Link Building for SEO in 2025: Still Worth It? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

☑︎ This guide was last updated: June 2025

10+ years of successful link building and thousands of backlinks later, we can tell you for certain:

“Backlinks are still one of the top Google ranking factors.”

Cool, cool. But… what exactly does that mean in 2025?

Is it about getting mentioned on big-name blogs? Getting smart on Wikipedia? Spamming Reddit to get noticed by AI?!

This guide cuts through the noise. We will demystify link building and answer key questions:

• 🔗What link building really is and why it still matters?
• 🤖Has link building changed in the current age of AI?
• 🚦How to actually do it without getting penalized?
• ✅Which tactics work in 2025 and which ones are a waste of time?

So, whether you’re new to SEO or just need a reality check on your current strategy — this is your starting point.

Ready? Let’s get into it:

What Is Link Building and Why It Matters in 2025?

Before diving into tools, tactics, or penalties, we need a definition. Here’s one that doesn’t suck:

👉 Link building = getting other websites to link to yours.

Simple, isn’t it? But when done right, it’s a cornerstone of modern SEO — and when done wrong, it can tank your rankings faster than you can say “penalization”

So why do links matter so much?

It all goes back to Google’s original algorithm. Instead of just analyzing a page’s content, it used backlinks as a form of “vote” – assuming that if other pages are linking to you, you must have something worth linking to.

The more high-quality pages pointing to yours, the more trustworthy (and rank-worthy) your site looks.

That principle still holds in 2025…

…but Google’s gotten a lot smarter. It’s no longer about the sheer number of links – instead, it’s about the quality, relevance, and authenticity of those links.

Translation: stuffing your site with shady backlinks a) doesn’t work and b) may get you penalized.

That’s why modern link building is part SEO, part PR, part digital strategy — and 100% worth doing right.

Let’s start by understanding what makes a backlink “good” 😇 in the eyes of search engines:

High vs Low-Quality Links: What Actually Matters?

Okay, so not all backlinks are created equal.

Some are like 🪙 gold – they lift your rankings, build your site’s authority, and bring in relevant traffic. Others? About as useful as a fax machine in a thunderstorm 💩 Or worse, they get you in trouble.

Here’s what Google officially says:

Any links intended to manipulate rankings in Google Search results may be considered part of a link scheme and a violation of Google’s guidelines.

Sounds scary!

But notice the keyword here: “may”. That one word changes everything:

It means link building exists in a giant grey zone – what works vs. what gets flagged often comes down to context, scale, and intent.

Here’s a useful rule of thumb:

• High-quality links 🪙 are added editorially — meaning someone consciously linked to your page because they found it useful.
• Low-quality links 💩 are placed without oversight — think unmoderated blog comments, shady directories, or mass forum profiles with your URL slapped on them.

So, does this mean that if someone mentions my website from a crappy forum, I get penalized?!

A few sketchy links won’t hurt. Mass-scale manipulation will.

Google gets that you can’t control everything. Some low-quality or weird links will show up naturally — and that’s okay.

Just don’t be the one creating them!

Plus, not all non-editorial links are bad. For example, links from social media, forums, or platforms like Reddit and Quora might be user-generated — but if they’re earned and relevant, they still have value (even with nofollow tags)!

It’s all about balance, context – and not overdoing it.

Now that we’ve defined the line between good and bad, let’s talk about what actually works in 2025 👇

Modern Link Building Strategies that Work in 2025

If we had to summarize the best link building advice in one sentence, it would sound something like this:

Earn links — don’t chase them.

The good news? In 2025, there are still several smart, scalable, and penalty-safe ways to get quality backlinks.

Let’s look at the ones worth your time:

Create Link-Worthy Assets (a.k.a. Give People a Reason to Link)

🧲 Flip the game: instead of asking people for links, build something so useful, original, or insightful that people want to link to it.

