How to Get High Quality Backlinks (7 Top Strategies)
Written by Brian Dean
Today youโre going to learn how to get backlinks in 2025.
In fact, the 7 strategies Iโm going to share with you have helped my site rack up 2.4 million total backlinks:
Letโs get right into the techniques.
- 1. Become a Source For Reporters and Bloggers
- 2. Publish โSkyscraperโ Content
- 3. Build Links From Outdated Resources
- 4. Use Content Formats Proven To Generate Links
- 5. Publish Ultimate Guides
- 6. Use Branded Strategies and Techniques
- 7. Authority Resource Pages
- Bonus Strategy #1: Turn Brand Mentions Into Quality Backlinks
- Bonus Strategy #2: Send โFeelerโ Emails
1. Become a Source For Reporters and Bloggers
Hereโs the deal:
If you want to rank on the first page of Google, you need to build backlinks from authority news sites and blogs.
(Iโm talking about white hat links from authority news sites and blogs.)
Fortunately, this isnโt as hard as it sounds.
All you need to do is use services like Help a B2B Writer (100% free) and Featured.com (freemium).
Help a B2B Writer and Featured.com are like Tinder for public relations.
It connects people that need sources (bloggers and journalists) to people that want links and exposure (you).
And Iโve personally used them to build white hat backlinks from authoritative news sites:
And Iโm not alone. In fact, I get emails like this from Backlinko readers all the time:
To be clear: this strategy takes work. And itโs not always easy.
But in my experience, itโs one of the best ways to build high-quality backlinks at scale.
With that, letโs dive into the step-by-step process.
First, register as a source.
Next, choose a free or paid plan.
Then, keep an eye out for requests that you can contribute to.
Finally, send the journalist a VERY brief and valuable pitch.
For example:
A while back I saw a request on a now defunct platform, HARO, from someone asking: โWhatโs the difference between graphic design and web design?โ.
So I submitted this pitch:
And I got this sweet link from a DR76 university site.
Not too shabby.
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2. Publish โSkyscraperโ Content
Iโve used โSkyscraperโ content to build backlinks from authority sites like Entrepreneur.com:
Hubspot:
And I even got an editorial link from the GoDaddy blog:
Yup, youโve probably noticed that theyโre all linking to the same piece of content: SEO Tools: The Complete List.
Well, my list of SEO tools is a piece of โSkyscraperโ content.
And that page has generated 10.2K total backlinks.
But more important than that, as you just saw, many of those links are quality backlinks from authority sites.
The question is:
How can you do the same thing?
Hereโs the step-by-step process:
First, find a piece of content in your industry thatโs already performed well (in terms of backlinks).
The easiest way to do that?
A simple Google search.
Just search for your keywordโฆ
โฆand check out the first page results:
As you know, backlinks are a super important Google ranking signal.
So if a page is ranking on the first page, lots of people have probably linked to it.
Thatโs step #1.
Next, create a piece of content thatโs 5-10x better than what you just found.
For example, I noticed that most of the SEO tools lists out there were pretty short.
So I decided to create something that was 10x better.
Unlike most other lists of SEO tools, my post contained every tool on the market (170+ tools).
Was this piece of content easy to make? Nope!
But it was worth it. To date, my SEO tools list has been shared on social media 20,777 timesโฆ
โฆand has backlinks from over 1.08K different domains:
Finally, promote your โSkyscraperโ content.
This is key.
Yes, a piece of Skyscraper content already puts you ahead of your competitors.
But to get the most out of your content, you need to actively promote it.
Now:
There are a million ways to promote your content.
So let me show you one quick strategy that works really well for Skyscraper content:
Promote to people that you mention in your post.
For example, I emailed all of the tools that I mentioned in my Skyscraper post. Hereโs the exact script that I used:
And because I wasnโt pushy or spammy, most people were more than happy to share my content on social media (some of them even linked to it):
3. Build Links From Outdated Resources
Using โThe Moving Man Methodโ I scored links fromโฆ
An authoritative .edu site:
A popular resource page:
And several contextual links from relevant sites in the SEO and online marketing space, like this:
And this:
And now itโs time for the steps.
