Link building has changed a lot over the last few years. The days of chasing links for the sake of links are over. Today, the best link building strategies are built around authority, relevance, trust, brand visibility and genuinely useful content.
That does not mean backlinks no longer matter. They still play an important role in SEO, helping search engines understand which websites are trusted, authoritative and worth surfacing. But the way brands earn those links has changed.
Modern link building is no longer about shortcuts, mass outreach or volume at any cost. It is about creating something worth linking to, whether that is original data, expert insight, a helpful resource, a strong Digital PR campaign or content that genuinely answers a question.
It is also becoming more important for visibility beyond traditional search results. As AI-led search experiences continue to shape how people find information, brand mentions, trusted third-party coverage and expert-led content all have a bigger role to play in how visible and authoritative your brand appears online.
In this guide, we’ll look at 15 link building strategies that still work, from data-led Digital PR and expert commentary to unlinked brand mentions, linkable assets, content refreshes and AI search visibility.
What is link building?
Link building is the process of earning links from other websites to your own. These links, often called backlinks, act as signals of trust, relevance and authority.
For example, if a respected industry publication links to one of your guides, reports or expert comments, that link can help search engines and users understand that your website is a credible source of information.
However, not all links are equal. A relevant link from a trusted publication in your industry is usually far more valuable than dozens of low-quality links from unrelated websites. Good link building should support your wider SEO, PR and content strategy, rather than exist as a separate box-ticking exercise.
Why link building still matters
Link building still matters because search engines use links to discover pages, understand relationships between websites and assess authority. But the value of link building goes beyond rankings.
A strong link building strategy can help build brand awareness, drive referral traffic, support Digital PR activity, strengthen topical authority and improve trust.
At Koozai, we often see the strongest link building activity come from campaigns that combine search insight with media relevance. In other words, the content needs to work for journalists, users and search engines. If it only works for one of those audiences, it is unlikely to deliver long-term value.
15 link building strategies that still work
1. Use data-led Digital PR
Data-led Digital PR remains one of the strongest ways to earn high-quality links because it gives journalists something genuinely useful to cover.
This could include original research, consumer surveys, public data analysis, rankings, trend reports or internal company data. The best campaigns usually start with a strong question: what does your audience care about, and what can your brand add to the conversation?
To work well, the story needs a clear hook, credible methodology, strong statistics and expert commentary. A dedicated landing page can also give journalists a useful source to link back to.
2. Build links through reactive PR and newsjacking
Reactive PR is about responding quickly to breaking news, trending topics or industry conversations with relevant insight.
This can work well when journalists need expert comments quickly, but relevance matters more than speed. A brand should only comment when it has a genuine reason to be part of the story.
The strongest reactive comments explain what the news means, why it matters and what readers should take from it, without turning into a sales pitch.
3. Turn expert commentary into links
Expert commentary can help brands earn links, mentions and authority by giving journalists access to credible voices.
This works particularly well for businesses with in-house specialists, such as consultants, technical experts, legal professionals, healthcare experts, HR leaders or senior spokespeople.
The best comments are practical and useful. They add context, explain a trend or offer advice, rather than simply promoting the business.
4. Create linkable assets people actually need
A linkable asset is a piece of content that gives people a reason to reference, cite or link to your website.
The strongest linkable assets are useful, credible and easy to reference. They should solve a real problem, answer a question or provide information that is difficult to find elsewhere.
This could include original research, calculators, templates, glossaries, interactive tools, data visualisations, checklists or expert-led resources.
5. Reclaim unlinked brand mentions
Unlinked brand mentions happen when a website mentions your brand, product, report, campaign or spokesperson but does not link back to your site.
Because the website has already mentioned you, there is a clear reason to request a link. The outreach is warmer than a cold pitch because the publisher has already shown interest in your brand or content.
Before reaching out, check whether the website is relevant, whether the mention is positive or neutral and whether a link would genuinely help readers find the original source.
6. Use Digital PR campaigns to build brand authority
Digital PR is one of the most powerful ways to earn links because it combines news value, creativity, data and outreach.
A successful campaign can help your brand secure coverage across national, regional, lifestyle, trade and industry media. But the real value is not just the backlink. It is the authority, awareness and trust that comes with being featured by credible publications.
To improve your chances of earning links, create a campaign landing page with the key findings, methodology, expert commentary and any useful supporting assets.
7. Build relationships with relevant journalists and publishers
Good link building is not just about sending one-off outreach emails. Relationships matter.
When journalists know that your brand can provide reliable data, strong expert comments or useful resources, they are more likely to come back to you in the future.
This does not mean pestering journalists. It means understanding what they write about, sending relevant pitches, responding quickly and being useful when they need support.
8. Use broken link building carefully
Broken link building involves finding broken links on relevant websites, then suggesting your own content as a useful replacement.
