How to Get Other Websites to Link to Yours in 2026

Updated for 2026

Quick Answer: How Do You Get Other Websites to Link to You?

The best way to earn backlinks is to give other websites a legitimate reason to reference you.

That can come from:

• Original research
• Useful tools or resources
• Expert commentary
• Digital PR
• Industry relationships
• Local partnerships
• Case studies
• Data and statistics
• Helpful guides
• Relevant directories and associations

The goal is not to collect as many links as possible.

The goal is to earn relevant, credible links that make sense for your business and content.

What Are Backlinks?

A backlink is simply a link from another website pointing to your website.

For example, if a local news publication writes about your company and links to your website, that is a backlink.

If an industry association lists your company as a member and links to your site, that is also a backlink.

Backlinks can help people discover your business, send referral traffic, and help search engines understand how your website fits into the broader web.

But not all links have equal value.

Why Do Backlinks Matter?

Links have been part of how search engines understand the web for decades.

But I don’t think business owners should reduce backlinks to a simple formula like:

“More links = higher rankings.”

It’s much more nuanced than that.

A link from a respected website in your industry or local market can provide:

• Referral traffic
• Brand awareness
• Credibility
• Industry relevance
• Local relevance
• Search-engine discovery
• Authority signals

A random backlink from an unrelated low-quality website may provide little value at all.

That’s why I focus on relevance and legitimacy rather than simply increasing a backlink count.

1. Create Content Worth Linking To

The easiest backlinks to understand are the ones you genuinely deserve.

If you publish something useful enough that another website wants to reference it, you’re creating what SEOs often call a linkable asset.

Examples include:

• Detailed tutorials
• Research
• Original statistics
• Industry surveys
• Case studies
• Templates
• Checklists
• Calculators
• Maps
• Data visualizations
• Comprehensive resource lists

Google’s current content guidance emphasizes original information, research, analysis, and content that provides substantial value rather than simply rewriting what already exists. That is also exactly the type of content other websites are more likely to reference. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Before publishing, ask:

“Why would another website link to this instead of one of the hundreds of similar articles already online?”

If you don’t have an answer, think about how you can make the resource more original.

2. Publish Original Data or Research

Original data is one of my favorite backlink opportunities.

Why?

Because when journalists, bloggers, businesses, or researchers cite your findings, they have a natural reason to link back to the source.

You don’t necessarily need a massive national study.

A local business could publish information such as:

• Customer survey results
• Local pricing trends
• Industry statistics
• Anonymous customer behavior data
• Seasonal demand patterns
• Local market comparisons

For example, an SEO company could analyze hundreds of local search results and publish findings about Google Maps rankings in San Diego.

A real estate company could publish local transaction trends.

A fitness studio could survey clients about workout preferences.

Original information gives people something they cannot simply find on every competing website.

3. Offer Expert Commentary

You already have expertise in your industry.

Use it.

Journalists, bloggers, podcasters, and industry publications regularly need qualified people who can explain trends and provide commentary.

If you’re quoted in an article, the publisher may also mention your company and potentially link to your website.

Expert commentary works particularly well when you:

• Respond quickly
• Give a clear answer
• Provide an interesting perspective
• Use real experience
• Avoid generic marketing language

Instead of saying:

“SEO is very important for businesses.”

give a journalist something specific and useful.

Real expertise is much more quotable.

4. Use Digital PR

Digital PR combines public relations with online visibility.

The goal isn’t simply issuing press releases filled with keyword-rich links.

It’s creating stories or resources that publications actually want to discuss.

Possible PR angles include:

• Original research
• Local business trends
• New company developments
• Community initiatives
• Expert predictions
• Interesting case studies
• Industry changes

If you’re a local business, start local.

San Diego publications, neighborhood sites, local organizations, and industry-specific publications may be much more relevant than chasing links from unrelated national websites.

5. Build Local Backlinks

For local businesses, some of the most logical backlink opportunities may already exist in your community.

Look for relationships with:

• Local chambers of commerce
• Business associations
• Charities
• Community organizations
• Local publications
• Neighborhood groups
• Schools and universities
• Local events
• Business partners
• Suppliers

The key is that the relationship should be real.

If your company sponsors a local event, participates in a charity program, joins a professional association, or partners with another business, a link may naturally be part of that relationship.

This is much stronger than randomly buying “local backlinks.”

6. Earn Industry-Relevant Links

Industry relevance matters.

If you’re a dentist, a link from a recognized dental association makes sense.

If you’re a financial professional, links and mentions from relevant financial or business organizations make sense.

If you’re a contractor, supplier and trade-association links may make sense.

Think about the websites your actual customers, peers, suppliers, and professional network already use.

Those are often better places to begin than searching for arbitrary “high DA sites.”

Third-party authority metrics can be useful for research, but they’re not Google ranking scores.

I explain that distinction more thoroughly in my guide to topical authority vs. Domain Authority.

7. Build Real Business Relationships

A surprising number of backlink opportunities come from ordinary business relationships.

Think about:

• Companies you partner with
• Software you use
• Vendors
• Professional organizations
• Clients you’ve created public case studies with
• Podcasts you’ve appeared on
• Industry events

You don’t need to send an email saying:

“Link to me and I’ll link to you.”

In fact, Google explicitly lists excessive link exchanges performed for ranking purposes as link spam. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

Instead, look for situations where mentioning or linking to your business would genuinely help the other site’s audience.

8. Use Broken Link Building Carefully

Broken link building can still be useful when done intelligently.