1. Your first step is to find sites in your industry that have:
- Changed names
- Moved to a new URL
- Stopped offering a service
- Stopped updating a resource
- Shut down
How about an example?
A while back SEOMoz changed its name to Moz (and moved its site from SEOmoz.org to Moz.com):
After I heard the news, I realized that this was a PERFECT opportunity to reach out to the hundreds of people still linking to the outdated SEOMoz.org URLs.
2. Our second step is to find sites still linking to the old, outdated URL
Now that youโve found a site that was recently re-branded or a site feature thatโs no longer there, itโs time to find all of the links pointing to that page.
Just grab the URL of the outdated resource and put it into your backlink checking tool of choice.
(Iโm using Semrush in this example but there are lots of link building tools that you can use to do the same thing.)
Then, check out all the sites that link to the old URLs.
Depending on the site, you should have quite a few link opportunities to work with.
Either way, you want to focus on sites that have the highest Domain Authority (DA).
3. Last up, reach out and get your links.
Your last step is to reach out to all of the people that still link to the outdated resource.
You want to give them a quick heads-up about their outdated linkโฆand gently suggest that they add your link to their site.
I tested a few different outreach email scripts for my SEOmoz/Moz campaign. Hereโs the one that worked best:
And because I added value to their site twice (once from the heads up about their outdated link and again by showing them my valuable resource) people were more than happy to add my link to their page:
Thatโs all there is to it ๐
4. Use Content Formats Proven To Generate Links
A while ago, BuzzSumo and I did a study of 912 million blog posts and articles:
So, what did we find?
We discovered that most content is completely ignored.
In fact, they found that 94% of all online content gets ZERO links.
Thatโs the bad news.
The good news is, we found that certain types of content consistently performed better than others.
Specifically, we discovered that the following content formats tended to generate lots of backlinks:
In other words, if you want to get backlinks, focus on these content formats:
- โWhyโ Posts
- โWhatโ posts
- Infographics
- Videos
Am I saying: โJust publish a bunch of why posts and infographics?โ
Of course not.
If you want to get backlinks today, your content has to be amazing.
But these formats give you a starting point for writing amazing content that actually works.
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5. Publish Ultimate Guides
You already know that the only way to move your site to the top of Google is to build high-quality backlinks (and lots of them).
That much is clear.
But HOW do you get other sites to actually link to you?
Ultimate Guides.
Seriously.
For example, hereโs an Ultimate Guide to link building that I published a while back:
Even though I wrote that guide 6 years ago, it continues to generate links today.
Why do Ultimate Guides work so well?
First, comprehensive guides tend to contain A LOT of content on a single page. In fact, my guide to link building is a whopping 4,834 words.
According to lots of SEO ranking factor studies (including ours), long-form content tends to perform better in Google than short articles:
Also, ultimate guides cover an entire topic on a single page.
And because your guide is the โgo-toโ resource for a topic, people will link to it whenever they write about that topic on their blog:
Hereโs exactly how to create an ultimate guide, step-by-step.
1. Your first step is to find a topic for your guide.
This is important.
You want to choose a popular topic that hasnโt been covered to death already.
(In other words: you donโt want to publish the 18th ultimate guide on a topic.)
For example, when I published my link building guide, I noticed the first page of Google had some helpful postsโฆ
โฆbut no ultimate guides.
I also considered writing an ultimate guide to SEO. But there were already a thousand guides on that topic:
So I went with link building.
2. Next, outline your ultimate guide.
This is easy.
Just list out subtopics that make up your larger topic.
For example, for my link building guide, I simply listed out subtopics like this:
- What is link building?
- Black hat SEO
- White hat SEO
- Anchor text
- Content
- Email outreach
- Advanced tips
And many of these subtopics each became sections of my guide:
3. Lastly, write your Ultimate Guide.
And remember:
Donโt be afraid to cover everything there is to know about a topic.
That way, your guide will be seen as the definitive resource.
