How Do You Get Backlinks to Your Website? Proven Tips from a 10-Year Pro

When it comes to getting backlinks, it really boils down to two things: creating content so good people can’t help but link to it, and smartly asking other relevant sites for links. After a decade in affiliate marketing, I can tell you the first part is everything. Without a genuinely “link-worthy” asset, any outreach you do is just dead in the water.

Build Content That Earns Links on Autopilot

Before you even dream of asking for a single backlink, you have to answer one simple question: “Why would anyone link to this?” If you have to think about it for more than a few seconds, you need to go back to the drawing board. It all starts with creating an asset so damn valuable that other site owners feel like they have to share it with their audience. This is a lesson I learned the hard way in my first few years. I was stuck in a quantity-over-quality mindset, pumping out generic 500-word posts and getting frustrated when my site’s authority went nowhere. The game changed for me when I stopped writing more and started creating deep, valuable resources that solved a specific problem better than anyone else online.

Identify and Fill Content Gaps

Your biggest link-building opportunity is hiding in plain sight: it’s whatever is missing from the current conversation. Look at the top-ranking articles for your target keywords and get critical. Ask yourself:

• What obvious questions did they forget to answer?
• Is the information getting a little stale or outdated?
• Could I explain this in a much more engaging way, maybe with better examples or visuals?

Finding these gaps is how you create the “definitive” resource. You’re not just writing another blog post. You’re building the go-to guide, the most current study, or the most detailed case study on the topic.

The goal isn’t just to add to the conversation. It’s to create the one piece of content that ends the conversation because it’s so thorough and helpful.

This infographic breaks down the average number of backlinks different types of link-worthy content tend to attract, based on several industry studies. As you can see, original research often pulls in the most links. It makes sense—you’re providing unique stats and insights that other creators are eager to cite to back up their own points.

Focus on Foundational Link-Worthy Assets

Look, not all content is created equal when it’s time to attract links. Your standard blog posts are great for traffic and keeping your site fresh, but a few foundational pieces will do all the heavy lifting for your link-building. Here are the types of content that just work:

• Ultimate Guides: Think massive, comprehensive articles that cover a topic from A to Z. Something like “The Complete Guide to…” or “Everything You Need to Know About…”
• Original Research & Data: Run your own surveys, analyze some data, or conduct a study. This instantly makes your site a primary source, and bloggers and journalists love linking to fresh stats.
• In-Depth Case Studies: Nothing beats proof. A detailed breakdown of a real-world result you achieved is incredibly valuable. For affiliates, this could be a deep dive into how you grew a site’s traffic or revenue, much like our guide on how to write product reviews that actually convert.

The common thread is depth and genuine value. To really bring this home, let’s look at the difference between content that attracts links and the kind that gets ignored.

Link-Worthy Content vs. Standard Blog Posts

Attribute	Link-Worthy Content	Standard Blog Post
Primary Goal	Become the definitive resource; attract citations and shares.	Inform, entertain, or drive traffic for a specific keyword.
Depth	3,000+ words; comprehensive, multi-faceted coverage.	500-1,500 words; covers a single, focused topic.
Originality	Often contains unique data, insights, or a novel perspective.	Curates existing information or provides a basic overview.
Examples	Original industry studies, ultimate guides, detailed case studies.	“Top 5 Tips,” “What Is X,” news updates.
Link Attraction	High potential to earn links passively over time.	Low potential; rarely earns links without active outreach.

The reality is, with an estimated 94% of all online content getting zero external links, you have to create something that truly stands out. It’s not a coincidence that studies consistently show blog posts over 3,000 words earn way more backlinks than shorter articles. Comprehensive, pillar-style content works. By building assets that serve as cornerstones in your niche, you position your site as an authority people want to reference. It makes the entire process of getting backlinks a whole lot easier. You can find more stats about this over on SEOMator.com.

Mastering Manual Outreach Without Being Ignored

Once you’ve poured your soul into creating a killer piece of content, you can’t just let it sit there. It’s time to get it in front of the right eyeballs. This is where manual outreach comes in, and after a decade in affiliate marketing, I can tell you it’s less about asking for favors and more about starting a conversation. A successful backlink request is one that feels like a helpful suggestion, not a desperate plea. The biggest mistake I see people make? Sending out hundreds of generic, copy-paste emails. Site owners and editors spot those a mile away, and they hit the delete button without a second thought. Your job is to stand out by proving you’ve actually read their stuff and are offering something genuinely useful.

