Backlinks SEO Strategy: How to Rank Higher with Smart Link Building

You already know backlinks matter. They’re one of the most important parts of SEO today.

But knowing that isn’t enough. What’s next?

You need a strategy. A plan you’ll follow over the next few months.

Then you’ll look at the results. If things aren’t working, you tweak the strategy. Or switch it up completely.

Without a strategy, you won’t get far.

It’s like doing push-ups. At first, maybe you can do 10. Maybe less. But with a plan—specific exercises and a schedule—you’ll improve. You’ll get stronger, because you’ll know what to do and why it works.

Backlinks are the same. They take time, effort, and constant learning. But it’s worth it. Because when your site starts ranking high on Google, the traffic follows.

So let’s begin. First, what is a backlink strategy?

What is a backlink strategy?

Every backlink strategy has one goal: to get backlinks.

The difference is how you do it. There are many ways to build them.

You just need a strategy that works for you.

At the core, all strategies aim to get relevant backlinks from trusted, high-authority websites.

In the end, the goal is always the same—boost your site’s authority, build trust, and earn strong backlinks. That can also bring you real, relevant traffic.

There are a lot of backlink strategies out there. But I want to show you only the ones that actually work. These can help you build a strong backlink profile over time.

Pick the strategies that fit you best and start using them.

Backlinks strategies (the best 6 strategies)

#1 Strategy: Guest Posting

In this strategy, you find trusted blogs, news sites, or niche websites where you can publish content and get a backlink to your site. It could be an article, an interview, or a quote in someone else’s post.

Sometimes it’s free.

Some platforms connect journalists with people who can give expert quotes or stories.

But here’s the catch.

Not every journalist will include your link. Some might just mention your name. Others might use only part of what you wrote.

Some sites will publish your article and include a backlink. But only if you pay for it.

Also, guest posting takes time. You have to pitch your idea, talk to editors, follow their rules, and write a great post. There’s no guarantee it’ll be accepted. You might spend a week just on writing and back-and-forth emails.

And if you do it right, you can get strong backlinks from big, high-authority websites.

#2 Strategy: Content Marketing

This strategy is also about writing useful content.

The main idea is to create high-quality, shareable content that naturally attracts backlinks.

If you’re good at writing, this will feel easy. If not—don’t worry. I’ll share some helpful tips next to help you create content people actually want to share.

People love saving and sharing this kind of content:

• Expert guides: People like to read guides because they help solve problems. When your guide is helpful, readers will share it with their coworkers or friends.
• Infographics. Many people (especially marketers, bloggers, and students) use infographics in their own slides, blog posts, or work reports and link back to the source.
• Data studies. Stats and research writers love to cite. People love data studies because they’re trustworthy, easy to reference, and make them look smart when they share or cite them.
• Templates. People love templates because they save time, reduce effort, and give them a head start. They share them to help others work faster too.
• Living resources. People like living resources because they’re always up-to-date and reliable. They share them as trusted go-to links others can bookmark and reuse.
• Collections. People like collections because they bring the best stuff together in one place. They share them to save time for others and show valuable finds.

One more tip: You can take an existing article from the top 10 Google results and improve it. Find a guide in your niche, then add your own experience and extra materials. People love this. They want simple, clear explanations plus real-life tips from you. That makes your content stand out and feel more helpful.

#3 Strategy: Expired domains with backlinks

As you’ve seen above, Guest Posting and Content Marketing can bring strong backlinks. But they take time. You need to create a lot of content and spend hours talking to journalists and writers.

There’s another way to get backlinks. Without all that work.

It’s called using expired domains that already have backlinks from big, trusted websites.

How does it work?

Imagine a website about Health and Wellness. It worked hard on Guest Posting and Content Marketing. It got backlinks from major sites like Forbes.

But one day, the company shut down and the domain expired.

Now what?

The content still exists on those other websites, but the links now lead to an error page.

Here’s your chance.

You can register that expired domain with backlinks from Forbes and others and redirect it to your site.

Of course, your site should be related to the same topic—like Health or Wellness.

