalist cites your expert guide in an article.
Tip: Focus on creating unique, shareable, and data-driven content.
If you’re the only one with certain data or insights, others have a real reason to link back.
✅ b) Resource Link Building
This involves getting your content added to curated resource pages or “best of” lists.
For instance:
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A university website has a “Useful Marketing Resources” page, and your SEO guide fits perfectly.
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An industry association lists your free tool or checklist.
Tip: Find these pages with search operators like:
intitle:resources inurl:resources + “your topic”.
✅ c) Mentions & PR-Driven Links
If your brand, product, or team members get mentioned in news articles, podcasts, or interviews, you often get editorial backlinks.
Tip: Use tools like Google Alerts to track brand mentions and politely ask journalists to include a link if they haven’t.
🛠️ 2. Manual Link Building
Unlike purely natural links, these require outreach and relationship building.
They can still be high-quality, provided they’re relevant and earned through genuine value.
🤝 a) Guest Blogging
You write a post for another website’s audience. In return, you typically get a backlink in your author bio or within the content (if relevant).
Why it works:
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You build your authority.
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The host site gets free content.
Tip: Pitch unique topics tailored to each website. Avoid generic articles—they rarely get accepted.
📩 b) Outreach & Link Requests
You directly contact site owners or editors and explain why linking to your content benefits them.
Example:
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You notice an outdated statistic on someone’s blog. You suggest they link to your recent study instead.
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You publish a guide that complements someone else’s post—they might want to link it as an additional resource.
Tip: Keep your outreach emails short, personalized, and respectful.
🔗 c) Broken Link Building
Find broken links on relevant sites and suggest your content as a replacement.
Why it works:
You’re helping site owners fix broken user experiences while gaining a backlink.
Tip: Tools like Check My Links or Ahrefs Broken Link Checker can speed this process up.
🧰 d) Link Reclamation
Sometimes sites mention your brand or content but forget to link. Politely ask them to add the link.
Tip: Set up brand mention alerts to catch these opportunities quickly.
🧪 3. Self-Created or Non-Editorial Links
These are links you place yourself, rather than earning them through content or outreach.
They’re usually lower in value and riskier if overdone—but can be part of a balanced strategy.
📝 a) Business Listings & Directories
Adding your site to legitimate directories (e.g., Yelp, Yellow Pages, industry-specific directories).
Tip: Focus on reputable, niche-specific directories—avoid obvious link farms.
💬 b) Forum Signatures & Blog Comments
Including your website link in relevant forum profiles or blog comments.
Warning: Spammy, irrelevant comments won’t help and could harm your site.
Tip: Only do this where it truly adds value to discussions.
🏢 c) Profile Links
Some sites allow you to create profiles (e.g., social media sites, communities) and add a link.
Tip: Use these mainly to diversify your backlink profile, not as a primary strategy.
✏️ Other Popular Link Building Tactics
Beyond the core types, there are creative strategies that combine content, outreach, and partnerships.
📊 a) Infographics & Visual Content
Great visuals are highly shareable. Create an original infographic, then pitch it to bloggers and journalists.
Tip: Include an embed code to make linking easy.
🧭 b) Skyscraper Technique
Find high-performing content on your topic, create something better (more up-to-date, detailed, or engaging), then ask sites linking to the original to link to yours.
Tip: Only works if your content genuinely adds more value.
🧑🤝🧑 c) Collaborations & Partnerships
Partner with non-competing businesses or influencers for co-created content or joint campaigns.
Result: Natural backlinks from your partner’s site and potentially others.
⚠️ Link Building: What to Avoid
Some link building practices might look tempting but can backfire.
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Buying backlinks from low-quality networks.
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Overusing exact-match anchor text.
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Participating in obvious link exchanges (“I’ll link to you if you link to me”).
Google’s algorithms are increasingly sophisticated—focus on building genuine, value-driven backlinks.
📈 Measuring Link Building Success
How do you know your efforts are working?
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Number of referring domains: Are new, high-quality sites linking to you?
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Domain authority / DR scores: Are you getting links from authoritative sites?
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Organic traffic growth: Do your target pages get more traffic?
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Rankings improvements: Are your keywords climbing in SERPs?
Use tools like Ahrefs, Moz, SEMrush, or Google Search Console to monitor progress.
🧩 Final Thoughts: Choosing the Right Mix
Link building isn’t one-size-fits-all.
If you’re a brand-new site, you might start with:
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Guest blogging.
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Directory submissions.
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Local citations.
If you already have decent authority, invest more in:
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Content marketing.
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Digital PR.
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Data-driven studies.
Always remember: link building is about people as much as it is about SEO. Build genuine relationships, create valuable content, and help others—and the links will follow.
🚀 Conclusion
Link building remains one of the most impactful (and challenging) parts of SEO.
By understanding the different types of link building and applying them strategically, you’ll lay a stronger foundation for your site’s long-term success.
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