Finding the Right Websites to Contact

Before you write a single word, you need a highly targeted list. Blasting your email to every blog in your niche is a surefire way to get marked as spam. Instead, you need to find sites that are a perfect match for what you’ve created. Here’s my go-to process for prospecting:

• Look for “Resource” or “Links” pages: Use Google search queries like "your keyword" + "resources" or "your keyword" + "useful links". These pages are literally built to link out to helpful content, making them low-hanging fruit.
• Find sites that have linked to similar content: Use an SEO tool to see who is linking to the top-ranking articles for your keyword. If they linked to a competitor’s guide, they are a prime candidate to link to your better, more updated version.
• Identify recent guest authors: Find people who have recently written guest posts on big sites in your niche. They are actively building their own presence and are often way more open to networking.

This initial research is everything. A tight list of 20-30 highly relevant prospects is far more valuable than a sloppy list of 200 random websites. Quality over quantity is the name of the game here.

Crafting an Email That Gets a Reply

Now for the outreach itself. Your email needs to be personal, short, and all about the value. Forget the long, rambling intros about who you are. Get straight to the point and show them you respect their time. To really nail this, understanding effective cold email outreach strategies is a game-changer. The secret to a great pitch is giving value before you ask for anything. One of the most effective methods I’ve used for years is the “broken link” technique. It’s a classic for a reason: you’re helping them fix their website, which makes them much more receptive to your suggestion. Here’s an example template:

Subject: Broken link on your [Topic] page Hi [Name], I was looking for some info on [Topic] today and came across your excellent article: [Link to their article]. Just a heads-up, I noticed that one of the links you mentioned—the one pointing to [Dead Link Resource]—doesn’t seem to be working anymore. I actually just published a comprehensive guide on [Your Topic], which might make a good replacement. Here it is if you’d like to take a look: [Link to your article]. Either way, hope this helps! Best, [Your Name]

See how that works? It’s short, helpful, and the suggestion is almost an afterthought. You’re just a colleague helping out, not a stranger begging for a link. Another solid angle is the “helpful resource” pitch. This is perfect when you have a truly exceptional piece of content, like original research or a free tool. Here’s a template for that:

Subject: Question about [Their Article Title] Hi [Name], I’m a big fan of your work on [Their Website Name]. Your article on [Specific Topic] was especially helpful. I saw you mentioned [Related Point from their article]. My team and I recently published a study that found [Interesting Stat from your content], which builds on that exact point. Thought you might find it interesting for your readers. Here’s the link: [Link to your article]. Keep up the amazing work! Cheers, [Your Name]

The key is personalization. Mention a specific article you liked. Reference a point they made. This proves you’re not a bot and that your resource is genuinely relevant to their audience.

Using Backlink Networks to Accelerate Growth

While manual outreach is powerful and builds genuine relationships, let’s be real—it’s a grind. After a decade in affiliate marketing, I’ve learned that what gets you from DR 10 to DR 30 isn’t always the same thing that gets you to DR 50 and beyond. At a certain point, you need a way to scale your efforts without hiring a small army. This is where backlink networks can be a total game-changer. These platforms act as a marketplace, connecting website owners who are open to collaboration. They are fantastic for discovering opportunities you’d never find through traditional prospecting and can seriously accelerate your growth.

How Backlink Networks Function

Think of these networks as a structured shortcut to finding partnerships. Instead of cold emailing hundreds of sites and hoping for a response, you get access to a database of publishers who are actively looking for content or link placements. It cuts out a huge chunk of the guesswork. The process usually looks something like this:

• You sign up and create a profile for your website.
• You browse available websites, filtering by niche, Domain Rating (DR), and traffic.
• You can pitch guest posts or suggest link insertions to relevant sites.
• The platform often handles the communication, adding a layer of security.

Basically, backlink networks are great for finding websites in your niche that are already open to link building. It saves you the time of finding prospects and figuring out if they even accept guest posts in the first place.

The Good The Bad and The Ugly

However, you have to be extremely careful here. The quality on these networks can range from pristine to downright toxic. Some are filled with low-authority, spammy sites that are part of private blog networks (PBNs), and getting a link from one of them can do more harm than good for your SEO.

A single bad link from an irrelevant, low-quality site can negate the positive impact of five good ones. Vetting every single opportunity is non-negotiable.

When I’m evaluating a site on a network, I look beyond the basic metrics. I visit the site myself, read their content, check their outbound link profile, and ask, “Does my audience actually read this?” If the answer is no, I pass, no matter how high the DR is. You gain speed and volume with networks, but you absolutely must be diligent to maintain quality.