It can still work, but only when the replacement content genuinely helps the reader and fits naturally on the page.
This tactic is unlikely to be the main driver of a modern link building strategy, but it can support wider SEO activity when used carefully. Avoid mass, generic outreach and focus on relevance.
9. Refresh old content to attract new links
Refreshing old content can help improve organic performance and attract new links.
Many websites have older guides, reports or blog posts that still have useful foundations but are no longer fully accurate. Updating these pieces can make them more valuable to users and more attractive to websites looking for current sources.
This can be especially useful if the page has already earned backlinks. Instead of letting the page become outdated, refreshing it can help protect its value and give people a reason to keep linking to it.
10. Turn guest contributions into genuine thought leadership
Guest blogging has changed significantly. Low-quality guest posting purely for backlinks is not a sustainable strategy.
There is still value in writing for relevant, reputable publications when the purpose is to share genuine expertise.
The focus should be thought leadership, not link placement. If the content would still be worth writing without the backlink, that is usually a good sign.
11. Create industry glossaries and educational resources
Glossaries and educational resources can still be useful link building assets, especially in industries with technical language or complex topics.
A well-written glossary can help users understand important terms and give other websites a useful resource to reference.
To make this type of content more valuable, avoid simply listing short definitions. Add examples, context, internal links and related resources where useful.
12. Use competitor link analysis to find realistic opportunities
Competitor link analysis can help you understand which websites are linking to similar brands, publications or content in your industry.
The aim is not to copy every competitor link. Some links may be low quality, irrelevant or not worth pursuing.
Instead, look for patterns. Which types of content earn links in your sector? Which publications regularly cover these topics? Are competitors earning links through data, tools, guides or commentary?
13. Strengthen internal linking to support authority
Internal links are not backlinks, but they play an important role in link building and SEO performance.
When your website earns external links, internal linking helps pass authority to other relevant pages. It also helps users and search engines understand the relationship between your content.
Every link building campaign should consider where users go next after landing on the page. A strong internal linking structure helps turn coverage and traffic into meaningful business value.
14. Optimise for AI search visibility
AI search is changing how users discover information. Link building is no longer only about earning backlinks for traditional rankings. It is also about building the wider signals that help search engines and AI systems understand your brand, expertise and authority.
For AI search visibility, brands should focus on earning mentions from trusted third-party websites, creating clear and useful content, publishing expert-led insights and building topical authority across related subjects.
The goal is not to “trick” AI search. The goal is to become the kind of source that search engines, journalists and users can trust.
15. Measure link building success properly
Link building success should not be measured by link volume alone. A campaign that earns five highly relevant links from authoritative websites may be more valuable than one that earns 50 low-quality links.
Good measurement should look at the quality and relevance of referring domains, referral traffic, organic ranking improvements, brand mentions, engagement on linked pages and links to priority pages.
It is also important to look beyond individual campaigns. Link building is cumulative. The more consistently your brand earns credible coverage, creates useful content and demonstrates expertise, the stronger your overall authority becomes.
Link building tactics to avoid
Not every link building tactic is worth pursuing. Some can do more harm than good.
Avoid tactics such as:
- Buying links that pass PageRank
- Using low-quality guest post networks
- Excessive link exchanges
- Spammy directory submissions
- Automated outreach at scale
- Irrelevant links from unrelated websites
- Keyword-stuffed anchor text
- Links from websites created purely to sell backlinks
- Low-quality AI-generated content created only for links
- Hidden or misleading links
A simple rule is this: if the link would not make sense to a real person, it probably is not worth building.
What makes a good backlink?
A good backlink should be relevant, trustworthy and editorially earned.
Before pursuing a link, ask whether the website is relevant to your industry or audience, whether a user would genuinely find the link useful and whether the content is high quality.
The strongest links are not forced. They are earned because your brand, content or expertise adds value.
Relevance is especially important. A link from a smaller but highly relevant industry publication can often be more useful than a link from a larger website with no real connection to your audience.
Bringing your link building strategy together
Link building is about much more than securing backlinks. It is about building authority, earning trust and making your brand more visible wherever people search for information.
The most effective strategies are rooted in value. Data-led Digital PR, reactive PR, expert commentary, linkable assets and AI search visibility all work best when they are built around genuinely useful insight.
Old-school tactics that focus on quantity, shortcuts or manipulation are becoming less effective and more risky. Modern link building needs to be strategic, creative and closely connected to wider SEO, Digital PR and content marketing activity.
If your brand wants to earn better links, start by asking what you can contribute. What data do you have? What expertise can you share? What resources can you create? What conversations can you add value to?
That is where strong link building begins.
Need support with link building?
At Koozai, we help brands build authority through SEO, Digital PR, content marketing and data-led campaigns that earn high-quality links.
Whether you need a Digital PR campaign, a link building strategy or support improving your website’s authority, our team can help you create an approach that is built for search now and in the future.
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