Link building guide: earn the links Google still counts
A link from another website is a kind of reference letter. Someone with no reason to flatter you decided your page was worth sending their readers to. That's why links still matter to Google, and it's also why the ones you pay for or swap don't. This guide covers where Google draws the line and where Australian businesses earn links without buying them.
Updated
Map routes are illustrative examples written for this guide.
What a link actually does for you in Google
Links do two jobs. They help Google find pages, because its crawler follows them from site to site. And they help Google judge which pages are about what, and which might be most useful, because a link is a small public decision by someone else.
Google's guide to ranking systems describes link analysis systems that look at how pages link to each other, and names PageRank as one of the core systems it has used since launch. So Google itself confirms links are part of how it ranks.
The same documents keep links in proportion. Google's SEO starter guide says PageRank is one of many ranking signals, and that there's much more to Google Search than links. A page that doesn't answer the search well won't be rescued by links pointing at it. Links help a good page compete with other good pages; they don't turn a thin page into a useful one.
Anchor text matters too, mostly for clarity. Google's documentation on links describes anchor text as the visible words of a link, which tell people and Google something about the page being linked to. That's a reason to have descriptive links, such as "our guide to hot water systems", rather than "click here". It is not a reason to ask other sites for links that repeat your keyword word for word, which Google's spam policy treats as a warning sign.
What Google's link spam policy rules out
Google defines link spam as creating links to or from a site primarily to manipulate search rankings. Its spam policies page, last updated 28 August 2026, then lists examples. Here they are, grouped the way an Australian small business is most likely to meet them.
Paying for links that pass ranking credit
Money for links, or for posts containing links. Goods or services in exchange for links. Sending someone a product so they'll write about it and link to you.
Swaps and partner pages
Excessive "link to me and I'll link to you" deals, and partner pages that exist only to cross-link sites.
Keyword-rich guest posts and advertorials
Paid articles with links that pass ranking credit, and links with keyword-stuffed anchor text in guest posts, articles or press releases spread across other sites.
Links you build by machine
Automated programs or services that create links to your site, and low-value content made mainly to carry links.
Links you force on others
Requiring a link in your terms of service or a contract without letting the other site qualify it. Website builders who add a credit link to every client footer should note this one.
Low-quality placements
Low-quality directory and bookmark sites, links hidden in widgets, footer or template links spread across many sites, and forum comments stuffed with keyword links.
Google's policy accepts that buying and selling links is a normal part of advertising and sponsorship. Those links are allowed if they carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow", which tells Google not to pass ranking credit. Google's guide to qualifying outbound links adds rel="ugc" for user content such as comments and forum posts. A sponsorship link marked this way still brings visitors and goodwill. It just isn't a ranking shortcut.
Google Search Central, "Spam policies for Google web search" (updated 28 August 2026) and "Qualify your outbound links to Google" (updated 10 December 2025), read 4 October 2026.
Eight places a small business can earn links without paying
Earned links come from people who have a reason to mention you that has nothing to do with your rankings. An established business often has those reasons already; they just haven't been followed up.
Suppliers and manufacturers
Why they'd linkMany keep "where to buy" or "find an installer" pages so their own customers can find you.
What you doAsk your account manager if your business is listed, and send the correct business details and website address.
WatchSome programs require paid tiers. That's fine, but the link may be marked sponsored.
Industry associations
Why they'd linkMember directories exist to help the public find members.
What you doFill in your member profile completely, with the same name, address and phone number you use everywhere else.
WatchJoin for the membership, not the link. A directory is one link, not a strategy.
Local and trade press
Why they'd linkEditors need stories: a new service in town, an apprentice who won an award, a business milestone.
What you doSend a short, factual pitch with a photo and one person they can call. Mention your website, but don't demand a link.
WatchPaid "sponsored content" in a newspaper is advertising. It should be labelled and marked sponsored.
Your own original data
Why they'd linkWriters cite numbers they can't find anywhere else.
What you doSummarise something only you know, such as which months your call-outs peak, from your own records, and publish it with your method.
