Link building for digital marketers: where to start

Backlinks are one of the most consistent ranking signals Google has used since the beginning of search. A page with strong backlinks from credible, relevant sites will almost always outrank an equally good page with none.

Can I rank with no backlink? Yes, but it would be way slower and a lot harder.

This guide covers what backlinks actually do, what makes a backlink worth having, and a set of starting strategies that work for independent marketers and small businesses without a dedicated outreach team or a large budget.

Where to get the backlinks?

Web 2.0 Publishing Platforms

These platforms let you publish articles or posts with links back to your site. The key is to publish genuine, useful content rather than thin keyword-stuffed posts. A well-written article on Medium with one natural link back to your site is worth far more than a spammy 200-word post.

How to use them: Pick one or two, not all of them. Publish a genuine article relevant to your niche, include one contextual link back to a specific page on your site, and keep publishing there occasionally. Thin, low-effort posts on every platform look spammy. One well-written post on Medium every few weeks looks natural.

Forums and Online Communities

Forums are one of the most underused link building channels for small businesses. The links are often nofollow, but they drive real referral traffic and build brand visibility in communities where your potential customers are already active.

The rule on all forums: add value first, link second. A helpful answer with a relevant link at the end is welcome. A post that exists only to drop a link will get removed and your account flagged.

Spend 20 minutes per week answering questions in 2 to 3 of these communities. Over time you become a recognized contributor, which makes your links far more welcome and your brand far more visible.

Q&A Platforms

Similar to forums but more structured around specific questions and answers. These get indexed by Google regularly and a good answer can drive traffic for months.

How to use Quora effectively: Search for questions in your niche that have high view counts and relatively few good answers. Write a thorough, specific answer. Include one natural link to a relevant page on your site where it genuinely adds value. Quora answers can drive consistent referral traffic for years if the question continues to get searched.

Business and Brand Directories

These are legitimate directories where your business should be listed regardless of SEO. The links are real, indexed, and trusted. Most are free to list on the basic tier.

General business directories:

Digital marketing and agency-specific directories:

How to approach directory listings: Fill out your profile completely, including a genuine description, your website URL, services, and location. Incomplete profiles look abandoned and provide less value. Prioritize the top 5 to 10 directories most relevant to your business type rather than submitting to hundreds of low-quality ones.

Social and Profile Links

Social profiles and professional profiles create brand entity signals that matter for both SEO and GEO. These links are mostly nofollow but they establish a consistent presence across the web that AI systems use to validate your brand as a legitimate entity.

Press Release Platforms (Free Tier)

Free press release sites have lower authority than paid newswire services, but they are indexed, they create additional brand presence, and the cost is zero. Use them when you have something genuinely worth announcing: a new service, a notable client result, a tool launch, or original research.

Do not manufacture fake announcements just to get links. A press release about nothing newsworthy reads as spam and provides no value. Use these only when you have something real to say.

Podcast Guest Appearances

This one takes more effort but deserves a mention because it consistently produces high-quality backlinks with zero cost beyond your time.

Most podcast hosts publish show notes on their website with links to their guest’s site. A single guest appearance on a relevant podcast in your niche can produce a strong dofollow link, referral traffic from listeners, and brand exposure to a targeted audience.

Find podcasts in your niche using:

• Spotify and Apple Podcasts search for your topic
• Listen Notes (listennotes.com) for a searchable podcast database
• Podchaser (podchaser.com) for podcast and guest research

Pitch yourself as a guest by sending a brief email explaining who you are, what topic you can speak to with genuine expertise, and why their audience would find it useful. Keep the pitch short and specific.

Link building is slow.

There is no honest way to frame it otherwise.

In months 1 to 3, you are mostly setting up: identifying your linkable content, submitting to directories, doing initial outreach, and building relationships with other publishers in your niche.

By months 3 to 6, you should start seeing a steady trickle of new referring domains each month if you are publishing good content and doing consistent outreach.

By months 6 to 12, the compounding effect begins. More content means more to link to. More links mean higher domain authority. Higher domain authority means new content ranks faster without needing as many individual links.

The sites that give up on link building at month 3 because they have not seen dramatic results yet are the ones who stay stuck. The ones that keep going are the ones that eventually dominate their niche.

Related Guides in This Series

• SEO + GEO Complete Guide for Digital Marketers
• What is GEO? Generative Engine Optimization, Explained Simply
• How to Write Content That AI Cites
• On-Page SEO Checklist That Still Works
• Keyword Research in the AI Era: What’s Changed
• Measuring SEO vs. GEO: Tracking Visibility in 2026
• SEO + GEO Action Plan for Small Business Owners