Link building

What is link building?

Link building is an SEO practice that involves building links from other websites (backlinks) to your online store. Google considers each link to be a “vote” for your site’s quality and relevance. The more high-quality links you have, the higher Google ranks your site in search results.

Link building has been one of the most important ranking factors since Google was launched, and it remains central in 2025—although the quality of links is far more important than the quantity.

Why do backlinks work?

Google’s original algorithm (PageRank) was based on the idea that a link from one page to another is a recommendation. The logic is:

• If many trustworthy sites link to you, your content is likely valuable
• A link from an authoritative site (e.g., a major media outlet) carries more weight than a link from an unknown blog
• Relevant links (from sites in your industry) carry more weight than irrelevant links

Types of backlinks

• Editorial links: Links you receive because someone finds your content valuable and chooses to link to it. The most valuable type.
• Guest posts: You write an article for another blog and include a link back to your online store. Still effective if it’s high-quality content on relevant sites.
• Mentions and PR: Press coverage and articles in industry media provide strong links and brand visibility.
• Directory links: Links from industry directories, associations, and organizations. Low SEO value individually, but can drive relevant traffic.
• Affiliate links: Links from affiliate partners and price comparison sites. Often “nofollow,” but they drive traffic.

Link-building strategies for online stores

Create link-worthy content

The most sustainable strategy is to create content that others will naturally want to link to:

• In-depth guides and how-to articles related to your products
• Original research, statistics, or data
• Infographics and visual overviews
• Tools and calculators (e.g., a “find the right size” guide)

Digital PR

Create stories that are interesting to the media and bloggers:

• Comment on trends in your industry using your expert knowledge
• Publish industry analyses based on your sales data
• Collaborate with relevant organizations

Competitor Analysis

Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to see who is linking to your competitors. Many of the same sites might also link to you if you offer something relevant.

Broken link building

Find links on other sites that point to pages that no longer exist (404 errors). Offer your own relevant content as a replacement.

What to Avoid

• Bought links: Google penalizes sites that buy links to manipulate rankings. It’s not worth the risk.
• Link farms and PBNs: Networks of sites created solely for the purpose of linking. Google is good at identifying these.
• Mass-produced guest posts: Low-quality articles distributed to hundreds of blogs provide minimal value and can be harmful.
• Irrelevant links: Links from sites unrelated to your industry provide minimal SEO value.

Measure your link profile

• Number of referring domains: How many unique domains link to you? This is more important than the total number of links.
• Domain Authority/Rating: Ahrefs (DR) and Moz (DA) provide a score for your site’s link strength.
• Anchor text distribution: Varied anchor text looks natural. If 80% of your links have the same anchor text, it looks manipulated.
• Follow vs. nofollow: DoFollow links pass the most SEO value, but a natural profile has a mix of both.