How to Get Backlinks: White-Hat Guide for 2025

Backlinks remain one of the most powerful ranking signals in SEO – but the way to earn them has changed dramatically.

Gone are the days when you could buy cheap links or spam forums to boost your rankings.

Today, Google’s algorithms reward genuine, high-quality backlinks earned through white-hat techniques that emphasize relevance, authority, and trustworthiness.

If you want sustainable SEO growth, mastering white-hat backlink strategies is non-negotiable.

But with so many tactics, tools, and metrics, how do you separate what works from what wastes time – or worse, risks penalties?

In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to get backlinks the right way in 2025:

• What defines a white-hat backlink
  
• How to find link prospects using data-driven methods
  
• The role of automation tools without losing personalization
  
• How to measure backlink quality with key metrics
  
• Why industry-specific approaches drive better results
  

By the end, you’ll have a blueprint to build a powerful, compliant backlink profile that drives organic traffic, authority, and rankings – all without cutting corners.

But first, let’s highlight the essential points you need to keep top of mind before diving in.

What Are Links and Why Do They Matter?

Links are endorsements from one website to another, signaling trust and authority to search engines like Google.

At their core, links act as votes of confidence. When a reputable site links to your content, it tells search engines that your page offers valuable, trustworthy information worth referencing. This directly impacts your search rankings and organic traffic.

The importance of backlinks is clearly demonstrated in this study by ResearchGate that links the number of good backlinks directly to the positioning of pages in SERPs

But not all links carry the same weight. Links from authoritative, relevant sites are far more valuable than random or spammy ones. Quality over quantity is the rule.

Search engines have become sophisticated, and they evaluate links based on factors like the linking site’s authority, topical relevance, and the context in which the link appears.

But how do you find these quality links without wasting time or risking penalties? That’s where smart research and outreach come in-a topic we’ll explore in depth next.

How Do You Find High-Quality Link Opportunities?

Finding valuable link opportunities starts with targeted research and smart tools designed to identify websites that naturally align with your content and audience.

You don’t want to blast emails to just any site with a blog. The goal is to discover sites that already link out to content like yours, have strong authority, and engage with their audience genuinely.

This increases the chance that your outreach will be welcomed and your link will carry SEO weight.

Step 1: Use Ahrefs to Analyze Competitor Backlinks

Ahrefs is a powerhouse for backlink research. By entering a competitor’s domain, you can see exactly which sites are linking to them, what pages those links point to, and the type of content attracting links.

This competitor backlink gap analysis reveals untapped prospects that are relevant and likely open to linking to similar content.

Ahrefs provides detailed metrics like Domain Rating (DR), URL Rating (UR), and organic traffic estimates. Prioritize prospects with a DR of 40 or higher and those whose audience matches your niche.

This data-driven approach saves time and increases precision in your link-building efforts.

Step 2: Find Contact Info with Apollo.io

Once you identify promising websites, Apollo.io helps you find accurate contact information for site owners, editors, or content managers.

It’s a database that provides emails, phone numbers, and social profiles, enabling you to personalize outreach effectively.

Apollo.io also integrates with CRM tools, allowing you to organize prospects and track communication progress seamlessly.

Accurate contact data is critical; sending pitches to the right person drastically improves response rates and builds professional relationships.

Step 3: Automate Outreach with Tools Like Pitchbox

Managing outreach at scale requires automation-but done smartly. Pitchbox is a comprehensive platform that automates personalized email sequences while maintaining a human touch.

It helps you:

• Manage prospect lists
  
• Send customized email templates
  
• Track opens, clicks, and replies
  
• Set automated follow-ups
  

By combining manual research with Pitchbox’s automation, you balance efficiency with personalization, which is key to standing out in crowded inboxes.

Step 4: Segment Prospects by Industry and Relevance

Organize your outreach by segmenting prospects based on industry, content type, and link intent.

For example, if you provide SaaS software, create separate lists for tech blogs, enterprise IT publications, and SaaS review sites. Tailoring your message to each segment ensures relevance and higher engagement.

What is Digital PR and How Does it Help Build Links?

Digital PR is a strategic storytelling and outreach approach that earns authoritative, editorial backlinks from journalists and influencers by providing newsworthy, data-driven content.

Digital PR isn’t your typical link building hustle-it’s about creating highly shareable, original stories or research that capture media attention and naturally generate backlinks from trusted sources.

