Link Building Outreach That Works: Proven Strategies for 2025

What Is Outreach Link Building and Why Does It Matter?

Link building outreach is the process of reaching out to industry blogs, news outlets, influencers, and others to earn backlinks (links that point from their sites to yours). You ask them for a link to your website and offer something of genuine value in return, such as:

• A backlink that leads to their website, posted on yours
• Expert content, which strengthens the content of their own website

Here’s how a link building outreach process usually looks:

• First, you search for relevant websites. These must be places where your target audience already spends time. Then you find a piece of your content that would genuinely fit this third-party source, or you create one if needed.
• Next comes the link outreach itself: you create a simple outreach email explaining why your content might be useful to their readers. No response? Wait for a couple of days and send a friendly reminder.
• When a link goes live, it’s worth keeping that connection warm, as it could open doors to further fruitful collaborations down the road.

But why bother with link building outreach in the first place? You can share your links on social media or in forum discussions, but these are typically tagged as “nofollow” or “UGC,” so they don’t directly influence rankings.

Some trustworthy sources might also link to you without any effort from your side, but most of the time, you have to make a move first — reach out, start the conversation, and show why your content is worth mentioning.

The more sources link to you, the higher your website’s search engine rankings can be, and this has been confirmed with numbers: Almost all (96%) websites appearing in Google’s top 10 results have more than 1,000 referring domains.

Plus, you can connect with a wide range of sources, from niche blogs to media outlets, taking control over your link building. This ensures no particular link pattern prevails, keeping your backlink profile looking natural to Google and reducing the risk of algorithmic penalties. Should Google notice that your links come mostly from the same type of sites, this can hurt your overall search rankings.

Proven Strategies for Link Building Outreach in 2025

So, the next question is “Who exactly do I reach out to and what value do I offer in exchange?” Below, we list some tried-and-tested (particularly by our professional company) ideas for a successful link building campaign.

Niche Edits

Niche edits are one of the most basic yet effective link building strategies. You should search for existing content on relevant sites where your link can belong naturally. Just locate a sentence or paragraph that seems like the perfect spot to add your link with anchor text (the clickable words that contain the link).

You only need to contact the site owner, demonstrate precisely where your link could fit in on their page, and propose something as a return gesture. This can be a link, too, and in this case, you’d do an A-B link exchange: you put their link somewhere on your website while they do likewise with yours on theirs.

There’s also an A–B–C exchange:

• Site A links to Site B (that’s you).
• Site B links to Site C.
• Site C links back to Site A.

Thus, each site in the sequence receives a backlink, yet no pair of sites is directly building links with one another. This is important as it’s more natural to Google’s algorithm. Frequent direct link exchanges (A–B, B–A) may begin to resemble an organized scheme if repeated regularly.

Broken Link Building

Broken link building works the following way: you search for dead links (those leading to 404 pages) on other websites within your niche and propose substituting them with a link directing to your own content.

The process usually looks like this:

1. Pick the right websites. First, you need to find websites related to your specific area with blog post articles with multiple external links.
2. Check the links for errors. You can use Chrome extensions like Check My Links or search engine optimization tools such as Ahrefs or Screaming Frog to scan a page and highlight which links return a 404 error. That’s your target.
3. Confirm the dead link’s topic. Before contacting, see what the initial page was about. Wayback Machine can reveal what content was previously at that URL. This is how you ensure your own page is a suitable alternative.
4. Match it with your own content. If you already have an appropriate article, great—use it. If not, you can create fresh content about the same subject. The more similar the match is, the bigger your chances of having your link included.
5. Reach out politely. Let website owners know about the broken link, mention the exact page and anchor text, and suggest your content instead.

It’s a win-win: They repair a non-working link and enhance user experience; you secure an excellent backlink from a related page. While this approach is mutually beneficial, not all site owners will accept your suggestion. Some may simply remove the broken link without replacing it. Avoid offering payment or link exchanges — focus instead on the value your resource adds to their page.

Guest Posting

Guest posting can be helpful in your link building campaign. The idea of guest posting is to contribute a useful article to another website in your niche, often including a relevant, natural link back to your own site when it adds genuine value for readers. The site hosting your content receives a new, high-quality article.