WatchOnly publish what your records show. An invented survey can do more harm than no survey.
Community sponsorships
Why they'd linkClubs, schools and charities thank sponsors on their websites.
What you doBack causes you'd support anyway, and ask that the sponsor page lists your correct details.
WatchThe link should be marked sponsored. Its value is local presence, not ranking credit.
Unlinked mentions
Why they'd linkThey've already written about you. A link just helps their readers find you.
What you doSearch your business name in quotes, find mentions without a link and send a polite one-line request.
WatchAsk once. If they say no, leave it.
Resource and guide pages
Why they'd linkCouncils, community groups and bloggers keep lists of useful guides for their readers.
What you doWrite the guide that's missing from the list, then let the page owner know it exists.
WatchOnly suggest pages that fit the list. Mass outreach is easy to spot.
Broken links you can replace
Why they'd linkTheir page points at something that no longer exists, which annoys their readers.
What you doPoint out the dead link, and suggest your page if it covers the same thing properly.
WatchReport the dead link either way. Being useful first makes the request fair.
Four questions that tell a good link from a risky one
Third-party scores such as "domain authority" or "domain rating" are a tool vendor's estimate, not anything Google publishes. They're useful for a rough comparison. These four questions do a better job, and you can answer them without a subscription.
Would you want this link if Google didn't exist?
If the answer is yes because real people would click it, it's probably the kind of link Google wants to count. If its only value is ranking, it's the kind the spam policy describes.
Is the site about your trade, your customers or your area?
A link from a Ballarat community site to a Ballarat business makes sense to a reader. A link from an overseas casino blog to a Ballarat plumber does not.
Did someone choose to place it?
Editorial links sit inside content because a person decided they help. Links you can add yourself to any site, for a fee or by filling in a form, carry little weight.
Would you be comfortable if a customer saw it?
A link on a respected local news site is something you'd share. A link on a page of 200 unrelated outbound links is something you'd hide.
Let other sites word their links as they like. Most will use your business name or a plain description, which is exactly what natural linking looks like. Asking a dozen sites to link with "emergency plumber Ballarat" is the keyword-rich anchor text pattern Google's policy names.
What to do about spammy links already pointing at you
Usually, nothing: almost every site picks up odd links from scraper sites and directories nobody reads. The one exception is a manual action.
Google mostly ignores them
In its December 2022 link spam update, Google said it was using SpamBrain, its AI-based spam system, to neutralise the impact of unnatural links. It added that SpamBrain can detect both sites buying links and sites used to pass outgoing links.
Search Central blog, 14 December 2022Most sites never need to disavow
Google's Search Console Help says that in most cases Google can work out which links to trust, so most sites won't need the disavow tool. It's meant for sites with many spammy or artificial links that have caused, or are likely to cause, a manual action.
Search Console Help, "Disavow links to your site", read 4 October 2026Act if there's a manual action
Check the Manual actions report in Search Console. If it shows an unnatural links action, ask site owners to remove the links you can, disavow the rest, and request a review explaining what you did.
Manual actions report, Google Search Console
How much links matter for a local business
If most of your customers find you through the map results, links are one input among several, and not the biggest one. That should shape how much time and money you put into them.
The practitioners Whitespark surveyed put links well behind the Business Profile and reviews for the map pack. Google's own help for Business Profiles says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity, and explains that how well-known a business is includes links to it and its reviews. So links count locally, but a complete profile and a steady flow of genuine reviews come first. Our guides to Google Business Profile and review management cover those.
Links weigh more in the ordinary results below the map, and for businesses that don't serve a local area at all, such as online stores and national services. If that's you, link earning deserves a steady share of your effort.
Local links and citations are often confused. A citation is a listing of your name, address and phone number, with or without a link; our local citations guide covers them. Many of the association and supplier links above double as citations, which is one more reason to keep your details identical everywhere.
Google's guide to its generative AI features says seeking inauthentic mentions across the web isn't as helpful as it might seem, because its core ranking systems focus on quality content and other systems block spam. Earned coverage is the only kind worth chasing there too. Our article on SEO for AI search covers the rest.
