I've spent years in growth and SEO, and most link building advice you see online is either outdated or impractical at scale. This is what actually works after testing across dozens of clients and niches.
Adjacent niche outreach - absolute goldmine
Find businesses that serve the exact same audience but aren't competitors. A conservatory builder and a blinds installer? Perfect. Propose a simple link swap. The logic is undeniable, so response rates are solid. Downside: you have to hunt for these manually at first. Worth every minute.
Competitor backlink gap
Pull your client's profile from Ahrefs against the top three competitors. Look for directories and resource pages linking to them but not to you. If they already linked to a rival, they're a warm lead. This runs out fast though - treat it as a quick win, not a long-term play.
Niche blog outreach
Search for "[service] blog" and hit up the top results. Pitch a guest post or a mention that includes your client. Before agreeing, check the site's organic traffic via GSC - is anyone actually reading it? Most won't reply, but the ones who do bring contextual links that Google loves.
Client's existing relationships
Ask your client: who are your suppliers, subcontractors, trade bodies? Reach out and ask for a feature or a testimonial with a link. These are natural by default - Google treats them well. You'll get a 'yes' maybe half the time, and the list is usually short, but quality is sky high.
Agency-to-agency swaps
Connect with other SEO agencies and trade links between each other's clients. Everyone wins, it's completely natural, and you build relationships that pay off repeatedly. Doesn't happen unless you actively seek it - start conversations on LinkedIn or at local meetups.
The hardest part isn't the strategy. It's finding enough prospects and managing the outreach without drowning in a spreadsheet. Anyone else found a method I've missed?