Here are some ideas on where you could publish your guest post:

• Businesses with complementary services. These aren’t direct competitors but serve the same audience, like real estate and home improvement service providers.
• Industry blogs. Each niche has its own go-to sources that people regularly read for advice, trends, and inspiration.
• Review sites, like Clutch. Apart from business listings, they often accept guest posts.

Each site that accepts guest posts has its own rules. They may require articles of a certain length, restrict the number of links you can include, and they typically expect original, high-quality content not previously published.

For instance, Clutch, a well-known and trusted B2B review and rating platform, welcomes guest contributions. It first accepts pitches, where you share your author details and bio, and a couple of your previous articles, including key takeaways of the upcoming article, and mention how long you’ll need to complete it if it’s accepted.

Only chosen contributors are contacted, usually within three to five working days. Clutch is a respected source within its niche — a post there can bring not only a valuable backlink but also meaningful organic traffic and website’s visibility.

The Skyscraper Technique

Skyscraper technique is about identifying links on third-party sources to content that already does well in your specific area and then making something superior: content with the most recent data, more practical examples, or backed by your own research. So, you simply build a taller skyscraper and make it the new landmark everyone points to:

For this, you should first find a page that has received many high-quality backlinks. Next, study the sources this page refers to and search for opportunities to improve your content.

When your updated version is ready, contact the potential host site and inform them about a newer, better choice. The reason to accept your content is that it will help them keep their page fresh and useful to readers.

Want to make sure your guest post is exactly what site owners want to publish? Outsource link building and content writing to us at SeoProfy, and we’ll deliver relevant content that meets editorial expectations.

Link-Worthy Content Assets

A link-worthy asset is a piece of content that makes people want to reference it. It doesn’t necessarily need to be an article. It can be an infographic or a tool (like an ROI calculator). Anything that helps someone explain or solve a problem faster.

Moreover, when these pieces are crafted well, they may even draw links naturally, without you having to reach out to anyone. For instance, at SeoProfy, our article “135 SEO statistics for 2025” continues to gain high-quality links independently. Other websites use it as a trustworthy reference, which has resulted in hundreds of backlinks and robust referral traffic without additional efforts for backlink outreach:

However, you need to watch who links to you. Not all backlinks are good ones. Sometimes, irrelevant or low-quality websites may link to your content, and while this doesn’t always cause harm, having too many such links can weaken your backlink profile.

Digital PR

Digital PR is another method worth including in your link building strategy. The primary goal of digital PR is to improve your brand’s visibility and reputation online, and a backlink often comes as a pleasant bonus. It can take different forms, for instance, press releases.

They work well when you have something newsworthy to share: a product launch, an acquisition, or a company event. For example, SeoProfy was recently featured on Yahoo Finance with coverage of the Third NaZahid SEO Meetup we held in Vienna. It was a great way to highlight our expertise and connect with the wider SEO community.

Opt for our link building services, and we’ll make sure your news will also make it to the right platforms and people.

Beyond press releases, you can also share expert insights with media outlets. If your contribution helps improve their story, you’ll gain exposure.

It’s not complicated to find the right people to reach out to on such media outlets, as most have dedicated pages for contributor submissions or contact details for their editorial team.

For instance, The New York Times regularly invites outside experts to write guest essays — articles that give readers fresh perspectives beyond the newsroom’s usual voices.

Collaboration with Influencers

Nearly 20% of marketers reported spending over half of their marketing resources on influencer marketing. It’s indeed a great option to target audiences that care about your niche. Plus, almost every industry, from SaaS to local services, has people who influence opinions. Here’s how exactly you might collaborate with them:

• Create co-authored content. You could write a joint article or report and publish it on their blog or yours, linking to both.
• Host expert roundups. Or you might invite several niche influencers to share short insights for your article. They may link back when it’s live.
• Join podcasts or webinars. It’s another excellent opportunity to diversify your backlink profile, as you could earn a link in the episode or webinar description on YouTube or any other platform.

