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The Great Link Building Handbook – 101+ Resources, Tips, Strategies & Tools

Link building is the process of building inbound links (also known as incoming links or backlinks) to your website. And post Google Panda and Penguin Updates it’s all about increasing the quality and not the quantity of your backlinks.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Link Building Strategies are changing after every Google Algorithmic updates. For instance, after Google Penguin, SEOs were focusing on Guest Blogging and then Google’s Matt Cutts wrote on his personal blog that Guest Blogging is done.

Link Building
Link Building

I published a blog post about the various link building strategies after the first Google Penguin update. But as Google began to push more algorithmic updates everything SEO began to change and now it’s all about user experience. So the new definition of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) could be User Experience Optimization (UXO).

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101+ Resources, Tips, Strategies & Tools

So here are over 101 link building resources, tips, strategies, and tools to supercharge your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts. It’s your ultimate guide to link building covering almost all aspects of link building – Basics, Tips, Content Marketing, Email Outreach, Guest Blogging, Case Studies, and Strategies.

Link Building Guides

If you’re looking for a one-stop link building guide then I recommend the following resources. It’s very useful as it covers almost all the aspects of link building in an organized way.

  1. The Beginner’s Guide To Link Building | Moz
  2. The Definitive Guide To Link Building | Backlinko
  3. The Noob Guide To Link Building | Moz
  4. The Noob Friendly Guide To Link Building | Ahrefs
  5. Link Building For SEO: How To Do It Right In 2021 | SEMrush
  6. Link Building Terms: The Ultimate Glossary | Search Engine Journal
  7. [Glossary] 110+ SEO Terms & Definitions | Break The Web
  8. Link Building For SEO: A Complete Guide | Search Engine Journal
  9. The Ultimate Guide To SEO Link Building | OptinMonster
  10. The Definitive {Process-Driven} Guide to Building Links | Stellar SEO
  11. Overview Of SEO Guidelines | Google Search Central

Don’t Miss: 17 Unexpected SEO Lessons I Learned After Publishing My First Listicle

Link Building Basics

  1. 63 SEO Statistics For 2021 | Ahrefs
  2. White Hat Link Building Techniques For Bloggers & Marketers | Tech Toucan
  3. What Unnatural Outbound Link Penalties Could Mean For The Future Of SEO | Moz
  4. Google Propaganda & SEO: Marketers Need To Wake Up | Sugarrae
  5. An In-Depth Guide To Link Quality, Link Penalties And “Bad Links” | Ahrefs
  6. 27 Types of Unnatural Links & Link Building Strategies | cognitiveSEO
  7. What’s The Cost of Buying Links? [Study] | Ahrefs
  8. How Many Outbound Links Per Word/Page? [Original Study] | Northcutt
  9. How Long Do Backlinks Take To Work? [10 Weeks?] | Moz

Link Auditing

  1. Conduct An SEO Link Audit In 30 Minutes | WooRank
  2. How To Do A Backlink Audit: The Step by Step Guide | cognitiveSEO
  3. Link Profile Audit: 28 Things To Check | Search Engine Journal
  4. 6 Steps to a Comprehensive Backlink Profile Audit | Link-Assistant
  5. How To Conduct A Backlink Audit In 45 Minutes | Neil Patel
  6. How To Do A Basic Backlink Audit (In Under 30 Minutes) | Ahrefs

Link Building Strategies: Basic

  1. Link Building Strategies: The Complete List | Backlinko
  2. 50 Types Of Links You Want & How To Build Them | Search Engine Journal
  3. 15 Advanced Link Building Tactics & Tips To Boost Your SEO | Yoast
  4. 9 EASY Link Building Strategies (That ANYONE Can Use) | Ahrefs
  5. How To Create Content That Keeps Earning Links (Even After You Stop Promoting It) | Moz
  6. 21 SEO Link Building Methods For 2021 | LinkResearchTools
  7. 19 Link Building Strategies that WORK | Webris
  8. Over 71 Ways To Repurpose Your Content Over And Over Again | Minterest
  9. 50 Local Link Building Tactics & Strategies For ANY Budget | Loganix

Link Building Strategies: Advanced

If you’re looking for link building ideas and strategies then look no further as the following resources have listed almost all the link building tactics that exist today.

  1. 60+ Link Building Techniques You Should Try | Mangools
  2. 20 Advanced Link Building Tips To Boost Your Rankings | Spyfu
  3. 60+ Web 2.0 Sites To Get Instant Backlinks To Your Blog | Minterest
  4. 15x Incredible Link Building Strategies For 2021 | Matthew Woodward
  5. Link Building Case Study: How I Increased My Search Traffic by 110% in 14 Days | Backlinko
  6. How To Do The Skyscraper Technique (To Get High-quality Links) | SEMrush
  7. How To Get Backlinks: 12 Strategies For 2021 | SEMrush
  8. 21 ACTIONABLE Link Building Strategies (With Examples and Scripts) | Robbie Richards
  9. Enterprise Link Building Case Study: From 50K to 300K+/Month Visits | Kaiserthesage
  10. 13 Advanced Link Building Strategies You (Probably) Haven’t Used | Detailed.com

Don’t Miss: 17 Unexpected SEO Lessons I Learned After Publishing My First Listicle

Guest Blogging

  1. What is Guest Blogging? And Why it’s Important for Your Business | New Breed
  2. Guest Blogging: A Step-by-Step Guide | Content Marketing Institute
  3. How Serious Writers Expand Their Audiences With Guest Blog Posts | Copyblogger
  4. 7 Crucial Tactics For Writing A Wildly Successful Guest Post | Copyblogger
  5. The 7 Sins Of Guest Blogging (Based On True Events) | Hongkiat
  6. 25 Lessons From Guest Blogging For The Top Blogs In The World | CoSchedule
  7. Guest Blogging For SEO: How To Build High-quality Links At Scale | Ahrefs
  8. A Guest Blogging Guide For SEO: 2021 And Beyond | SEMrush
  9. The Ultimate Guide To An Effective Guest Blogging Strategy | OptinMonster
  10. How We’ve Reached More Than 1 Million People By Guest Blogging | Groove

Link Building Case Studies

Here I’ve featured some interesting link building case studies and experiments so that you can use the same strategy for your website.

