All about link building: guide and strategies to strengthen your brand

A hunt for backlinks, a guest post to place, or a Domain Authority metric to increase. For many, link building is still just that, even though the rules of the game have not simply changed over the years, but the game itself has been transformed. The advent of Google’s AI Overview, which is redesigning SERPs and reducing traditional organic traffic to sites, with clicks no longer following impressions, has accelerated an evolution that was already underway.

The epicenter of authority has shifted from the individual link to the entire digital ecosystem of the brand: its reputation, consistency, and the “buzz” surrounding it online. Today, it is the brand that makes the difference, mentions matter more than the number of links, and the voice of our project must circulate naturally.

This is not just another nostalgic guide, but a story of link building, Digital PR, and SEO with method, overcoming shortcuts and focusing on what really brings results: being chosen by Google and people thanks to a widespread presence, authority built over time, and tools that measure reality—not just theory.

What is link building: the classic definition and its logic

Link building is the strategic process of acquiring hyperlinks, commonly known as backlinks, from other websites to your own.

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In its purest and most traditional sense, it is the construction of a network of links between one site and others, and for years it has been one of the fundamental pillars of SEO—and in particular, the best known of the activities related to off-page SEO. Its primary and almost exclusive goal was simple: to improve the visibility and ranking of a website on search engines. It was the strategy of those who wanted to “move up” in Google and was based on the attempt to get a link to their website included on other websites, blogs, portals, and online resources.

The logic, based on the original idea of Google’s PageRank algorithm, was simple and powerful: every link from an external site is interpreted as a “vote” of trust. If an authoritative site includes a link to one of our pages, it is implicitly telling Google “this content is valid and reliable.” The more authoritative and relevant votes a site received, the more Google considered it worthy of a good ranking, transferring a sort of “juice” of authority (known as “link juice”) through the links, which gave a boost to the SERP climb, fueling the brand’s reputation.

Classic link building techniques

Based on this model, countless link building tactics have emerged and spread over the last twenty years: publishing guest posts on third-party blogs, listing the site in industry directories, searching for broken links to replace (known as “broken link building,” which consists of finding links that no longer work on a site and offering your own content as an alternative), and creating content assets (infographics, original research) to attract natural links.

There have also been more aggressive schemes: reciprocal link exchanges, networks of controlled sites (the famous PBNs), purchasing space on “container” portals, and strategies that had little to do with editorial quality.

Google did not stand idly by. Over time, it introduced increasingly strict guidelines, combating manipulative practices such as black hat SEO and attempts to force growth in authority solely through the quantity of links. As a result, any attempt to manipulate rankings through unfair practices—link buying, massive exchanges, artificial networks—is considered a violation of Google’s guidelines and can lead to algorithmic penalties or manual actions.

The importance of links for Google (and for the Internet)

However, there is one concept that bears repeating: links are the very foundation of the Internet, which is not coincidentally referred to as the Network or the Web, with a symbolic reference to the threads of a spider’s web or the threads of a tapestry, represented by links.

Even today, Google still uses link analysis systems (including PageRank itself, which is constantly updated) as an integral part of its ranking systems, which no longer simply “count” links, but analyze how pages are linked to each other to understand themes, entities, and signals of usefulness.

We are a long way from the days when it was enough to simply increase the number of backlinks, without paying attention to the real value of the sources or thematic consistency: in fact, it was after the Penguin update in 2012 that the turning point came, and the gradual integration of artificial intelligence has reinforced this dynamic: today, links, mentions, and their variety feed not only SERPs, but also AI Overview responses, where the widespread reputation of the brand (not the individual backlink) determines its presence among sources.

The quality of each link is evaluated in its context: Google recognizes unnatural patterns, manipulations, and ad hoc networks, assigning real value only to citations from reliable and consistent sources, also evaluated according to the EEAT framework.

Every effective strategy starts here: not with how many links the brand has, but with who talks about it, in what contexts, with what authority, and how well its presence integrates with the ranking system, which is increasingly based on entities, topics, and consistency signals.