You just need to identify influencers whose website’s audience overlaps with yours and approach them with a mutually beneficial idea. Some people may even look for expert guests themselves, like Tim Soulo, CMO at Ahrefs:

If you’d rather focus on your business while experts handle the heavy lifting, you can partner with top-rated link building companies that will scale outreach safely and effectively.

Ready to Scale Your Link Building?

We create clean, powerful link profiles that Google loves and competitors envy. With us, you get:

• Proven outreach methods
• Ethical, white-hat link building
• Valuable links from reputable sites
• Reporting of every step

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What Are the Best Practices for Effective Outreach Emails?

As we’ve identified who exactly you might contact to get valuable backlinks and what to offer in return, the next step is figuring out how to reach out effectively. Here are some best practices:

• Find the right contact person. It takes less time when you talk with someone who actually makes decisions, such as an editor, content manager, or site owner. Also, reputable websites often help by offering dedicated pages for contributors with submission forms.
• Write catchy subject lines. A subject line is the first thing your recipient sees, and it might be the only thing they see if it doesn’t grab their attention. Keep it short, ideally up to 10 words, so a subject line is fully readable on mobile devices. And add some specificity to make your message more intriguing, like the genuine value your recipient could receive if they open your link request.
• Personalize each message. While relying on templates is perfectly fine, it’s good to personalize each message before you hit send. Mention why you actually consider the recipient’s website a great fit for link placement. You could reference something relevant from their recent content to show you’ve done research and are reaching out for a particular reason.
• Keep the message short and sweet. You’ve probably received those long emails that lose you halfway through, and chances are, you didn’t finish reading them. That’s why focused messages tend to work best: a quick intro, a sentence on why you’re reaching out, and a clear note on what’s in it for them is usually all you need.
• Use automation for smooth link building outreach management. How many emails can you realistically send manually per working day? Plus, you won’t always get replies, so you’ll have to send follow-ups and simply manage multiple conversations at once. Automate your link building processes, and you’ll be able to reach hundreds of potential link partners. The more emails you send, the higher the likelihood that someone will respond and agree to your proposal.

Which Tools Can Streamline Link Building Outreach?

Automation is only as effective as the tools behind it. Let’s look at the best outreach link building tools that can significantly improve your processes.

• SEO tools for finding link opportunities. Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz help you identify where you should actually focus your link building efforts. You can use them to check the backlink profiles of competitors, discover which websites link to content similar to yours, and discover broken links that may become your next outreach targets.
• Email prospecting tools. Once you know where you want to add your links, proceed with tools such as Hunter.io or RocketReach to find accurate contact details. They locate verified email addresses so you can reach the right person.
• CRM systems, like HubSpot. HubSpot is an excellent link building outreach tool, as it lets you remember who you’ve reached out to, who has responded, and who could be interested in working together in the future, building relationships that last.
• Project management tools, like Trello, Notion, ClickUp. Outreach usually involves many people or campaigns working simultaneously. Project management tools allow you to keep tasks, contacts, and deadlines in one place, so everyone stays on the same page.

Make Your Link Building Outreach Pay Off

Outreach takes a mix of analytical thinking, as well as strong negotiation and writing skills. It’s necessary to identify the appropriate websites, propose worthwhile ideas, handle follow-ups efficiently, and monitor outcomes.

At SeoProfy, we offer backlink outreach services and take care of the entire process. Our team plays by the rules, focusing only on white-hat link building opportunities. On top of that, as a full-service SEO company, we cover all aspects of SEO, including technical website audit and content writing, so we’ll make sure your link building activities remain aligned with your overall SEO strategy and business goals.

Contact our link outreach agency, and let’s make your backlinks a competitive advantage!

Author

Andrew Shum

Andrew Shum is the Head of SEO at SeoProfy, with over 8 years of experience driving organic growth for startups, e-commerce brands, and Fortune 500 companies. He has led SEO strategies for 150+ websites across 20+ industries, delivering consistent results through data-driven optimization, technical audits, and scalable content frameworks. Andrew wrote this article to share proven tactics that align with Google’s latest updates and performance trends.