Four hands-on strategies for building high-quality backlinks

Executive overview

Backlinks from trusted sources remain a top ranking signal — but finding and earning them requires more than creating good content. Four concrete tactics go beyond passive content creation to actively pursue links.

Proactive outreach, media pitching, brand mention recovery, and client collaboration each open distinct link-building channels.

Targeted outreach

• Use a link-building tool (e.g. Semrush) to find and qualify prospects based on your target keywords and competitors.
• Move promising prospects to an "In Progress" tab to track outreach status.
• Connect your email account directly to the tool for seamless communication.
• Personalise every pitch — do not send generic templates.
• Monitor whether emails were opened, replied to, or resulted in a backlink.
• Use the Monitor tab to recover lost backlinks.

HARO and media pitching

• HARO (Help a Reporter Out) connects experts with journalists seeking sources at outlets like the NYT or Business Insider.
• Register as a source, then filter email alerts to your industry.
• Respond quickly to relevant queries with a concise, high-value pitch.
• Alternatives: Quoted, Source Bottle, Help a B2B Writer.

Unclaimed brand mentions

• Unlinked brand mentions are existing references to your brand that lack a hyperlink — low effort to convert.
• Use a monitoring tool (e.g. Prowly) to set up alerts for new mentions of your brand name.
• Filter by country or language to prioritise the most relevant results.
• Contact the author or site owner and ask them to add a link — most are willing since they already referenced you.

Collaborating with clients

• Co-write articles or blog posts that serve both audiences.
• Co-host webinars or educational sessions to earn backlinks from event promotions and follow-up content.
• Turn client success stories into case studies — the client gets visibility, you get a backlink.
• Request genuine testimonials that can be published on the client's site with a link back.