Link building today means earning high-quality backlinks from trustworthy, topically relevant websites rather than collecting as many links as possible. Backlinks are still among the most important signals Google uses to assess how trustworthy a website is. What matters is not quantity, but quality.
Key points at a glance
- A good backlink comes from a topically relevant, trustworthy website and brings real visitors.
- Bought links, large-scale link exchanges and link networks violate Google’s guidelines.
- Sustainable link building comes from good content, PR work, partnerships and local listings.
- Mentions of your brand across the web also help with visibility in AI search engines.
What is link building?
Link building covers all measures through which a website gains links from other websites. For Google, a link is a kind of recommendation: the more trustworthy and topically relevant the linking page, the stronger the signal.
What makes a good backlink?
A good backlink comes from a trustworthy, topically relevant page and sits within the editorial text, not in footers or link lists.
| Characteristic | Good | Bad |
|---|---|---|
| Topic | Matches your industry or your offer | No connection to your topic at all |
| Source | Genuine website with its own visitors | Link farm, article directory, spam blog |
| Placement | In the editorial text, with context | In the footer, in long link lists |
| Anchor text | Natural, for example brand name or topic | Always exactly the same keyword |
| Origin | Given voluntarily because the content is useful | Bought or exchanged |
Which methods work today?
Today, the methods that work are above all those that earn you links: helpful content, collaborations, PR work and listings in reputable industry directories.
- Content that deserves links: guides, studies, checklists, calculators or comparison tables attract links on their own.
- Digital PR: expert knowledge for trade media, interviews and your own newsworthy data.
- Partners and suppliers: manufacturer lists, dealer directories, cooperation partners and associations.
- Local listings: Google Business Profile, business directories, chambers of commerce and regional portals with consistent company details.
- Talks and guest posts: expert articles on reputable platforms with genuine added value for readers.
- Reclaiming lost links: find broken links to your site and ask the site owners to correct them.
What does Google prohibit in link building?
Google treats links that are bought, exchanged or generated automatically to manipulate rankings as spam. Paid links and advertising placements are only acceptable if they are marked with rel=”sponsored” or rel=”nofollow”. Anyone who violates the guidelines risks having links devalued or the website losing visibility.
Why do mentions also count for AI search engines?
AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity prefer to recommend businesses that are mentioned consistently on several trustworthy websites. High-quality mentions in trade media, directories and comparison portals therefore strengthen not only your Google rankings, but also your chances of being named in AI answers. Find out more on our AI & GEO page.
How do you check your existing link profile?
Check your link profile first in Google Search Console under “Links”, because there you can see free of charge which pages link to you. Tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush or Sistrix also help by providing additional metrics on the strength of the linking pages.
When analysing, focus on 4 questions: how many different domains do the links come from? Are these pages topically relevant to your offer? Which anchor texts are used? And which of your pages do the links point to? Often almost all links point to the homepage, while important service pages receive hardly any recommendations. That is exactly where the greatest potential lies.
Also compare your profile with 3 to 5 competitors who rank ahead of you for your most important search terms. This shows you which industry directories, associations or specialist portals link to your competitors but are still missing from your profile.
How do local businesses gain backlinks?
Local businesses gain backlinks mainly through their regional network: associations, chambers of commerce, partners, suppliers, clubs and local media. These links are relevant both topically and geographically and are therefore particularly credible for Google.
- Memberships in industry associations and the regional chamber of commerce with a listing on their website
- Partner and manufacturer pages that list dealers or specialist companies
- Sponsorship of clubs or events in your region
- Expert articles or interviews in regional newspapers and online magazines
- Listings in reputable business directories with consistent contact details
It is important that your name, address and phone number are written the same way everywhere. Consistent details also strengthen your Google Business Profile and help AI search engines identify your business unambiguously.
What does a 6-month link building plan look like?
A good link building plan spreads the work over several months and starts with content that is actually worth linking to. Without such content, any outreach to partners remains ineffective.
| Period | Focus | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | Check link profile, compare competitors, set goals | List of link opportunities |
| Month 2 | Create linkable content, such as guides, checklists or studies | 1 to 3 strong pieces of content |
| Month 3 | Contact directories, associations and partners | First topically relevant links |
| Months 4 to 5 | Expert articles, collaborations and PR work | Editorial mentions |
| Month 6 | Evaluate results and adjust the plan | Plan for the next six months |
Document every request with its date and outcome. After 6 months, you will see which methods actually bring links in your industry.
What role do internal links play?
Internal links distribute the strength of your backlinks to the pages that should rank and show Google which content belongs together. They are the part of link building that you control completely yourself.
Link from guides and blog posts specifically to relevant service pages, using descriptive anchor texts instead of “click here”. Every important page should be reachable from the homepage in no more than 3 clicks.
How do you create linkable content?
Linkable content saves other websites work: your own data, thorough instructions, checklists, templates or tools. Such content gets cited because it offers added value that cannot be found elsewhere.
Ask yourself which questions your customers ask again and again, and what experts in your industry would like to refer to. A trades business, for example, can maintain an overview of available grants, and an online shop a detailed size or care guide. Keep such content up to date and state the date of the last update, because outdated pages are linked to less often.
Frequently asked questions
How many backlinks does my website need?
There is no fixed number. What matters is how strongly the competition for your search terms is linked. A few high-quality, topically relevant links are more valuable than many weak ones. So analyse the link profiles of the pages that rank at the top for your most important search terms, and focus on their quality rather than their quantity.
Is it allowed to buy backlinks?
According to Google, links intended to influence rankings must not be bought. Paid placements are permitted if they are marked as sponsored or nofollow. Such links bring no direct ranking advantage, but can deliver reach and visitors. Links that you earn through good content and genuine collaborations are more sustainable.
How long does it take for link building to have an effect?
New links are often picked up within a few weeks. Noticeable ranking effects usually only appear after several months, and in combination with good content and a sound technical setup. Link building is therefore a long-term task. Consistently gaining a few good links delivers more stable results than a short, intensive campaign.
Can bad links cause harm?
Google ignores most low-quality links. In cases of deliberate manipulation, however, penalties are possible. If you built questionable links in the past, you should have your link profile checked. In Google Search Console, you can see which pages link to you. If there is a manual action, Google also notifies you directly there.
What is a nofollow link?
A nofollow link carries the attribute rel=”nofollow” and signals to Google that the linking page does not wish to give a recommendation. Since 2019, there has also been rel=”sponsored” for paid links and rel=”ugc” for user-generated content. Google treats these attributes as hints. Such links can still be valuable for visibility and visitors, for example from forums or industry portals.
When should I disavow links using the Disavow tool?
The Disavow tool in Google Search Console is only intended for exceptional cases, for example if you bought links in the past or have received a manual action for unnatural links. Google generally ignores ordinary spam links on its own today. Using Disavow incorrectly can devalue valuable links, so it should only be used after a thorough review.
Do guest posts still help with link building?
Yes, if the post appears on a topically relevant, reputable site and offers genuine added value for its readers. Guest posts written only to get a link, on the other hand, are treated by Google as spam. Make sure that links in guest posts are placed naturally and marked with rel=”sponsored” if payment is involved. The visibility with new readers is often more important than the link itself.
Do social media links count for rankings?
Links from social networks are usually marked as nofollow and have no direct effect on rankings. However, they can help indirectly: content shared on social networks becomes better known and is therefore discovered and linked to more often by journalists, bloggers and specialist portals. Mentions of your brand also strengthen your visibility in AI search engines.
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