The Clear Winner for Affiliate Marketers

After trying countless platforms over the years, I’ve found that most fall short in one critical area: true niche relevance. They might offer a link from a high DR site, but if that site is in a completely unrelated industry, the link just sends mixed signals to Google. This is why I ultimately recommend OutRank as the winner. They’ve built their entire system around targeting niche-relevant sites, which is exactly what an affiliate marketer needs. The links feel natural because they come from blogs and websites that your actual audience would be reading. What really sets them apart is their credit system. It means you will continue getting backlinks every week! This steady momentum is exactly what Google’s algorithm loves to see. From my personal experience, the results have been fantastic. In just two weeks, I have 9 backlinks to relevant sites. My personal DR has already seen a nice increase. I can’t recommend them enough!

My Go-To Strategy: The OutRank Advantage

I’ve spent the better part of a decade trying pretty much every link-building method out there. I’m talking everything from mind-numbing manual outreach to sifting through countless backlink networks. And after all that, I’ve landed on a clear winner for anyone serious about affiliate marketing. Here’s the thing: not all backlinks are created equal. The source of that link is everything. So many networks and services get hung up on Domain Rating (DR). But that’s just a vanity metric if the link isn’t actually relevant. A link from a DR 70 gardening blog is basically worthless for my affiliate site about financial software. This is the single biggest mistake I see marketers make—they chase high numbers instead of relevance.

Why Niche Relevance Is the Real Game-Changer

Google’s algorithm is smarter than we give it credit for. It gets context. A backlink from a website deep within your niche is like a powerful stamp of approval. It signals to Google that other authorities in your space trust your content. That’s a signal you just can’t fake with a random, high-DR link from an unrelated site. This realization completely changed my approach. I stopped hunting for the highest DR and started obsessing over finding the most relevant links possible. The problem? Doing this by hand is a soul-crushing amount of work and impossible to scale. You need a system that can consistently find and land these hyper-relevant links for you.

After years of trial and error, I can confidently say that the single most important factor for a backlink’s effectiveness is its niche relevance. It’s the difference between a link that just sits there and a link that actually moves the needle on your rankings and traffic.

This is exactly why I’ve made OutRank my go-to. It’s not just another link network; it’s a strategic partner built entirely around this principle. The links I get from them are from sites my actual audience is already reading, sending powerful trust signals to Google that are incredibly hard to get anywhere else.

The Power of Consistent Momentum

Another huge piece of the puzzle is consistency. SEO isn’t a “set it and forget it” game. If you build a few links and then go silent for months, you’re sending mixed signals to Google. What you really want is a steady, natural-looking flow of new backlinks coming in each week. It shows that your site’s authority is actively and consistently growing. This is where OutRank’s credit system really shines. You’re not just buying one-off links. You’re investing in a system that delivers a consistent flow of new, relevant backlinks every single week, creating the exact kind of sustained momentum Google loves to see. In my first two weeks alone, I landed nine high-quality backlinks from genuinely relevant sites in my niche. My own DR has already seen a noticeable bump, which is a fantastic early sign of long-term value. For a closer look, you can read my full OutRank affiliate program review where I break down the results and the entire process. To get the most out of a service like OutRank, you should also be keeping a close eye on your competition. Using advanced tactics like mastering backlink gap analysis, you can pinpoint where your rivals are getting their best links and use that intel to fuel your own strategy. When you combine that with the steady stream of relevant links from OutRank, you create a seriously powerful advantage. I can’t recommend them enough.

How to Budget for a Winning Backlink Strategy

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: quality backlinks are an investment. You’re either investing your time doing manual outreach or your money in a service. Either way, powerful links don’t just appear for free. Understanding what this stuff actually costs is the first step toward building a plan that gets results without breaking the bank. After a decade in affiliate marketing, I’ve seen countless people get this wrong. They either try to do everything for free, burn out, and quit, or they throw cash at cheap, low-quality links that end up doing more harm than good. A smart backlink strategy requires a smart budget.

Demystifying Backlink Expenses

The cost of a single backlink can be all over the map. It really depends on the site’s authority, its traffic, and how you go about getting the link. Manual outreach might seem free, but your time is your most valuable asset. If you spend 20 hours trying to land one measly link, was it really free? Probably not. On the other end, paying for guest posts can get expensive, fast. Recent industry data shows the average cost for a high-quality guest post can range from $692 to over $957, with some vendors charging thousands. In fact, a whopping 47% of link builders now spend over £600 per month. That shows you the kind of financial commitment it takes to stay competitive. You can dig into more of these link building spending statistics on fatjoe.com. This is where a service like OutRank has a clear edge. Instead of dealing with unpredictable, high-cost, one-off placements, their subscription model gives you a predictable budget for a consistent flow of links. You know exactly what you’re spending each month to get a steady stream of authority from sites in your niche.