The change: link building today, from links to reputation

Today, link building is no longer seen as a simple “SEO” technique, but as a strategic lever for brand reputation, recognition, and growth across all digital channels.

We must say goodbye to the concept of collecting links that are “useful for Google,” with a quantitative and often mechanical approach.

As we have said, the real turning point came with updates to the Google algorithm, the explosion of digital channels, and the arrival of AI Overview, meaning that it is no longer enough to collect links and there are no longer any universal “shortcuts.”

Today, Google measures the consistency, spread, and quality of conversations around the brand.

Links are no longer the main cause of reputation, but one of its possible consequences: if your digital presence is recognized, authoritative, and appreciated across multiple channels, links will come as a natural result of this reputation. And editorial mentions, citations in thematic contexts, social signals, and references in videos, social media, or vertical communities carry at least as much weight (and sometimes more) as a direct link.

This may seem like revolutionary news, but in reality it was something that our own Ivano Di Biasi had already intuited in 2017, with his book “Link Building.” Google—and people—are looking for real, interconnected signals of value, authentic conversations, and widespread presence, not just formal or isolated links.

The new paradigm puts the brand at the center: what really matters is becoming a recognized point of reference in your industry, building relationships and collaborations that bring value to those who receive them, not just “link juice” to the site.

Here, then, is a new definition of link building: the art – and daily practice – of getting others to talk about your brand in a credible way, citing your site, company, or content through links, mentions, articles, and collaborations that have value for your audience and online identity.

Link building in 2025 means working on relationships that build authority, on conversations that build trust, on signals that increase brand value, far beyond the sum of backlinks acquired. What matters is how we are recognized and talked about in different digital environments, how much our name circulates in reliable contexts, how visible we are in industry portals, communities, social media, videos, and new types of search results.

The evolution is not just terminological: it is strategic, practical, and measurable.

The mention revolution: when the brand speaks

If the brand is the new center of SEO, we must ask ourselves, “How does Google measure its authority beyond simple links?” The answer lies in a concept as simple as it is powerful: mentions.

Today, Google doesn’t just follow links, it reads and understands the web. It listens to conversations, analyzes contexts, and evaluates who is talking about whom.

Algorithms have refined their ability to read the context in which we are mentioned: they understand the difference between an editorial quote in a specialized blog and a simple link obtained from a generalist portal. Mentions, quotes, reviews, presence in vertical discussions or videos, genuine collaborations: everything contributes to forming a semantic map that defines our authority. We need to enter into conversations that build value: authoritative blogs, thematic podcasts, qualified reviews, videos, expert comments, and discussions among professionals. A network of credible mentions, distributed across different channels, formats, and sources, strengthens brand perception and makes it a point of reference for people, algorithms, and artificial intelligence systems.

Those who manage to build this network of qualified mentions gain real and stable visibility, resist algorithm changes, and position themselves as a point of reference in a market increasingly crowded with voices and content, which brings to the fore those who are able to be recognized as authoritative even before they are “linkable.”

Mentions, citations, and buzz: new signals for Google

Mentions are all those occasions when the brand, website, or product is explicitly cited, even without a hyperlink. They can be citations in an industry article, references in social media discussions, appearances in videos, podcasts, or interviews, or simple mentions on specialized communities.

Thanks to its Natural Language Processing systems, Google is now perfectly capable of recognizing these signals and associating them with our entity (the brand): it understands and evaluates who is talking about us (the authority of the source), where they are talking about us (the relevance of the site), how often and how they are talking about us (the positive, negative or neutral sentiment of the context).

A mention on a vertical blog, or by a recognized expert, can have a decisive impact—even more than a classic link inserted in a forced manner. This was also mentioned by Maria Paloschi during an SEOZoom Caffè live: a spontaneous mention on a niche blog led to the brand’s presence among AI Overview sources, even in the absence of backlinks.