Some tried-and-true formats:

• Timeless guides – such as “how to” articles or always-valid, evergreen explainers (hint: this very post ;)
• Industry roundups – curated statistics, expert opinions, tool comparisons, and other useful summaries.
• Free tools – calculators, generators, widgets. Check out some examples in our tools section!

You don’t even need to build it all yourself – some of the best linkable assets are community-driven (think YCombinator’s Hacker News or ProBlogger’s job board).

Use the Skyscraper Technique (But Smarter)

🏢 Find one or several top-performing pieces of content on your target topic. Then… make something better.

Not just longer — but more visual, more current, more actionable!

This works because people already want to link to that topic. You’re just giving them a better option.

Once published, use tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to reverse-engineer your competitors’ backlinks – and pitch yours as the superior version.

BONUS POINTS if your piece includes unique tools, visuals, or data nobody else offers.

Guest Posts (Still Alive, Still Kicking)

✍️ Despite what some SEO practitioners claim, guest posting still works like a charm – when done right. The key is to focus on high-quality, topic-relevant websites. Look for:

• Consistent publishing schedule
• Original, non-spammy content
• Real human readers (i.e. actual traffic)

How to find guest post opportunities? Google things like: "write for us" + your niche or use tools like Guest Post Tracker.

Infographics, Videos & Shareable Media

📈 Visual content can land passive links (i.e. others linking to you without you having to ask) – especially if it presents complex info in a clear, digestible way.

Infographics, charts, short videos, even memes (yes, really) can all drive backlinks if they’re embedded by other blogs – just make sure it’s easy to link to you.

Pro tip: use reverse image search to find places that used your media without linking. Then politely ask for attribution.

Monitor Brand Mentions (and Turn Them into Links)

🔎 If someone mentioned your brand but didn’t link it — that’s a missed opportunity just waiting to be exploited:

Use tools like Ahrefs Alerts or Google Alerts to track mentions of your brand name, product, or even key employees.

Then reach out and ask them to hyperlink the mention. Most will say yes – especially if the mention is positive.

Broken Link Building (a Classic for a Reason)

🧹 Find dead links on high-authority pages in your niche. Offer your own relevant content as a replacement. Rinse and repeat.

Why it works: you’re helping another site admin fix a problem – and improving their user experience.

Where to find broken links:

• “Resources” pages or curated link lists – in essence, the more links on a given page, the higher the chance of one of them being broken
• Ahrefs’ Site Explorer > Input site URL > Outgoing Links > Broken links
• Chrome extensions like Check My Links (you can also use it to fix your own broken links, by the way!)

Once you’ve found a relevant broken link, either match it to an existing page on your site — or create a new, better one.

Then reach out with a friendly message like:

“Hey! Just spotted a broken link on your page: [URL]. I recently published a piece that covers similar ground — here it is in case you’re updating.”

***

That’s it — six modern, sustainable link building strategies that Google (and humans) still love in 2025.

Next: let’s talk about what not to do… unless you enjoy SEO disasters 👇

Risky Link Building Tactics That Can Wreck Your Rankings

Now that we’ve covered what works, let’s flip the coin:

Some link building tactics are so outdated, sketchy, or outright dangerous that they’re more likely to trigger a penalty than help your rankings.

And yes – people still use them in 2025 🙈 Let’s break down the biggest offenders:

Comment Spam

💬 You’ve probably seen these: generic “Great article!” comments stuffed with a random backlink.

Most blog comment sections either:

• Use nofollow by default (Google ignores these for ranking)
• Are moderated (and spam gets deleted instantly)
• Or worse — have turned into a cesspool of trashy outbound links

Let’s say you are a blog owner who gets a comment on one of the posts that looks something like this:

And here’s what happens when you search for that exact phrase in Google:

🚫 Duplicate, 🚫 dangerous… and overall dumb – mass comment spamming is not only useless, it’s also a great way to burn your domain’s reputation.

