Links still move rankings, but how you earn them matters. Shortcuts risk penalties and shallow traffic. The durable play is simple: publish content that helps your market do a job better, and make it easy for partners, publishers, and customers to cite you.
Foundation: content worth citing
Create assets with real utility: checklists, calculators, teardown posts, comparison frameworks, and local case studies. Show math. Share process. Include visuals others will want to embed with attribution. Tie each asset to a pillar page with internal links so authority flows where it matters.
Prospecting and prioritizing
List likely linkers: industry associations, chambers, local news, niche blogs, vendors, partners, and customers with blogs. Prioritize those with topical relevance and real audiences. Build a brief for each target: why their readers care, how your asset helps, and the exact page on their site where it fits.
Outreach that respects time
Send short, specific emails. Lead with the value to their readers, not your need for a link. Offer a quote or data point they can drop into an existing article. If you referenced their work, say so and show where. Avoid templates that scream “blast.”
Partnerships that scale
Co-create content with partners—webinars, checklists, local guides. Offer to write a byline for their blog with a unique angle, linking naturally to your asset and to SEO Overview or relevant service pages. Host shared tools and let partners embed them with a “powered by” credit.
Digital PR moments
When you ship original data (benchmarks, case results), package it for journalists: a one-page summary, a few charts, and quotable lines. Keep claims conservative and methods transparent. Pitch local business reporters and trade outlets first; expand from there.
Internal linking and anchor discipline
Every new asset should add links to its pillar hub and at least two sibling posts, e.g., Keyword Research and On-Page SEO . Use anchors that fit the context (“technical SEO audit,” “local SEO + GBP”), not exact-match spam.
Maintenance and refreshes
Quarterly, update stats, screenshots, and links in your best-performing posts. Add a new example, answer a new FAQ, and re-share to your list and socials. A refreshed guide often outranks brand-new content with less effort.
Measurement and safety
Track referring domains, organic traffic to target pages, and assisted conversions. In Search Console, monitor link growth and manual action status. Disavow only when you have a real pattern of spammy links you didn’t create. Focus on earning better links, not pruning endlessly.
Common pitfalls
Buying low-quality links, guest-post mills, PBNs, and generic outreach. Publishing “ultimate guides” with no unique angle. Forgetting to link out to sources—give to get. Neglecting speed and UX so visitors bounce before they read (fix with Performance Boost).