  1. The 10 Golden Rules To Attracting Authority Links | Moz
  2. How To Build Links To Your Blog – A Case Study | Moz
  3. How To Build Links For Niche Sites | Niche Pursuits
  4. How To Get High Quality Backlinks (Without Guest Posting) | Backlinko
  5. The Easiest Way To Bait Links – Get Guest Authors | Kaiserthesage
  6. 31 Link Building Tactics Discovered From Competitive Analysis | Moz
  7. Ultimate Guide To Link Building With Images | Kaiserthesage
  8. Building Links With Video Content | Moz
  9. The Complete Guide To Link Building With Local Events | Moz
  10. Ethical Wikipedia Link Building – A Tutorial | SEER Interactive
  11. How To Harvest Backlinks & Traffic From Wikipedia | Matthew Woodward
  12. Link Building For Boring Industries Or Products | Search Engine Land
  13. How To Steal Your Competitor’s Links, Rankings & Traffic | Robbie Richards
  14. 27 Experts Share Their Top Link Building Strategies | Backlinks
  15. How We Built Backlinks With A ‘Stats’ Page (And Ranked #1) | Ahrefs
  16. You’re Doomed Without Links [Case Study] | The Upper Ranks
  17. Link Building Case Study 2020 Update! | 8 Month White Hat SEO Analysis | Outreach Mama

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Link Building Blogs & Forums

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is changing and so are link building strategies. If you follow a dozen of link building blogs then you’ll learn a new link building tactic everyday. The following blogs and forums will give you the latest link building news, tips, and ideas.

  1. Backlinko
  2. SEMrush Blog
  3. Ahrefs Blog
  4. Matthew Woodward
  5. Moz Blog
  6. Search Engine Journal
  7. WebmasterWorld (Forum)
  8. Digital Point Forum (Forum)

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Link Building Tools

Here you will find some of the best link building tools that you’ll ever need recommended by several link building experts. You may not need all the listed tools but it’s worth to try all of them so that you’ll know exactly what each tool does for you.

  1. Ahrefs (Freemium) – a powerful tool for checking links.
  2. SEMrush (Freemium)– a powerful SEO suite.
  3. Moz Link Explorer (Freemium) – a search engine for links.
  4. Majestic SEO (Freemium) – shows inbound link and site summary data.
  5. WebMeUp (Free) – a free backlink analyzer.
  6. Open Link Profiler (Free) – see the freshest backlinks.
  7. GroupHigh (Premium) – to quickly find any Influencer or blogger’s contact information.
  8. Link Prospector (Freemium) – to uncover the links that will improve your rankings.
  9. MozBar (Free) – an SEO browser toolbar for Chrome & Firefox.
  10. MozPro (Premium) – a premium SEO tool.
  11. Raven Tools (Premium) – another premium SEO tool.
  12. BuzzStream (Freemium) – makes link building simple and easier.
  13. Wordtracker (Premium) – to find quality link prospects.
  14. SEMrush (Freemium) – a premium competitor analysis tool.
  15. Alexa (Freemium) – get quick site metrics of any domain name.
  16. Link Research Tools (Premium) – a premium SEO tool.
  17. Monitor Backlinks (Premium) – to check the good and bad backlinks for you and the competition.
  18. BuzzSumo (Free) – analyze what content performs best for any topic or competitor.
  19. NinjaOutreach (Premium) – to find Instagram and YouTube influencers.
  20. Hunter (Freemium) – lets you find email addresses and connect with the people that matter for your business.
  21. Ontolo (Premium) – to improve your content marketing and link building campaigns.
  22. cognitiveSEO (Premium) – a premium SEO tool.
  23. ScrapeBox (Premium) – a link harvesting tool.
  24. Screaming Frog SEO Spider Tool (Freemium) – a desktop tool to SEO audit your website.
  25. JustReachOut (Premium) – to find and pitch relevant journalists daily all on your own.
  26. Pitchbox (Premium) – for influencer outreach & link building.
  27. Linkody (Premium) – to track your link building campaigns.
  28. URL Profiler (Premium) – a desktop content and link auditing software.
  29. SEO SpyGlass (Freemium) – a desktop tool to spy your competition.
  30. Google Search Console(Free) – get insights about your pages’ visibility on Google.
  31. Microsoft Bing Webmaster Tools (Free) – get insights about your pages’ visibility on Bing.
  32. Google Analytics (Free) – to analyze your website’s traffic and traffic sources.
  33. Google Ads Keyword Planner (Free) – to find great keyword ideas.

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Closing Thoughts

Have I missed your favorite link building resource? If so, do let me know and I will be happy to list it.

Happy Link Building! 🙂

First Published: May 2, 2014; Last Updated: Sunday, February 14, 2021.