How to Earn Links?
The distinction between earning links and building links matters. Building links means asking for them, often through outreach - covered on the outreach page. Earning links means creating content or resources that attract links without - or before - any outreach. The most durable backlink profiles are built on both, but the foundation has to be content that is genuinely worth linking to.
No outreach strategy compensates for weak content. Sites link to things they want their readers to find useful, credible, or interesting. If your content does not meet that bar, no amount of email volume will close the gap.
Linkable assets
A linkable asset is any piece of content specifically designed to attract links because it provides reference value that other writers, journalists, and editors want to cite. The formats that consistently earn the most links are:
Original research and data. Studies, surveys, and proprietary data earn links because they give other writers a credible source to cite when making a claim. A survey of 500 people in your industry that surfaces a surprising or counterintuitive finding gives dozens of people a reason to link to your page. According to Backlinko's experience running major research studies, including attractive charts and graphs from original data leads to two to three times more links, because bloggers embed the visuals in their own content with a link back to the source.
Comprehensive guides. In-depth guides that cover a topic more thoroughly than anything else available become the default reference for that topic. Content over 3,000 words attracts 3.5 times more backlinks than shorter content, according to research cited by Sure Oak - not because length is rewarded for its own sake, but because comprehensive coverage gives more writers more reasons to link.
Free tools and calculators. Useful tools earn persistent links because writers recommend them to their readers repeatedly. A mortgage repayment calculator, a keyword difficulty estimator, or an ROI calculator for your industry can accumulate hundreds of links over years with minimal ongoing effort. The tool does not need to be technically complex - it needs to be genuinely useful to your target audience.
Statistics and data aggregation pages. Pages that compile the best available statistics on a topic become the reference destination when anyone writes about that topic. Semrush's content marketing statistics page has earned links from over 2,500 referring domains because anyone writing about content marketing needs a source for their claims.
Digital PR
Digital PR is now the most effective link building tactic according to the Editorial.link survey of 518 SEO professionals - rated highest by 48.6% of respondents, well ahead of guest posting at 16%. Digital PR earns editorial links from journalists and publishers by giving them genuinely newsworthy content: original research findings, data releases, expert commentary on current events, or studies tied to topics in the news cycle.
The difference between digital PR and generic outreach is the content. A journalist writing about remote work trends will link to a company that just published survey data on remote work productivity. They will not link to a company that simply asks for a mention. Digital PR requires building assets - usually original research - and then pitching findings to journalists covering the relevant beat. The link is a byproduct of the news value, not the goal of the outreach itself.
Broken link building
Broken link building involves finding pages that link to content that no longer exists - 404 errors on other sites - and suggesting your relevant content as a replacement. The site owner benefits because broken links create a poor user experience. You benefit because you earn a link in place of a dead one.
The process is straightforward: use Ahrefs or a similar tool to find pages in your niche with broken outbound links, confirm you have content that genuinely serves as a replacement for the dead resource, then reach out to the site owner pointing out the broken link and suggesting your page. It works because you are offering something of value to the site owner, not just asking for a favour.
Unlinked brand mentions
When a site mentions your business, product, or content without linking to you, converting that mention to a link requires minimal effort. The writer or editor already knows who you are - they just did not add a link. A polite email pointing out the mention and asking if they would be willing to add a link converts at a much higher rate than cold outreach, because the relationship is already established.
Use tools like Ahrefs Alerts, Google Alerts, or Semrush's Brand Monitoring to track mentions of your brand name. Check each mention to see whether a link is present. For those without, reach out with a short, friendly message.
What to avoid
Buying links, participating in private blog networks, or using automated link schemes violates Google's spam policies. Discovered manipulative links are discounted or penalised. The penalty from a link scheme can be more damaging to rankings than no link building at all. The approaches above take longer but build a backlink profile that compounds in value rather than creating risk.
Next: Outreach