If you do this right, your site will inherit backlinks from big names like Forbes. That boosts your SEO, improves indexing, and increases authority.

And don’t forget—some of those old links might still bring real traffic.

Sounds good, right?

But how do you find these expired domains?

You could search manually by checking articles on high-authority sites. But that takes forever.

Or you can use GoneDomains. It does the work for you—automatically. It finds expired domains with real backlinks and shows key details like backlink sources and domain quality. So you can find strong domains for your business in just a few clicks.

#4 Strategy: List in Directories

This strategy is about publishing a link to your site on niche directory websites.

For example, there are AI directories that list tools and services built with AI. If your project fits, you can register and add your site. That gives you a backlink from a relevant site in your niche.

But this strategy has some downsides.

Some high-quality directories charge a fee to get listed.

Most are free, but over time they can turn spammy—full of low-quality or unrelated links. Google might then treat backlinks from them as low-value or even spammy.

You’ll need to spend time researching and choosing the right directories.

Be careful. Check each site before submitting. Look at how many outgoing links it has. Avoid directories filled with spam, adult content, or shady links.

If your site offers a digital product or service, you can also look for alternatives directories. These are sites where people compare different tools. You can try to get listed there too.

This method still works—but only if you do it right.

#5 Strategy: Build Free Tools

This strategy is powerful, but it takes work.

The idea is simple: create a free tool on your website. Something useful that solves a real problem. If the tool helps people, they’ll come back to use it again. And they’ll share it in messages, comments, social media, or even blogs.

But the tool has to be genuinely helpful.

For example, if your site is about medical services, you could build a simple AI tool like “First Consultation.”

Users type in their symptoms, and the tool gives basic tips or suggestions on what to do next.

That kind of free value is easy to remember and easy to share. It also builds trust. Some of those users may come back later as paying customers.

To use this strategy, you need good tool ideas. You can ask ChatGPT to help. Just describe your site and ask what tools could work. Also, check your competitors. Look at what free features they offer.

This is called Resource Link Building, you create helpful tools, guides, or lists, and then reach out to websites to include your link on their resource pages.

It takes time to build and promote, but it can bring strong backlinks and steady traffic.

#6 Strategy: Internal Link Building

Internal linking is also a backlink strategy. And it’s often underrated.

Don’t forget to link between relevant pages on your own site.

But don’t overdo it—just 3 to 5 internal links per page is enough.

This helps Google crawl your site better and index your pages more effectively.

Also, high-performing pages usually have strong backlinks. When you link from those pages to your less popular pages, you pass some of that authority. That’s called “Link Juice.”

Internal linking also improves user experience.

A visitor reads one article… then clicks a link to another one… because it looks interesting.

That keeps people on your site longer—and that can help boost your Google rankings too.

Tips for Building a Strong Backlinks Strategy

Focus on niche-relevant backlinks

Focus on getting backlinks from websites in your industry and that share your target audience.

Google sees links from authority sites in your niche as a strong signal, which helps your site rank higher.

Backlinks from unrelated niches don’t matter much — they won’t help your rankings significantly.

Use descriptive anchor text

Anchor text is the clickable part of a backlink — usually blue and underlined.

Try to include keywords in it. But don’t overdo it. Mix things up.

Exact match (like “best crypto wallet”) is strong, but using it too much can look spammy.

Natural variation is safer. Use branded, partial match, or generic ones like “click here.”

So, always mix your anchor text to stay safe and avoid penalties.

Update and improve content

Keep your content fresh and relevant to keep attracting backlinks.

From time to time, go through your articles and update them. You can add new materials like screenshots, documents, or fresh insights on the topic. You might also include new sections or blocks of content.

Keep an eye on your competitors too — regular monitoring can give you new ideas. Do this consistently, and your content will have a better chance of ranking in Google’s top 10.

Engage with your audience

Share your content and talk to your followers to get more shares and backlinks.

If you already run social media — great. Post your content there. A good way is to make short posts with only the key points. Then add a link to your full content.

This gives you a strong backlink from a trusted platform and brings in visitors — your potential customers.