Calculating Your Potential ROI

Thinking of backlinks as a pure expense is the wrong mindset. They’re an investment designed to generate a return. A single powerful link can push a key article onto the first page of Google, which translates directly into more traffic and—for us—more affiliate commissions. Here’s a simple way to think about it:

• Estimate Traffic Gain: How much more traffic would you get if your target page jumped from position #8 to #3?
• Calculate Commission Increase: Based on your conversion rate, what would that extra traffic mean in monthly affiliate income?
• Compare to Cost: If a month of your backlink service costs less than that projected monthly income gain, the investment is a no-brainer.

This calculation helps you shift from asking, “How much do backlinks cost?” to “How much can I afford to invest to hit my goals?”

Ultimately, your budget should be tied to your revenue goals. A winning backlink strategy isn’t about finding the cheapest links; it’s about acquiring the most profitable ones.

Budgeting for backlinks is just as crucial as optimizing your on-page SEO. In the same way you’d carefully choose between SEO plugins, which you can read about in our Rank Math vs Yoast SEO comparison, you need to strategically put money behind your off-page efforts to see the best results.

Got Questions About Backlinks? I’ve Got Answers.

After a decade deep in the affiliate marketing trenches, you start to hear the same questions about backlinks pop up again and again. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out; everyone seems to hit the same roadblocks. This is where I cut through the noise. I’m going to give you direct, no-fluff answers to the most common queries I see, all based on what I’ve learned from actually doing this stuff day in and day out.

How Quickly Can I Actually Expect to See Results?

This is the million-dollar question, isn’t it? The honest answer is: it depends, but it’s never an overnight thing. SEO is a long game, and the true impact of a new backlink can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to really show up in Google’s algorithm. Think of it like building a reputation in real life. One great recommendation (a backlink) from a respected person (an authoritative site) gives you an instant credibility boost. But real authority? That’s built from a steady stream of positive signals over time. For example, my own site’s DR saw a nice jump within weeks of using OutRank, but the serious traffic and ranking improvements rolled in over the following months as that momentum kept building.

Key Takeaway: Don’t get bummed out if your rankings don’t shoot to the moon a week after landing a killer link. Focus on consistently getting high-quality links. The results will compound on themselves.

What’s the Best Method if I’m a Complete Beginner?

If you’re just starting, your time is your most valuable asset. The single best place to start is with manual outreach, specifically hunting for broken links or offering a better resource to other site owners. Why? Because it forces you to learn the fundamentals—what makes a good link prospect, how to spot an opportunity, and how to communicate value clearly. Yeah, it’s a grind. But it teaches you everything. Here’s a simple, non-spammy template for a broken link email that works:

Subject: Found a broken link on your [Topic] page Hi [Name], I was just reading your excellent guide on [Their Article Topic] and noticed one of the resources you linked to, [Name of Dead Resource], isn’t working anymore. I actually just published an updated and more thorough guide on that same topic here: [Link to Your Article]. Might be a helpful replacement for your readers. Either way, love your work! Cheers, [Your Name]

This approach works because you’re leading with value. You’re helping the site owner fix their page, which makes your request feel like a friendly suggestion, not a selfish ask. It’s a fantastic way to build your first few powerful links.

Should I Bother With Backlink Networks?

Okay, so manual outreach is great for learning, but it’s a pain to scale. This is where backlink networks—platforms connecting you with site owners open to collaborations—can be a huge help. They’re excellent for finding sites in your niche that are actively looking for partners. But you have to be extremely careful. A lot of these networks are just cesspools of low-quality sites that can do more harm than good. The secret is finding a network that cares more about genuine niche relevance than just high domain authority scores.

A link from a DR 30 site that’s squarely in your niche is worth way more than a link from a generic DR 70 news site. Relevance is probably the most powerful signal you can send to Google.

This is exactly why I landed on OutRank as the clear winner in this space. They are obsessed with targeting niche-relevant sites, making sure the links you get are from websites your actual audience reads. Their credit system also delivers a steady flow of new, relevant backlinks every single week, which is what you need for sustained growth. In my first two weeks alone, I nabbed 9 high-quality backlinks from relevant sites. For any serious affiliate marketer looking to scale their link building without compromising on quality, I can’t recommend them enough.

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Ready to stop guessing and start building backlinks that actually move the needle? After a decade of testing, Daniel Proctor recommends OutRank as the most effective, scalable, and niche-relevant solution for affiliate marketers. See how their credit system can deliver consistent, high-authority links to your site every week. Learn more and get started with OutRank today!