15 Link Building Strategies to Grow Your Website Authority

Boost your site’s power, trust, and rankings — one link at a time

Introduction

If you’re working hard to grow your website’s presence, one thing stands out: links still matter. Not just any links, but quality backlinks from sites people trust and Google trusts. In this guide, we’ll dig into 15 link building strategies that help you build authority, drive referrals, and stay safe in the age of Google’s Helpful Content Update and strong E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) signals.

Whether you’re a freelancer, a small business owner, or working for an agency, these strategies will help you do more than just collect links — you’ll build a link profile that lasts. And yes, you’ll also see how we apply these at Saalinko and how they tie into our broader “white‑hat link building” philosophy.

Let’s dive in.

Why Link Building Still Matters

Backlinks act like votes of confidence for your website. When relevant, trustworthy sites link to yours, they tell Google and other search engines: “This site has value.” According to multiple industry sources, strategic link building strengthens domain authority and relevance.

But link building isn’t just about volume anymore. The game in 2025 (and beyond) is about:

• Relevance (links from pages in your niche)
• Authority (links from strong, trusted domains)
• Placement (links that appear editorially, not in footers/spam)
• Content value (the linked-page gives real insight)

With that in mind, let’s go through the 15 strategies.

1. Guest Posting on Relevant Sites

Write for other blogs in your niche, include real value, and naturally link back to your content. For example: you write an article on “How to scale link building for SaaS” for a marketing site and include one contextual link to your blog.

Why it works: You get exposure + a backlink from a contextually relevant site.
Tip: Choose sites that have traffic, relevance, and decent authority. Don’t just chase links.

2. Broken Link Building

Identify broken links on other websites (pages returning 404 or linking to dead resources). Create a useful alternative content piece on your site and reach out to the webmaster with your link suggestion.

Example: You find a blog resource list “Top SEO tools 2023” that has several dead links – you pitch your updated “Top SEO tools 2025” piece as a replacement.
Bonus: This helps you get a backlink and helps the other site owner fix an issue – win-win.

3. Skyscraper Technique

Find content that already ranks and has backlinks. Create a better version (longer, more up-to-date, more visuals). Then reach out to sites linking to the original content, and show your improved version.

Use case: Competitor wrote “10 Link Building Strategies in 2024” with 1,000 words. You publish “15 Link Building Strategies to Grow Your Website Authority (2025 Edition)” with 2,500 words + fresh case studies. Then you outreach to sites linking to the old one and suggest they link to yours instead.

4. Data-Driven Content & Original Research

Create unique surveys, case studies, statistics or original data that others in your niche will want to cite and link to. Data is inherently “linkable”.

Example: You run a survey of 200 SEO freelancers and publish “State of Link Building 2025: What 200 Freelancers Are Doing”. Other blogs reference your data and link back to you.

5. Resource Page and Link Round-Up Outreach

Look for pages that list resources (e.g., “Best SEO Tools 2025”, “Top Link Building Blogs”). Pitch your content to be included.

Tip: Use search modifiers like “keyword” + “resources”, “keyword” + “links”, inurl:resources to find such pages.
Note: Make sure your content is actually resource-worthy and not just a stub.

6. Unlinked Brand Mentions

Monitor mentions of your brand or content where a site mentions you but doesn’t link to you. Reach out and request the link.

Why it works: Someone already mentioned you, so the outreach barrier is low.
Tool tip: Use Google Alerts, Ahrefs, or Mention.com.

7. Co-Marketing & Strategic Partnerships

Partner with another business in your niche for joint content—say a webinar, e-book or white paper—and link each other’s sites.

Example: You partner with a SaaS analytics tool to produce “Link Building Metrics Report 2025”. They publish it on their site with a link to yours; you do the same.
Benefit: Shared reach + mutual backlinks.

8. Influencer & Thought-Leader Round-Ups

Create content featuring quotes or insights from influencers in your field, or ask them to contribute. They are more likely to share it and sometimes link to it.

Example: A blog titled “15 SEO Experts Share Their Link Building Secrets” with short quotes from each expert. After publishing, you send the link to those experts, many of whom will share or link.
Note: This builds authority as well as links.

9. Link Reclamation & Lost Backlink Recovery

Check if past links pointing to your site are now broken (perhaps content moved or URL changed). Reach out to the referring site and request the link update.