When someone else has been building links in your name
Most owners don't build links themselves; a provider does it as part of a package. These are the three things to check: before signing up, while paying monthly, and on the way out.
Paying monthly
Our provider won't tell us which links they've built
Ask for the full list in writing: the URL of every page that links to you, the date it went live and how it was obtained. A real link has an address you can open and read. If the answer is "proprietary network" or a count with no addresses, treat that as the answer.
Then check it yourself. Search Console's Links report shows your top linking sites, and you can export the latest links Google has discovered, sorted by date. Google says the report is a sample rather than every link, so a missing link isn't proof, but a list of sites you've never heard of tells you a lot.
Leaving
We cancelled and the links started disappearing
That usually means they were rented, not earned: placements on sites the provider controls or pays for, which come down when the payments stop. Links bought to pass ranking credit are named in Google's link spam policy, so losing them is less of a loss than it feels.
Before you sign anything, ask whether any link is a paid placement and what happens to it if you leave. Links you earn from customers, suppliers, associations and local press stay because the other site wants them there.
Signing up
What should a link building service actually do for the fee?
It should name the kinds of sites it will approach and why each fits your business, show you the pitch or the piece it will offer them, and report every link with its URL. Expect it to spend time on something worth linking to, such as a useful guide, local data or a story, because that is what other sites link to.
Be wary of a promised number of links a month or a quoted "domain authority" for each. Google says third-party SEO tools don't have access to its internal ranking data, and a fixed link count is easier to meet with exactly the links its policy rules out.
Sources: Search Console Help, "Links report"; Google Search Central, "Spam policies for Google web search" (updated 28 August 2026) and "Do you need an SEO?" (updated 5 June 2026). All read 5 October 2026.
Link building questions, answered
Is link building still relevant to SEO?
Yes. Google lists link analysis and PageRank among its ranking systems, so earned links from relevant sites still help pages rank. What has changed is which links count: links bought, swapped or built only for rankings are named in Google's spam policy, and its systems work to neutralise them.
Do backlinks still matter in 2026?
They matter, in proportion. Google's starter guide says PageRank is one of many signals and that there's much more to Search than links. A strong page with a few genuine links from relevant sites will usually do better than a weak page with hundreds of low-quality ones.
Is link building part of off-page SEO?
Yes. Off-page SEO covers the signals that come from outside your own website, and links from other sites are the best-known part. Your Business Profile, reviews and mentions in the press sit in the same group. On-page SEO is the work on your own pages; our on-page SEO guide covers it.
How can I get backlinks for free?
Start with relationships you already have: suppliers' installer or stockist pages, your industry association's member directory, local clubs you support and press coverage of genuine news. Then look for mentions of your business that don't link yet and ask politely. Publishing something useful that only you can write, such as data from your own work, gives other sites a reason to cite you.
Should I buy backlinks?
No. Paying money, goods or services for links that pass ranking credit is the first example in Google's link spam policy. Google said in 2022 that SpamBrain can detect sites buying links and sites selling them, so the money often buys nothing. If you pay for a placement for its audience, ask for the link to be marked sponsored.
Are backlinks and citations the same?
No, though they overlap. A backlink is any link from another site to yours. A citation is a mention of your business name, address and phone number, often in a directory, and it may or may not include a link. Citations mainly help Google confirm your business details; links mainly help it judge your pages.
How many backlinks do I need to rank?
There's no number. Google doesn't publish one, and counts mean little because one relevant link can be worth more than hundreds of irrelevant ones. Look at the pages ranking above you for the searches you want, and aim to earn links of a similar kind and relevance rather than a target count.
Do I need to use Google's disavow tool?
Probably not. Google's help page says most sites won't need it, because Google can usually assess which links to trust. Use it only if you have many spammy or artificial links that have caused, or are likely to cause, a manual action, and check the Manual actions report in Search Console first.
Questions drawn from Google autocomplete suggestions for "is link building", "are backlinks", "do backlinks" and "how to get backlinks", checked from Australia on 4 October 2026.
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