It is these conversations that add value and that Google now interprets as “buzz”: a widespread, consistent, and natural echo that truly strengthens our position.

Authenticity and consistency: this is how reputation is built

This evolution has a huge strategic consequence: an authentic and spontaneous mention on a niche website, but one that is authoritative and read by our audience, is far more valuable than a link “purchased” on a generalist and decontextualized publication or on a “container” website.

Why? Because the former is a sign of real, human trust, while the latter is easily interpreted as artificial.

As our CEO, Ivano Di Biasi, often says, “if no one talks about you on the web, those links are probably fake. And Google knows it.”

Investing in building authentic relationships that lead to spontaneous mentions is not only an ethical choice, but also the most effective and safest strategy for reducing the risk of penalties and building lasting authority. On the contrary, building manipulated backlink profiles or being present on sites that sell links en masse is increasingly easy to detect: today, real value comes from genuine relationships and visibility gained “in the field,” not through technical shortcuts.

How to do link building today: practice, criteria, and tools

Having clarified the theoretical issues, let’s take a closer look at the practical issues, because link building remains a purely technical activity, which today goes beyond the boundaries of SEO to become a complex discipline that brings together reputation, consistency, and editorial value.

Experience in recent years has shown that every effective activity starts with an analysis of the context: you need to understand which assets are really worth mentioning, which partnerships offer real opportunities, and which sectors require more monitoring or attention to risks.

The goal is always to build trust, monitor topics and valuable relationships, not just to obtain backlinks in a mechanical way—also because, remember, Google keeps a close eye on the construction of unnatural backlink profiles, those in which a manipulative and forced intervention is perceived, aimed exclusively at improving rankings.

Today, every link is part of a wider network of signals that Google and other search engines, powered by artificial intelligence, evaluate in terms of credibility, usefulness, organic positioning, and impact on AI Overview responses. Our job is to set up a flexible, measurable strategy that is constantly adapted based on metrics and algorithm evolution.

Analysis and strategic planning

Effective management of this activity still starts from two basic assumptions:

• The link building campaign must be set up with medium and long-term goals.
• Placing a link is easy, but doing LB strategically is less easy.

We have deliberately used the term ‘place’ in a derogatory way to highlight how receiving a link is not enough for those seeking to strengthen their website in a lasting way and who know that the results of their efforts will pay off over time.

Link building is not just about receiving links by purchasing space on websites, but is a strategy that must start with reflection and research, and a campaign can only be effective when it is based on careful and targeted planning.

The activity starts with an analysis of the website’s status: content, backlink profile, strengths compared to competitors, and areas to be strengthened. Each project requires the definition of clear objectives (reputation, mentions, coverage of vertical topics or keywords) and a medium- to long-term operational plan with tasks, responsibilities, and control metrics. Advanced monitoring tools help track progress, identify new opportunities, and quickly spot critical issues or signs of risk.

How to evaluate a backlink and what are quality links

The value of a link today is measured primarily on the basis of the authority and consistency of the site that hosts it.

Google’s algorithms—from advanced PageRank to semantic analysis systems—consider a number of parameters: as with ranking factors, it is impossible to define them all fully because their precise functioning is unknown to the public, but there are still some parameters and signals that must be taken into account.

The quality of an inbound link is measured by parameters such as the popularity, relevance, and authority of the site (which has a very significant weight), the geographical and thematic relevance of the content (a site that is on-topic and vertical with the topic to be linked offers added value for search engines compared to a generalist or even off-topic site, which is the worst case scenario), site trust (what we used to call criminal record: obtaining links from high-trust sites is a driving force for improving positioning, because these are considered more reliable and secure), age of links (freshness is an added value), and reputation in the relevant community.

In summary, this is what makes a link “quality” today:

• Thematic consistency: the linking site deals with topics similar to ours, or at least is relevant to the sector.
• Reputation and trust: the source domain is recognized in its community, publishes original content, and has a clean history without penalties.
• Health and stability: the site shows steady organic growth, publishes regularly, and does not show any unusual fluctuations or suspicious traffic spikes.
• Variety and naturalness: links come from different sources (vertical, editorial, social, video), are not concentrated in short periods, and do not all have manipulative anchors or exact keywords.
• Editorial context: the link is inserted naturally, in the body of informative and useful content, not on filler pages or in lists of links.