Example: You had a guest post in 2022 with a link to your “link building” guide. That guide got moved or URL changed and now the link shows 404. Fix the URL and email the owner: “Hi — your article links to my old guide. I updated it here – would you mind updating the link?”

10. Multimedia Content & Infographics

Create shareable visuals, infographics, charts, or videos and publish them with embed code (which links back to you as source). Many sites will embed your infographic with credit (link) to your page.

Tip: Tag your visuals with “embed this infographic – include link back to …” in the description.

11. Local & Niche-Specific Links

If your business has a local dimension or niche-specific angle, build links from local directories, industry associations, local news outlets, or niche trade blogs.

Example: A local digital marketing agency in Lucknow might get a feature on a Lucknow business directory or local business news site.

12. Guest Interviews & Podcast Appearances

Being featured in an interview or podcast often comes with a backlink in the show notes or website. It also gives you an audience boost and social proof.

Example: You appear in the “SEO Freelancer Podcast” and they publish the episode on their blog with a link to your website.

13. Testimonial & Review Link Building

Give a genuine testimonial for a product or service you used in your business. Often the vendor will publish your testimonial on their site and link back to you.

Example: You write a review on an SEO tool you use at Saalinko; the tool’s website publishes it and links to your site as “see how Saalinko uses our tool”.

14. Competitor Backlink Gap Analysis

Analyze where your competitors are getting links that you are not. Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush. Then create content or outreach campaigns aimed at those same linking opportunities.

Use case: Your competitor has 20 links from “top startup blogs”. You reach out to same blogs with a better pitch or content specifically designed for their audience.

15. Build Link-Worthy Evergreen Content & Maintain It

Create content that remains relevant over time which attracts links naturally, then keep it updated. This includes pillar pages, long-form guides, ultimate resources.

Example: Your flagship piece “Complete Guide to Link Building 2025” gets updated every 6 months with new stats, screenshots, and case studies. Over time, it earns natural editorial links.

Real-Life Use Cases

• A SaaS startup used skyscraper technique (strategy #3) to outrank its main competitor for “best HR software 2025” and secured 30+ contextual backlinks in 90 days.
• A local business used testimonial link building (#13) to get featured on the vendor’s high-authority site, boosting trust and local SEO.
• A content agency used unlinked brand mentions (#6) and automated alerts; they reclaimed 50+ links in a quarter, improving referral traffic by 18%.

These examples show that you don’t need hundreds of low-quality links — you need a smart mix of strategies executed well.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. How many backlinks do I need to boost website authority?
There’s no fixed number. What matters more is quality over quantity: relevant domains, natural anchor text, contextually placed links, and avoiding spammy sources.

Q2. Can I build links myself or should I hire an agency?
You can certainly do it yourself (especially for strategies like broken link building, resource outreach, testimonials). But if you lack time or expertise, an experienced agency helps with scale and process.

Q3. What anchor text should I use?
Use a natural mix: branded terms (your website name), naked URLs (your-site.com), generic words (“click here”, “learn more”), and a small percentage of exact match keywords. Avoid over-optimised anchors.

Q4. Are all links equally valuable?
No. Links from trusted, relevant, high-authority sites placed editorially are far more useful than links from low-quality directories or spammy comment sections.

Q5. How long does it take to see results from link building?
It varies: you might see referral traffic sooner, but for organic ranking improvements it generally takes months because building authority and trust takes time.

Conclusion

Link building remains a key pillar of SEO success. But it no longer works like it used to — you can’t just build dozens of cheap links and expect to win. Instead, you need strategic, relevant, high-quality links that enhance your site’s authority, trust, and relevance.

By using the 15 link building strategies above — from guest posting and skyscraper content, to broken link reclamation and local niche partnerships — you will build a stronger link profile that supports your long-term growth. At Saalinko, we focus on these tactics as part of our “white-hat link building” approach: genuine value, real outreach, and links that stand the test of time.

Now it’s your turn: pick 2–3 strategies, create a plan, execute consistently, and monitor results. Don’t just build links — build authority.

Call to Action
If you found this guide helpful, share it with your network, comment below with your favourite strategy or your experience, and explore our other posts on link building and SEO at Saalinko. Let’s grow together!