Forum Spam

🧵 Posting your links in forum threads, bios, or signatures used to work… when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

These days? Most forum platforms:

• noindex or nofollow outbound links
• Have vigilant human and AI moderators (and anti-spam tools)
• Give you next to zero link authority even if you slip through

And if the forum is unmoderated? That’s even worse. Google won’t trust anything on that domain – which means you don’t want your links there in the first place.

Low-Quality Directories

📂 Still seeing Fiverr gigs offering “30 backlinks for $25”? Ever felt curious to try this magic solution? Yeah, don’t.

Directory backlinks might’ve been useful and even effective back in 2008. Today, they mostly scream:

“This site will link to anyone, anytime, anywhere.”

That’s not a good neighborhood to be in; even paid directories (with editorial review) are risky – unless they’re well-known, hyper-relevant, and respected in your niche.

Private Blog Networks (PBNs)

🕸 A PBN is a cluster of websites created to link to each other and artificially boost search engine rankings.

They’re usually built on expired domains and (poorly) disguised as independent blogs.

Google’s been nuking PBNs since 2014 – and nowadays it’s gotten really good at spotting them.

Red flags that scream “PBN”:

• Superficial or AI-generated content with zero engagement
• Unnatural domain names that don’t match the topic
• Low multimedia use (no custom images or videos)
• Weird backlink profiles: stale growth, spammy anchors, etc
• Same person offering you links from 10+ different blogs

Want to double-check if a site used to be something else? Use the Wayback Machine to check what it looked like several years ago. You might be surprised.

If the domain was previously a Chinese tire shop and now it’s a “marketing blog” – maybe don’t grab that link…

***

So, to sum up:

If it feels like a shortcut — it probably is. And shortcuts in SEO can cost you in ways that take months to recover from.

Next up: what happens if you do get penalized (and how to fix it) 👇

Link Penalties and How to Recover If You’ve Been Hit

So… what happens if Google doesn’t like your links?

Sometimes: nothing.
Other times: a sharp drop in traffic that makes your heart skip a beat –

Welcome to the world of link penalties.

Good news first: Google is way better in 2025 at simply ignoring bad links instead of punishing them.

But if things go too far – especially if you’ve built spammy links at scale – Google can still take action:

Algorithmic vs Manual Penalties

There are two ways your site can get slapped –

• Algorithmic penalty – triggered automatically by Google’s core ranking systems (e.g. Penguin). No human involved. No warning. Just a rankings drop.
• Manual action – someone at Google’s Webspam team reviewed your link profile and decided something’s fishy. You’ll get a notice in your Google Search Console account if this happens.

The difference?

Manual = you’re notified
Algorithmic = you’re left wondering what went wrong 😬

So if your traffic drops suddenly and dramatically – without any on-page changes or indexing issues – it might be a penalty.

How to Recover from a Link Penalty

If you’re hit, don’t panic. There’s a path back – but it takes some cleaning 🧼 Here’s the process, step by step:

1. Audit your backlinks
   Use tools like Ahrefs Site Explorer or Google Search Console to download your full backlink list.
2. Identify toxic links
   Look for things like:
   • Links from spammy or unrelated sites
   • Links with weird anchor text (e.g. “cheap Viagra now”)
   • Links from obvious link farms or PBNs
3. Try to remove them manually
   Reach out to the site owners and politely ask for removal (it shows good faith to Google)
4. Create a disavow file
   For links you can’t remove, list them in a .txt file and submit it via the Google Disavow Tool. The file should contain a list like this: domain:example.com (one per line)
5. Submit a reconsideration request
   If it’s a manual penalty, go back to Search Console > Manual Actions, and explain what you cleaned up and why it won’t happen again.

If you’re dealing with an algorithmic filter (no GSC notice), you just have to wait. Expect that it can take weeks to months for Google to reprocess your link profile.

Important: Disavows don’t work instantly! Keep monitoring your traffic and rankings in the meantime.