The important elements of a link

In addition to these broad parameters, there are other more specific parameters related to the content being linked: many experts believe that the position of the link within the page also has a specific value (i.e., a link placed at the top and highlighted would be more beneficial than a link at the bottom of the page), but this is a highly debated topic.

There is more agreement on anchor text, which is the portion of a page linked to another resource (classically highlighted by underlining or a different color when visiting a page): this is considered one of the strongest signals for ranking, but past abuse has led to penalties (or a high risk of penalties) for pages that use links with anchor text that exactly matches the keyword you want to rank for, especially in sensitive and high-profile sectors such as YMYL.

What to consider: partner selection, link types, and monitoring

Choosing the right partner sites is critical to the success of your strategy. It is important to be able to assess whether the site has been penalized by Google in the past for link spam or other activities that do not comply with the search engine’s guidelines, understand what its usual topics are, i.e., whether it is a “generalist” or “vertical” site.

The former includes all sites that talk about a little bit of everything: informative editorial portals, but also blogs or other projects that are not specifically specialized in a topic but publish articles in a multitude of categories. Those that deal with only one topic are called “vertical” sites because they focus on a single theme and analyze it in depth.

Other issues to check with regard to the host site include, for example, territoriality (does it contain only local news or does it also cover broader topics?) and the quality of the articles: if the site has a “real” internal editorial team that produces news, it will probably enjoy greater trust in Google’s eyes than sites created solely to contain links.

Of course, to estimate the quality of a site that could host one of our links, it is also necessary to analyze the consistency of updates (is it a site that publishes frequently or is it left without recent articles?), the use of follow and nofollow attributes for external links, and above all its main metrics, such as organic traffic volume, any fluctuations in ranking, and so on. These parameters are summarized in SEOZoom’s Zoom Authority, which has become the most widely used parameter in Italy for evaluating a site from a link building perspective.

In short, the selection must integrate quantitative data (Zoom Authority, Topical Zoom Authority, historical performance, editorial reputation) with qualitative assessments of ranking, domain health, and consistency of updates. Traditional metrics (traffic, trust, ranking fluctuations) remain useful, but monitoring is enriched by new performance metrics in AI Overview and cross-channel mentions.

The old distinctions based on the attribute of the link between follow, nofollow, sponsored, and UGC—which were once used to measure the “strength” transmitted to the receiving site—are now mainly tools for transparency. Google interprets each link as a “hint” and weighs its value based on context, source, consistency with content, and the variety of the backlink profile, without relying strictly on these labels and “rel.”

Internal links (between pages on the same site) help distribute value and navigation, while external links strengthen reputation if they come from truly relevant sources.

Google’s Disavow Tool remains a residual option for cases of toxic links or massive attacks, but its impact is much more limited than in the past because the algorithm is able to independently ignore most artificial signals.

Ultimately, monitoring results and updating strategies is essential in an ever-changing environment. Success is measured by traffic, visibility, brand awareness, and the ability to cover relevant topics and sources, and the use of advanced tools is essential to control every phase of the strategy and react to changes in the scenario.

The risks of link building

Search engine systems try to differentiate and discard the influence of paid links in organic search results to identify any manipulation of links to your site or links leaving your site: an almost impossible task, to which they nevertheless devote a lot of time and resources.

When they manage to find sites that buy links or participate in “link schemes” (the most trivial being the bidirectional exchange with no added value, such as a simple agreement, called “Link Neighborhood” and often labeled directly as spam), or “large-scale article marketing or guest posting campaigns with anchor text links full of keywords” (according to Google’s Quality Guidelines), penalty systems such as manual actions can be triggered, causing a page’s ranking to plummet or, in the most serious cases, that of the entire site.