(And like I mentioned earlier, longer content tends to generate more backlinks, sharesโฆ and higher rankings in Google.)
6. Use Branded Strategies and Techniques
Remember strategy #3 from this guide?
You might have noticed that I didnโt just outline the strategyโฆ I also named it.
This wasnโt the first time that I mentioned the โMoving Man Methodโ in a blog post.
In fact, thanks to naming my strategy, people link to my content on The Moving Man Method fairly often:
(People even publish entire blog posts about it.)
And those links only happened because I gave my strategy a memorable name.
How about another example?
Ramit Sethi created a strategy for looking like a rockstar at meetings called โThe Briefcase Techniqueโ:
And because Ramit named his strategy, he got a bunch of amazing links:
Now that youโve seen how well this can work, itโs time to cover the specific steps:
Step #1: Develop a Unique Strategy, Tip, or Tactic
This sounds harder than it actually is.
All you need to do is come up with a strategy that has SOMETHING unique about it.
(In other words, the entire strategy doesnโt need to be unique.)
Derek Halpern puts it best:
You may not have unique ingredients, but youโve got a unique recipe.
And that unique recipe is all that matters.
For example, letโs look at The Moving Man Method.
People have been using broken link building as part of their link building campaigns for years.
So what made my strategy different?
My unique twist was that the links werenโt necessarily broken (as in, they didnโt necessarily show a 404 error).
The links I used for The Moving Man Method technically workedโฆ they were just outdated:
And that was unique enough.
Step #2: Next, name your strategy.
I called my strategy The Moving Man Method because youโre helping the site owner โmoveโ their link.
Not the most creative name, but it gets the job done.
So yeah, just make sure the name describes what your strategy does.
Other than that, try to use one of these words in your strategy name:
- Method
- Technique
- Approach
- System
- Blueprint
You get the idea ๐
Step #3: Publish the strategy as part of a blog post.
Your last step is to show people that your new strategy actually works.
How?
Publish your strategy in the form of a blog post. Preferably a case study.
(That way, people have something to link to when they reference your technique.)
For example, hereโs the post I used to announce The Moving Man Method to the world:
In this post, I didnโt just say: โLook at my new strategy. It probably works!โ.
Instead, I showed people proof that The Moving Man Method works:
And that 1-2 punch (a branded strategy + proof) is an asset that can result in lots of backlinks.
Bonus Strategy #1: Turn Brand Mentions Into Quality Backlinks
Every once and a while someone will mention you in a blog post ..but wonโt actually link to your site.
Hereโs an example:
See how that person mentioned my siteโฆ but didnโt link to me?
Thatโs called an โUnlinked Brand Mentionโ.
These mentions are relatively easy to get backlinks from.
Why?
The author of the post already mentioned you. Which means they like you.
So you just need to send them this friendly email:
Hi [Name],
I just came across your latest article: [Article Title].
Awesome work!
I just wanted to reach out and say โThanksโ for mentioning [Your Brand Name] in your article. I really appreciate that.
Also, if you have a minute, it would be great if you could link to our site. That way, your readers can easily find the post on our blog that you mentioned.
Again, thank you for mentioning us in your article. And have a great day.
Best,
[Your First Name]
And youโre set.
Bonus Strategy #2: Send โFeelerโ Emails
When it comes to email outreach, you have two options:
Option #1: Ask people for links in your first email
Option #2: Use a โfeelerโ email
From running hundreds of link building campaigns, Iโve found that both approaches can work.
But Iโve also found that so-called โFeelerโ emails increase conversions by 40%+.
So: what are โFeelerโ emails?
Feeler emails are messages you send to prospects without asking for a link.
(Youโre โfeeling outโ whether or not theyโre receptive to your outreachโฆ before you make a link pitch.)
Hereโs a real-life example:
See how Mike doesnโt ask for a link? Instead, he asks the person if theyโd like to see it first.
IF they say โyesโ, you send them your pitch:
In Mikeโs case, the โFeelerโ email got 40% more responses vs. asking for a link in the first email.
Very cool.