These editorial links carry more SEO weight because they come from sites with strong domain authority and real audience engagement.

Why Digital PR Works

• Creates high-authority editorial backlinks that Google trusts.
  
• Amplifies brand awareness beyond your immediate audience.
  
• Builds sustainable link velocity through ongoing media mentions.
  
• Establishes your site as a thought leader with unique insights.
  

Example: A recent digital PR campaign published an exclusive study on remote work trends that was cited by over 50 major publications, earning thousands of backlinks in just weeks.

Tools That Power Digital PR

Tool	Purpose	Benefit
Muck Rack	Journalist database and outreach platform	Find journalists actively covering your topic
Cision	Media monitoring and press release distribution	Track mentions and distribute news widely

Both tools help you target the right contacts, increasing the chances your story gets picked up and linked.

How Does Guest Posting Build Links?

Guest posting is writing quality articles for authoritative sites in your industry, earning backlinks while expanding your reach to new audiences.

This method thrives on relationship building and content relevance. You pitch and create insightful, original posts tailored for a target site’s audience, embedding natural backlinks in the body or author bio.

The value exchange? They get great content, you get a link and exposure.

Why Guest Posting Works

• Leverages existing audience trust on authoritative sites.
  
• Builds relationships with niche influencers and site owners.
  
• Allows strategic link placement within relevant, contextual content.
  
• Improves brand visibility and drives referral traffic.
  

Best Practices for Guest Posting

• Target blogs with strong domain authority (DA 40+).
  
• Pitch unique ideas that align with the host’s audience.
  
• Include at least one contextual backlink.
  
• Deliver high-quality, original content.
  

Tools to Scale Guest Posting

Tool	Purpose	How It Helps
BuzzSumo	Find popular blogs & topics	Identify guest post opportunities based on engagement
Pitchbox	Outreach automation platform	Manage campaigns without losing personalization

What is Statistics Link Building and Why Does it Work?

Statistics link building is publishing original or aggregated data that authoritative sites cite as a trusted source, generating natural backlinks.

Numbers carry authority. When your data answers pressing industry questions or reveals surprising insights, others want to cite it as proof. This makes your site a go-to reference, steadily earning backlinks without pushy outreach.

What Makes Statistics Link Building Effective

• Data must be reliable and verifiable.
  
• Visual presentation (charts, graphs) enhances shareability.
  
• Targeted promotion to journalists and bloggers increases pickup.
  

Example Statistics Report

Metric	Value	Source
Average Email Open Rate	21.3%	Campaign Monitor
SEO Referral Traffic Growth	+38% YoY	Ahrefs
Percentage of Links from Editorial Sources	75%	Moz

Using stats like these in your content and outreach materials can massively improve your link acquisition success.

Outreach Channels for Stats Link Building

• Qwoted
  
• Targeted journalist and blogger outreach
  
• Social sharing and niche forums
  

How Do Infographics Build Links Effectively?

Infographics are data-rich visuals that make complex information easy to digest and highly shareable, naturally attracting backlinks.

Visual content gets consumed and shared faster than text. Infographics simplify data-heavy or complicated topics, making them prime candidates for publishers looking to enhance articles with engaging visuals.

Why Infographics Work

• Condense complex info into easy-to-understand visuals.
  
• Highly shareable on blogs, social media, and forums.
  
• Encourages natural embedding with backlink credit.
  

Tips for Creating Link-Worthy Infographics

• Focus on a trending or evergreen topic.
  
• Include original data or unique perspectives.
  
• Design for clarity and visual impact.
  
• Provide an embed code with automatic backlink attribution.
  

Tools for Infographic Creation & Promotion

Tool	Purpose	How It Helps
Canva	DIY infographic design	Easy, professional visuals with templates
Visme	Advanced infographic creator	Custom animations and interactive elements
BuzzStream	Outreach & follow-up	Manage influencer and publisher contacts

What Are Guestographics and How Do They Combine Link Building Strategies?

Guestographics combine guest posting and infographic outreach by creating custom infographics tailored for specific blogs, paired with a guest post to embed the graphic and a link.

This hybrid tactic blends the content-rich value of guest posting with the visual appeal of infographics, doubling your link-building punch.

Why Guestographics Are Effective

• Tailored content increases acceptance rates on high-authority sites.
  