This is why link building is said to be an art, one of the most complex challenges of SEO work, because it requires a strategy that demands “imagination, intuition, decision-making, and speed of execution” (like the genius of the protagonists of Amici Miei), but also expertise and a good budget.

The main danger comes from toxic links, which can damage your site’s SEO profile. These often come from penalized domains, spam sites, pages with no real content, or networks built solely to “sell links.”

Although Google now tends to simply ignore the “weight” of these links and penalties related to backlink profiles are less frequent than in the past, it can be useful to know some of the risk factors for those who adopt manipulative strategies or ignore the quality of partner sites: presence on sites with off-topic content, unnatural or repetitive anchor text, sudden growth in backlinks from previously unconnected sources, domains with no authority or with near-zero traffic.

The most common warning signs are sudden drops in organic traffic, loss of ranking on strategic keywords, and alerts in Google Search Console relating to “unnatural links.”

Managing a penalty involves removing manipulative links, reviewing the backlink profile, and—only in serious cases—using the Disavow Tool. The best strategy is always prevention: choose your partners carefully, pay attention to anchor consistency, and ensure your content is natural and high-quality.

How to use SEOZoom for quality link analysis

Every link building campaign begins (and is updated) with a true qualitative analysis, not just a quantitative one.

Where to start? SEOZoom immediately shows us the data that matters: it doesn’t just “count” links, but offers a complete overview with which to measure, select, and refine every aspect of your authority profile.

In the “Backlink Analysis” panel, we can see the complete picture at a glance, with the main sources, their Zoom Authority, and the distribution between internal pages, homepages, vertical portals, or generalist sites.

But it’s not just about the source. SEOZoom helps you see the overall health of your partners: you can check the frequency of updates, any historical penalties, ranking fluctuations, and the Topical Zoom Authority to understand in which niches a domain is truly recognized. This helps you avoid classic mistakes: links from “container” sites, risky portals, or already compromised domains that could drag you down.

What about anchors? Here, the platform immediately shows you whether we have a natural profile or are risking over-optimization: we can check the distribution of anchor text, identify and correct any abuse of exact keywords, and strengthen the variety of citations, focusing on branded and navigational ones.

SEOZoom also reports anomalies: links from suspicious sites, unnatural patterns, backlinks that all appear together from questionable sources. If necessary, we can take immediate action, resorting to the Disavow Tool only in cases of real and persistent risk.

Please note: this is not a one-off check, and link quality analysis is ongoing: SEOZoom updates its monitoring, reports new mentions, and alerts us in real time in case of significant changes. Only in this way can we adapt the strategy on the fly, without being caught unprepared by sudden updates or changes in the scenario.

How and what to link for link building

Once the analysis of who has agreed to host our link is complete, it is time to check our site thoroughly and understand what and how to link, both in terms of URLs and anchor text to use, without ever forgetting to consider the context in which the link will be inserted.

We start with a planning and study phase of the site, based on a more specific on-page analysis, aimed at understanding what needs to be worked on in the link building strategy, keeping in mind two other basic rules:

• We should not aim to push a single keyword, but rather the lofty and ambitious goal of generating traffic and giving trust to the entire site.

It follows that

• in order to generate traffic, we should not focus on just one page and one keyword, but on the entire pattern.

In concrete terms, the aspects to check include the state of optimization of the page we plan to link to (for example, checking the presence in the content of the keywords for which we are seeking positioning or the quality of the text), the overall health of the site, the possibility of using manipulative anchors, our backlink profile, and, not to be overlooked, the sector in which we operate: every field is different and requires completely different timescales, costs, and difficulties.

The results are not replicable, and each site requires specific strategies, with varying degrees of preparation and links.

Competitor analysis to set the strategy

A smart starting point can be the analysis of competitors’ strategies, which allows us to have a few more cards to play: first of all, this way we find out which sites are likely to accept external collaborations, host guest posts, or publish articles with links.