The idea is simple:

1. Find an authoritative resource page with a broken outbound link.
2. Determine what the missing resource originally covered.
3. If you have a genuinely relevant replacement, contact the site owner.

The important part is relevance.

Don’t find thousands of broken links and send automated emails claiming your vaguely related article is a perfect replacement.

The outreach should actually help the website owner fix a broken resource for their visitors.

9. Use Relevant Directories and Citations

Directories can still have a role, especially for local businesses.

But I would not submit a business to every directory on the internet simply because the listing includes a backlink.

Focus first on places that customers may actually use or that help establish legitimate business information.

Examples may include:

• Google Business Profile
• Bing Places
• Yelp
• Industry directories
• Professional associations
• Local chambers
• Relevant business directories

If you’re building local citations, I maintain a larger resource with local citation opportunities.

But even there, I recommend being selective rather than thinking every listing is equally valuable.

10. Promote Content You Already Have

You may already have excellent linkable content nobody knows exists.

Before creating another article, look at your existing site.

You may already have:

• An excellent guide
• A case study
• An infographic
• A useful checklist
• Original photos
• A helpful video
• A free tool
• Industry research

Instead of immediately creating more content, ask:

“Who would genuinely benefit from knowing this resource exists?”

Then promote it directly to relevant people and organizations.

This is one reason I don’t think publishing content alone is enough.

A great resource can’t earn many links if nobody discovers it.

Backlink Strategies I Would Avoid

There are shortcuts in link building that I would not recommend.

Google’s spam policies specifically identify several manipulative link practices, including buying links for ranking purposes, excessive link exchanges, and automated link creation. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

I would be cautious about:

• Buying huge backlink packages
• Automated link-building software
• Mass link exchanges
• Private networks created primarily for links
• Spammy comment links
• Irrelevant directory submissions
• Paying for dofollow guest-post links
• Keyword-stuffed press-release links

Guest posting itself isn’t automatically bad.

Sharing legitimate expertise with another publication can be great marketing.

But when large-scale guest posting exists primarily to create ranking links, that’s where the strategy becomes problematic. Google specifically recommends properly qualifying sponsored and paid links and warns against excessive campaigns built around link acquisition. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

How to Evaluate Whether a Backlink Is Valuable

I don’t judge a backlink based on one metric.

I ask questions such as:

• Is the website legitimate?
• Is the site relevant to the business?
• Would a real person potentially click the link?
• Is the link editorially appropriate?
• Does the website publish useful content?
• Does the linking page make sense contextually?
• Would I still want this mention if Google didn’t exist?

That last question is one of my favorites.

Would this link still have business value if search engines ignored it?

If yes, it’s often a much more natural opportunity.

How to Track Your Backlinks

You can monitor links through several tools.

Google Search Console includes a Links report showing some of the websites and pages linking to your site.

SEO platforms such as Ahrefs and Semrush can provide additional backlink data.

But don’t obsess over watching the total link count increase every week.

I care more about whether the website is building:

• Relevant authority
• Industry recognition
• Referral traffic
• Brand visibility
• Stronger rankings for meaningful searches

How to Get Other Websites to Link to Yours: Final Thoughts

The best backlink strategies usually don’t feel like backlink tricks.

They look like good marketing.

You publish something useful.

A journalist quotes you.

An industry organization lists you.

A local publication writes about your business.

A partner references your expertise.

A blogger cites your original research.

Those links make sense because your business or content deserved the reference.

That’s the type of authority I want to build.

If you want to understand how backlinks fit into the larger SEO picture, read How Does SEO Work?.

And if your site has lots of links but isn’t ranking as expected, it may be worth evaluating the website’s content, internal linking, technical SEO, and search intent rather than assuming you simply need more backlinks.

If you’d like me to evaluate your website’s overall authority and search visibility, I work directly with businesses as an SEO expert in San Diego and build strategies around what the website actually needs rather than chasing arbitrary backlink numbers.

GET YOUR FREE SEO ANALYSIS

Call or text: (619) 719-1315

Thanks for reading,
Jen Ruhman
Founder, Jen Ruhman SEO

Frequently Asked Questions About Backlinks

How do I get other websites to link to my website?

Create resources worth referencing, build genuine industry and local relationships, contribute expert commentary, use digital PR, publish original data, and promote your strongest resources to relevant websites and organizations.

Are backlinks still important for SEO?

Backlinks can still contribute to a website’s discovery, authority, referral traffic, and search visibility. However, link quality, relevance, legitimacy, and context matter much more than simply collecting the largest possible number of links.

Should I buy backlinks?

Buying links specifically to manipulate rankings can violate Google’s spam policies. Instead, focus on legitimate marketing, PR, partnerships, useful content, and other strategies that can earn genuine links and mentions.

Is guest posting still good for SEO?

Legitimate guest contributions can help build visibility and demonstrate expertise. However, large-scale guest posting primarily designed to create ranking links can become manipulative. Sponsored or paid links should be appropriately qualified.

How many backlinks do I need to rank?

There is no universal number of backlinks required to rank. Competition, relevance, content quality, website authority, search intent, technical SEO, and the quality of competing pages all influence rankings.

What makes a backlink high quality?

A strong backlink usually comes from a legitimate and relevant website, appears naturally within useful context, and makes sense for the site’s audience. Referral value, editorial relevance, and real-world credibility are often more useful considerations than relying on one third-party authority score.

Can local businesses build backlinks?

Yes. Local businesses can earn links from chambers of commerce, local publications, community organizations, professional associations, suppliers, business partners, charities, events, and other legitimate local relationships.