• Infographics improve engagement and shareability within guest posts.
  
• Simultaneous content + visual asset appeals to editors and readers.
  

Guestographics Workflow

• Research target site’s audience and preferred content style.
  
• Create a custom infographic aligned with their content themes.
  
• Draft a guest post incorporating the infographic and relevant backlinks.
  
• Pitch the combined asset package emphasizing unique value.
  

How Does Link Reclamation Work and Why Should You Care?

Link reclamation is the process of identifying and recovering lost, broken, or unlinked mentions of your brand or content, restoring valuable backlinks.

It’s low-hanging fruit-often easier than earning new links because these are opportunities where the groundwork is already laid.

Why Link Reclamation Pays Off

• Recovers “orphaned” brand mentions that didn’t get linked.
  
• Fixes broken or redirected URLs that lost link juice.
  
• Maintains your backlink profile health and SEO performance.
  

How to Perform Link Reclamation

• Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to find unlinked brand mentions and broken links.
  
• Reach out politely to site owners asking for link inclusion or correction.
  
• Offer updated or improved content to encourage link replacement.
  

Tools for Link Reclamation

Tool	Purpose	Benefit
Ahrefs	Backlink audit & broken link finder	Identify lost or broken backlinks quickly
SEMrush	Brand monitoring & link tracking	Track mentions and monitor link health
BuzzSumo	Content & mention alerts	Find unlinked mentions for outreach

How Do You Avoid Penalties and Build Links Safely?

Avoiding penalties means sticking to ethical link building practices that comply with Google’s guidelines, focusing on quality over quantity, and steering clear of manipulative tactics.

Google’s algorithm updates, especially Penguin and SpamBrain AI, have made it crystal clear: spammy link schemes, paid links without disclosure, and irrelevant or low-quality backlinks lead to rankings drops or manual penalties.

Google Guidelines in a Nutshell

Guideline	What It Means	How to Comply
Link schemes	Avoid buying/selling links	Build links organically
Sponsored links	Must use rel=”sponsored”	Transparently tag paid links
Unnatural links	Links that manipulate rankings	Focus on editorial, relevant links

Use tools like Google Search Console and Ahrefs to monitor your backlink profile regularly. Disavow toxic links only as a last resort.

Conclusion

Getting links in 2025 is not the easiest thing to do. You will have to combine a myriad of techniques in order to secure high authority links that actually help your website.

You will have to be a helping hand for reporters, you will have to create content better than the top 10 results in your niche, and you will have to invest resources into making it all work.

Some links you will earn naturally, but the majority of links will require deep analysis and work to pull through. Our expertise in this industry allows you to not burden your team with this task.

We have prepared this list of helpful tips in order to get you started, knowing that these are the best techniques available in the market!

Strategic advice:

• Invest in quality content tailored for your audience and industry.
  
• Use automation tools to scale without sacrificing personalization.
  
• Measure link quality by authority, relevance, and traffic impact-not just numbers.
  
• Experiment with a mix of tactics: digital PR, guest posting, data-driven content, and link reclamation.
  
• Always prioritize sustainable link velocity over quick wins.
  

The future belongs to marketers who treat link building as an ongoing, strategic partnership with the web ecosystem – not a one-off campaign.

Now’s the time to stop chasing shortcuts and start building real, lasting SEO authority. Ready to get your link building on track?

FAQ – How To Get Backlinks

How many backlinks do I need to rank?
Quality beats quantity. A few high-authority, relevant links outperform thousands of low-quality ones.

Can I buy backlinks safely?
Buying links violates Google’s guidelines and risks penalties unless clearly disclosed as sponsored.

How do I measure backlink quality?
Use metrics like Domain Rating (DR), traffic, topical relevance, and link placement context.

Are guest posts still effective for link building?
Yes, if they’re well-crafted, relevant, and published on authoritative sites.

How long does it take to see SEO results from link building?
Typically 3-6 months, depending on your niche, competition, and link quality.

What’s the difference between follow and nofollow links?
Follow links pass SEO value; nofollow links do not but can still drive referral traffic.

Should I disavow bad backlinks?
Only if they’re spammy and causing harm. Monitor your backlink profile regularly.

How can automation help with outreach?
Automation tools streamline prospecting and follow-ups while maintaining personalization at scale.