From a more strategic point of view, if competitors who do link building and use manipulative anchors rank in SERPs, it means that Google considers this behavior acceptable and in line with what users expect, as John Mueller admitted some time ago, and with more positive than negative factors.

As a result, there are fewer risks for our campaign, which can therefore include links with more straightforward anchor text. On the other hand, if the competitive landscape and SERP show a cleaner picture or when sectors are particularly sensitive to spam, it is better to maintain a different profile and work on diluted anchors or, more simply, link to the brand.

When to use branded links and page links

The brand link is probably the one that offers the least risk and gives effective results in strengthening the entire project: they are usually combined with a link to the home page, so as to trigger a process of distributing link juice to the pages of the site, and they are also what, with a little experience and skill on the part of the copywriter, allows you to build more natural and less blatantly commercial link building articles, which are also useful for cleaning up a backlink profile built with overly aggressive strategies in the past.

Furthermore, by using this tactic wisely, we will make our brand important, ensure that people talk about us and not just our keywords, and make ourselves recognizable on and for Google, while at the same time building brand awareness.

If the goal is to strengthen the site as a whole (or to lay the foundations for building a natural backlink profile), the link to the home page with a branded anchor is therefore the weapon to use. if the strategy is different (or to vary the distribution of links), it is possible to go deeper, focusing on pages that can offer better returns and are already ready for “promotion,” already optimized and close to entering Google’s SERP with specific keywords. This is called deep linking, or the development of direct links to internal pages of the site.

Another point to consider is the importance of categories, often referred to as the pillars around which our project is built: even in terms of juice, linking to a category can be an option to consider in order to strengthen all the pages in the whole, which will benefit from the value of the link and could receive the decisive boost to surpass those of competitors.

How to write a quality link building article

But let’s go into more practical details, focusing now on the issues of strategic SEO copywriting applied to how to write a link building article that can accompany and enhance the strategy of building a network of backlinks pointing to our site.

In other words, a text that is not simply an advertisement for the linked site, not a press release describing the site’s activities and services, not (just) a channel for inserting a link. On the contrary, link building content is useful and effective if it is a real article that represents added value for the site that hosts it, that can offer information to the reader, who must also be encouraged to click on the link, remembering that we never write just for Google and its crawlers, but for the people who read the resource.

The best strategy remains link earning: obtaining citations and mentions thanks to the quality and usefulness of content and relationships. Personalized outreach, editorial projects in partnership, active participation in vertical communities, and building long-term relationships work better than mass tactics. Forums and comments can still be useful, but should only be used in moderation and in truly relevant contexts.

Link building and link earning differ in the way backlinks are acquired: with the latter, links and mentions come naturally, thanks to the quality and usefulness of the published content, without direct intervention on the host site. Link building, on the other hand, requires an effort to convince the site to publish the link, usually within a specially structured article (called a guest post, to emphasize the fact that it is hosted on a different site).

Copywriting for link building

The link building copywriter must be able to create interesting, original, and useful content to submit to sites, and the article must be well contextualized, thematic, and on topic with the link we want to insert. Similarly, the linked page must be consistent with the link so as not to mislead the reader and take them to resources other than those anticipated in the article.

Content that is able to obtain links today is always designed to answer a question, offer real value, or fill an information gap. It must offer data, insights, original sources, and real informational value, avoiding promotional styles or filler content. The ability to adapt the tone, style, and depth of the text to the needs of the target audience is now a decisive factor in earning a mention.

The skill of the copywriter lies in finding a way to combine the promotional needs of the site to be linked with the editorial needs of the site that will host the contribution. for this reason, it is important to analyze the editorial line of the portal, study the general tone of the articles, the possible geographical or thematic localization of the pieces, the general target audience, and adapt your work accordingly to meet these needs and create an integrated and relevant link building article, also finding useful resources to point to with internal links for further information.

