How to Get Natural Backlinks?

Natural backlinks are links that other sites give you because they find your content, product or expertise worth mentioning. They are the most valued kind of link, partly because they look the way search engines expect links to look, and partly because they come with real attention from real readers. They are also the hardest to plan. This guide shows how to make them more likely, and where digital PR fits in.

What makes a backlink natural

A natural backlink has a reason to exist beyond SEO. A writer cites your research. A blogger recommends your tool. A local newspaper mentions your business. A teacher links to your free guide. Nobody asked them to, and nobody paid them. These are often called organic backlinks, since they grow out of the ordinary activity of the web.

In reality, many links labelled natural have a little help. You published something, told the right people about it and made it easy to find and cite. That is fine. What separates natural from manufactured is that the link depends on the value of what you made, not on a transaction or a trick. For definitions of the main link types, see what SEO backlinks are.

Why natural links are worth chasing

• They look right. A profile built mostly from genuine mentions is varied and steady.
• They are durable. Editors rarely remove a link that serves their readers.
• They bring traffic. People click links that appear in context.
• They carry less risk. There is no paid scheme to explain.

Method 1: Publish things people cite

Pages that earn links usually give people something they can reference.

• Original research. Surveys, benchmarks and analyses of public data.
• Free tools. Calculators, generators and checkers that solve a small problem.
• Definitive guides. Clear, accurate explanations that are better than what ranks today.
• Templates and checklists. Practical resources people can use immediately.
• Visual explanations. Charts and diagrams that make complex ideas simple.

Pick a topic where you have real knowledge. A page that is merely long, with nothing new, rarely earns links.

Method 2: Make your content easy to find

Even great content stays invisible if nobody sees it. Share it with the communities and writers who care about the topic. Add it to your newsletter. Mention it when you answer questions on relevant platforms. Reach out to a short list of people who have written about the subject and might find your piece useful. A single thoughtful message to the right editor can start a chain of links.

Method 3: Be a source

Journalists and bloggers often need expert comments. If you can give clear, accurate answers quickly, you may earn a mention and a link. Keep a short profile of your expertise, and respond fast to relevant requests. You do not need to be famous, but you do need to be useful.

Method 4: Digital PR

Digital PR is the practice of creating newsworthy stories that earn coverage and links from online publications. It borrows from traditional public relations, which the Wikipedia article on public relations describes, and applies it to the web. The aim is coverage that real readers see, with links as a valuable by-product.

A few kinds of campaigns are common:

• Data-led stories. A survey or analysis that reveals something interesting.
• Reactive stories. Quick responses to news or trends, sometimes offered by reactive digital PR services that monitor the news and provide timely comments.
• Expert commentary. Opinions and advice from named specialists.
• Seasonal and local angles. Stories tied to events, regions or communities. Food digital PR, for example, often uses recipes, trends and local food stories.

Who does digital PR

Many businesses hire specialists. You will see terms such as digital PR services, digital PR agency, digital PR company, digital PR agencies, digital PR companies, digital PR firm and digital PR firms. Some businesses prefer a digital marketing and PR agency or a PR and digital marketing agency that combines PR with SEO and content. Others hire a digital PR consultant or a digital PR specialist for strategy and campaign work. Location may matter for local coverage: for example, digital PR London, digital PR services London, digital PR agency London and digital PR Manchester are common searches from businesses that want relationships with British media. In the United States, buyers look for a digital PR agency USA, and in the UK for a digital PR agency UK.

We want to be clear about our own services. We do not offer digital PR. We focus on guest posts, link insertions and outreach, and you can see them on our guest posting services page. If you want large news coverage, a specialist PR provider is a better fit. Digital PR and SEO can work well together, since earned coverage supports rankings and brand visibility, but results are never guaranteed.

Method 5: Use relationships

Customers, partners, suppliers and industry groups already know you. Ask them to mention or link to you where it makes sense. A case study on a supplier’s website or a feature in an association newsletter can be a good, natural link.

Method 6: Turn mentions into links

If someone has mentioned your brand without linking, send a friendly message with the exact URL. Most people are happy to add it.

Method 7: Reclaim and replace

Look for broken links on relevant sites that pointed to content similar to yours. Offer your page as a replacement. This is useful to the publisher and natural for you.

A natural link building service?

You might see providers who describe their approach as a natural link building service. The phrase usually means they focus on relevant sites, editorial content and real outreach, instead of automation or networks. That is a good sign, but the label alone proves nothing. Ask how they find sites, whether you can approve placements and how they handle link attributes. Natural link building is, at its core, relevant and transparent.

What natural link building is not

• Private blog networks.
• Bulk directory submissions.
• Comment spam.
• Mass-produced guest posts.
• Anything you would be embarrassed to explain to a publisher.

Google’s spam policies describe link schemes in more detail.

Be patient

Natural links usually arrive slowly. You may publish a resource and see nothing for weeks. Keep promoting it, improve it and measure. Over time, a good page tends to collect links without further effort. If you want to speed things up, combine natural methods with careful placements such as guest posts and link insertions. Our niche edits page explains how we choose existing articles for a link.

How to measure natural link growth

Track the number of new referring domains each month, the type of site that links to you and which pages attract links. Look at anchor text: natural profiles contain many brand and page-title anchors, and few exact-match keyword anchors. If your profile looks different, review your approach.

Combining natural and placed links

Most healthy profiles mix earned and placed links. For a practical look at the placed side, see how to create backlinks manually, and for the risks to avoid, read what toxic backlinks are.

Another label you may see

Some firms describe themselves as a digital marketing PR agency, which usually means a mix of PR, content and SEO. Ask what is actually included before you commit.

Key takeaways

• Natural backlinks come from useful, citable content and real relationships.
• Original research, tools, guides and expert commentary all attract links.
• Digital PR can earn strong coverage, but it is a specialist service that we do not offer.
• Make your content easy to find and follow up with relevant people.
• Avoid shortcuts, and be patient.