The essentials
- The principle: a backlink is worth what the linking site's relevance and authority are worth, not its number; ten links from sites in your sector weigh more than a hundred directory links.
- The most profitable for a small business: partners and suppliers, local and trade press, reference content (data, tools, guides), recovering unlinked mentions.
- To use sparingly: sponsored articles and link-building marketplaces, effective but expensive and risky if badly chosen.
- To avoid: site networks, mass exchanges, comments and forum profiles.
The backlinks remain one of the three pillars of Google ranking alongside content and technical work. They are also the hardest lever to pull, because they depend on other sites. Here are twelve strategies, from the most accessible to the most demanding, each with its effort, cost and risk. All of them rest on the same rule: a link must have a reason to exist for the site making it.
An overview of the twelve strategies
| # | Strategy | Effort | Cost | Risk | Who for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Partners, suppliers, customers | Poor | None | None | Every business |
| 2 | Reference directories and citations | Poor | €0 to €200 | None if selective | Local businesses |
| 3 | Unlinked mentions to recover | Poor | None | None | Brands already being cited |
| 4 | Local and trade press | Moderate | None | None | Businesses with news to share |
| 5 | Reference content (a study, data, a guide) | High | Time | None | Sites with expertise |
| 6 | A free tool or resource | High | Development | None | SaaS, agencies, experts |
| 7 | Quality guest articles | Moderate | Time | Poor | Identified experts |
| 8 | Broken links to replace | Moderate | Tool | None | Sites with substantial content |
| 9 | Interviews, podcasts, panels | Moderate | None | None | Owners and experts |
| 10 | Associations, events, local sponsorship | Moderate | €100 to €2,000 | None | Local businesses |
| 11 | Testimonials and case studies with your suppliers | Poor | None | None | Customers of B2B tools or services |
| 12 | Sponsored articles and marketplaces | Poor | €100 to €1,000 per link | Moderate | Budget and strict selection |
The no-budget strategies (1 to 4)
1. Partners, suppliers, customers. List every company you work with: suppliers, resellers, subcontractors, satisfied customers, professional networks. Each has a site with a "partners", "references" or "where to find us" page. An email is enough in most cases. It is the first seam, and it is systematically under-exploited.
2. Directories and citations. Only the directories your customers actually consult: chambers of commerce, trade federations, recognised industry directories, the main local listings, the local authority's site. Generic directories by the hundred bring nothing. For a local business, consistency of information counts as much as the link; see local citations.
3. Unlinked mentions. Search for your company, product or owner's name on Google (in quotes, excluding your domain). Every page citing you without a link is an easy ask: say thank you, and offer the link to the most relevant page.
4. Local and trade press. Regional papers, local business news sites and the trade press publish online and link willingly. You need news: a hire, an opening, an innovation, a striking figure, a position taken on a sector issue. A short release, a photo, direct contact with the journalist covering your subject.
The content strategies (5 to 8)
5. Reference content. A study built on your own data ("what 500 tradespeople's Google listings reveal"), an annual barometer, a comprehensive guide that becomes authoritative, a comparison with figures: this content attracts links spontaneously for years, because writers look for sources. It is the most profitable strategy in the long run and the most demanding; it is also the most useful for being cited by AI engines (see the sources generative AI uses).
6. A free tool or resource. A calculator, a simulator, a document template, a downloadable checklist. Sites writing about the subject link to the tool rather than recreate it.
7. Guest articles. Offer an original article to a reference site in your sector, with real substance and a contextual link to a useful page. Choose sites you would read yourself; refuse platforms that publish anything for disguised payment.
8. Broken links. Using a crawler or a backlink tool, find links on sites in your sector pointing to pages that have disappeared (404) and covered a subject you write about. Offer your page as a replacement: you are doing them a favour. The analysis method is in analysing competitors' backlinks.
The relationship strategies (9 to 11)
9. Interviews and podcasts. Podcasts and specialist media look for guests. Every appearance produces a page with your name and a link, often from an authoritative site.
10. Associations, events, sponsorship. Sponsoring a local sports team, an event or an association; sitting on a business club; speaking at a school. These commitments produce links from highly trusted local sites (councils, .org domains, institutions) that carry weight in local SEO; see local link building.
11. Testimonials with your suppliers. Software vendors and B2B suppliers publish customer testimonials and case studies, with a link to the customer's site. Offer yours to every tool you use.
The paid strategy (12), and its rules
Sponsored articles and link marketplaces let you buy links on media or topical sites. Google treats them as manipulation if the link isn't marked sponsored, but the practice is widespread. If you use it: choose sites with real, verifiable traffic and content in your field, refuse sites created solely to sell links, keep those links a limited share of your profile, and make them a complement to the natural strategies, never the foundation. The risk is described in Google Penguin.
Measuring and prioritising
- Take stock of your link profile and of those of the three competitors ranking above you; see auditing the links to your site.
- Set a realistic target: 3 to 5 quality links a month for a small business, obtained through strategies 1 to 4 and 9 to 11 first.
- Devote regular time to strategies 5 and 6, which produce links for years.
- Track new referring domains, the rankings of the target pages and organic traffic each month, in a shared dashboard.
How GreenRed helps
Rather than juggling several tools, GreenRed's SEO module brings these metrics together in a single dashboard, compares them over time and tells you which actions come first. You can try it free, with no card, from the Pricing.
Frequently asked questions
How many backlinks do you need to rank?
There is no number: it depends on the competitors on each query. Compare the number of referring domains of the pages ranking first on your target queries; that is the order of magnitude to reach, with links of comparable quality.
Is buying backlinks dangerous?
It goes against Google's guidelines, and penalties exist (algorithmic or manual). The risk depends on the quality of the sites and the proportion of bought links. Links on real media sites, marked or not, within a mostly natural profile, carry low risk; dozens of links from sites created for the purpose carry high risk.
Are nofollow links worth anything?
Google has treated them as hints rather than directives since 2019; they can count. Above all, a nofollow link from a high-traffic site brings visitors and visibility, and it makes the link profile look natural. Don't turn them down.
How long before a backlink has an effect?
A few days to a few weeks for Google to discover it, then several weeks for the effect on rankings to show. Allow 2 to 3 months to judge a link campaign, tracking the rankings of the target pages.