But we must also broaden our analysis with a view to content everywhere and multichannel marketing: linkable assets such as guides, studies, infographics, YouTube videos, and multichannel resources are the most effective solutions for attracting spontaneous mentions and natural backlinks. The integration of social strategies, newsletters, podcasts, and editorial collaborations expands the potential for reach and reputation.

The practical aspects: anchor text, positioning, and brand citation

Backlinks should not be the sole objective of the article, inserted forcefully or unnaturally and only so that the cited site can gain trust, but should be designed to offer a service or useful insight for the reader. You should therefore always try to give the user additional information, asking yourself whether, in the reader’s shoes, you would ever click on that link.

Anchor text management today requires variety and naturalness: varying branded, topic, descriptive, and navigational text minimizes risks and increases the credibility of the link profile. The link should be inserted where the editorial context requires it, never in a forced or repetitive manner. Alternating the form of the citation (brand name, URL, generic mention) helps to build a credible and varied profile.

The tone of voice of the piece is also crucial to achieving the goal: the style must be appropriate to the site, its editorial line, and the context for which it is intended. Therefore, it is good to know whether the link building article will be published on a blog, an online newspaper, a specialized site, or another specific type of site, because each channel has its own forms of expression that must be respected in order to reach its average reader. In addition, you should always try to use a professional tone, preferably objective and detached, which is not too blatantly favorable towards the client’s website to be linked to.

This also means that you need to pay attention to the language of the article, which should not be too academic, difficult, or technical, but it cannot be too trivial or common either: for example, the use of “you” in articles should be limited to blogs that use the second person to address the reader directly, while if you are publishing on a news site, you should write an article with news, or if you are writing for a site specializing in guides, you should write content of this type, and so on.

A sign of authority and usefulness can also come from the use of synonyms, linguistic variations, plurals, and words that belong to the same semantic field as the link keyword or the keywords of the article, to offer the reader a more complex text and demonstrate a broad vocabulary relevant to the topic.

Tips for writing link building articles

The key to successful link building copywriting is the ability to find the right angle for the article and the best topic to capture the reader’s attention.

One tip is to use data, statistics, and real, verifiable quotes, studying current hot topics, events, trends, studies, or research relevant to the link to be inserted, the services offered by the client’s website, and the topics of the website hosting the contribution, then expanding on the topic by inserting the link in a natural way.

When using ideas of this kind, it is always a good idea to provide a citation with a link: don’t be afraid to link to other external references, such as authoritative sources, or to resources within the site hosting the article. In addition, in some cases, the client’s site may itself become the source of an in-depth article, for example when it offers specialized content on a topic, a study, or a useful and original reference.

Speaking of originality, a cornerstone of any type of text production, link building articles must obviously comply with common sense rules regarding copying and pasting from other resources: the skill of the copywriter (another one!) lies in taking inspiration and ideas from other articles and competitor sites to rework concepts and make them new with discernment.

Link building articles and SEO

If these are the general guidelines for writing a link building article, we will now focus on the aspects more closely related to SEO, which is linked to this tactic, and therefore to link management and the mention of the client’s website.

The first concern is obviously the choice of anchor text to use for the link, which we have already said is something that should be done according to a precise strategy. We know, for example, that Google looks suspiciously at the over-optimization of anchors, especially if they exactly match the keyword you are competing for and trying to rank for. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid manipulative and forced keywords, perhaps used without prepositions, ungrammatical and clearly aimed at overemphasizing trust to improve ranking, and instead choose softer but clearer anchor texts, also for the reader.

The million-dollar question is “where should the link be placed,” and therefore what is the right position to insert the link? The answer is inevitably vague: there is no absolute rule for positioning a link, but you need to try to find the right place at the right time. Theoretically, a link in a high area of the content and in a prominent position could be a stronger signal for Google, but in a more complex strategy it would still be preferable to vary the positioning, always respecting a criterion of naturalness.

The same principle should guide the choice when citing the site, which in our opinion should always be made explicit so that the user understands that the link they see nearby directs them to a specific site where they will find useful resources. A practical tip is to avoid always citing the client’s website name in the same formula, and therefore alternate mentions with the brand name, website with www., etc., and to understand whether it is preferable to insert it in the text before or after the link.