And yes, it’s much easier to just avoid this entire mess next time:

⚠️ Don’t build links in bulk from shady sources
⚠️ Focus on real editorial links and high-value assets
⚠️ Keep your anchor texts diverse and natural
⚠️ Track your backlink profile every 1–2 months

…Speaking of keeping your link profile natural – let’s look at how to avoid drawing the wrong kind of attention from Google in the first place 👇

How to Keep Your Link Profile Looking Natural

Surviving a penalty is doable. But not needing recovery is better 🤷

And the best way to keep out of trouble? Build a link profile that looks natural — the kind Google expects from a real, reputable site.

Here’s what that means, both at the individual link level and across your full backlink profile:

What a Natural Link Looks Like

Each backlink should feel like it belongs. These are the main signals Google uses to sniff out shady links:

• Position on the page: the best links appear inside the main content area, not stuffed into footers, sidebars, or menus.
• Surrounding context: a legit backlink is embedded in a relevant paragraph, not floating in a list of 50 unrelated URLs.
• Anchor text: exact-match keywords used to be hot… now they’re a red flag. Use brand names, generic terms, or natural phrases instead.
• Visibility: hidden links (in white text or tiny font) scream manipulation. Real links are visible, clickable, and clearly endorsed.
• Traffic potential: if the referring page gets real traffic and some users click through to your site, it’s a good sign – both for you and for Google.

What a Natural Link Profile Looks Like

Now zoom out and think about your links as a group.

Does your overall backlink profile make sense? Or does it look like a sketchy SEO stunt? Here’s what to watch:

• Anchor text diversity – A healthy mix of branded, generic (“click here”), and long-tail anchors beats 100 weirdly specific anchors every time.
• Dofollow vs nofollow – Not every link should pass juice. A mix of both looks normal. Zero of very few nofollow links? That’s suspicious.
• Link quality distribution – Most real sites get more links from small blogs than from Forbes. And that’s okay – so don’t chase only “high domain rank” links.
• Growth over time – Big, sudden spikes in backlinks are fine — if they align with press coverage, product launches, or viral moments. Otherwise, build gradually and consistently.

If your link profile feels organic, diverse, and earned – it’s probably safe.

And if you’re not sure? Use a tool like Ahrefs Site Explorer to audit your backlink profile regularly.

Before we wrap up: the one thing most people forget about in their link building strategy 👇

Don’t Forget About Outgoing Links

Remember: link building isn’t just about what points to you – it’s also about what you point to.

While not a direct ranking signal, outgoing links also help define your site’s trustworthiness, topic relevance, and overall authority in Google’s eyes.

Who you associate with says a lot about you – and it’s also true for websites.

Here’s how to link out without shooting yourself in the foot:

• Stay on-topic: link to content that’s actually relevant to your page. Don’t mention a car insurance blog from your gardening guide.
• Link to quality sources: authoritative, up-to-date, and safe. Avoid spammy sites, hacked domains, or anything that looks like it was built in 2004 and abandoned since.
• Don’t hide your links: search engines read your code, not your layout. Styling tricks to make outbound links “invisible” (tiny font, matching background color) can backfire — hard.
• Fight comment spam: user-generated spammy links on your own site? Still your problem! Use comment moderation, nofollow settings, or plugins to keep things clean.
• Fix broken outbound links: because dead links = bad user experience = lower trust signals. Use tools like Check My Links to audit and clean them up.

And no – linking out won’t “leak your SEO juice” if you’re doing it naturally. In fact, smart outbound links can actually boost your own relevance and topical authority.

Just don’t overdo it. Link like a human, not like a bot with a quota.

Build Links That Last

So, what have we learned?

Backlinks still matter – a lot. But in 2025, it’s less about quantity and more about quality, relevance, and trust:

🤚 Skip the shady shortcuts.
🦄 Focus on content worth linking to.
📈 And treat your link profile like a long-term investment:

Quality links take time to build, but they’re also the ones that give you free traffic and survive the next Google update.

Play it smart, stay consistent, and your website will thank you.

Got questions? Want to share your link-building wins (or horror stories)? Drop a comment below 👇

And if this guide helped, don’t be shy — share it with a fellow SEO nerd or startup founder ;)