Basic rules for link building articles

So, to recap, in general, effective link building articles must be of good quality, written in grammatically and syntactically correct English, with well-formatted text and of an acceptable length (never less than 300/400 words, but excessive length should also be avoided, unless expressly requested), with interesting and readable content and not too salesy (please excuse the term).

In short, they must be real articles, as we said before, written with a journalistic approach and not just with the aim of inserting a link and possibly other related keywords. Furthermore, if we carry out effective keyword research, we could achieve a twofold objective, namely writing a quality article with links that manages to rank well, offering greater trust to our site.

An activity structured in this way takes on a natural form, seeks to genuinely interest readers, and can also serve to intercept new spontaneous links through sharing by users who find the content useful and relevant to their needs.

Practical tips for copywriters

Writing for link building and digital PR today means adapting to different contexts, styles, and audiences, abandoning the old logic of “filler text” in favor of an editorial approach.

We always start with a question: what might really interest the readers of that site or community? We analyze the tone of voice, the most suitable format, and the depth of the topics.

The choice of anchor text is crucial: we avoid forcing it, alternating between branded, descriptive, and contextual anchors. The goal is naturalness: the anchor must be part of a discourse, never a foreign body.

An “old-style” link building article aimed to talk only about the client’s website, often in a self-referential or promotional tone. Today, value lies in credibility: we write texts that offer solutions, useful data, practical examples, and expert opinions. We only insert links where it really makes sense, without making the content look like advertising.

Updated operational strategies: from link building to ecosystem Digital PR

But let’s broaden the field and understand how to do link building today, in the new SEO landscape, where effectiveness is based even more on the integration of different levels of action: partner selection, creation of authoritative assets, editorial relationship management, social media monitoring, and the ability to measure the real impact of activities.

Each choice requires specific skills: knowing how to evaluate the health of a site, recognizing truly influential sources, managing content distribution, and constantly monitoring the consistency of the message.

This is why the term Digital PR is now preferred, as it indicates a continuous process of planning, verification, and adaptation, where the goal is not to increase numbers or mere links, but to build a presence that brings real results: visibility in the channels that matter, credible mentions, lasting relationships, and a reputation that withstands changes in the landscape.

Each phase requires reliable tools for analyzing and monitoring results: performance metrics, insights into mentions, source verification, and accurate evaluation of returns.

Only by orchestrating these elements—from choosing partner sites to optimizing content, from community engagement to relationship management—can link building be transformed into a strategic lever for brand growth and multichannel communication.

How to set up an effective campaign

Setting up an authority strategy requires method, data, control, and clear direction that brings together all the components of your digital presence.

We start by analyzing your current positioning: who is already talking about you, on which channels are you really visible, how are you perceived compared to your competitors? On this basis, a map of opportunities is constructed: which are the most active communities in the sector, which are the authoritative editorial sources, and which are the topics on which it is important to be recognized

The objectives must be measurable and achievable: do not aim for “maximum visibility,” but rather for the growth of your reputation in strategic niches, the quality of mentions, and consistency with the brand message.

Medium- to long-term planning involves campaigns spread out over time, moments to check results, and the ability to adapt the strategy to changes in the scenario. A precise operational calendar, which integrates Digital PR activities, content production, outreach, social engagement, and source monitoring, allows you to manage the process and evaluate the return on investment.

Evaluating partners and sites: criteria that really matter

Here too (and even more so here), the choice of editorial partner or site to focus on cannot be random. The difference between a vertical domain (specialized, up-to-date, recognized by those who really matter in the industry) and a generalist site is substantial: only the former brings real value, both in terms of reputation and return in terms of mentions, traffic, and authority.

We analyze the history and health of the site: we evaluate the frequency of updates, the quality of the articles, the presence of a real editorial team, the consistency of traffic, and the distribution of keywords. We check for any signs of penalties, suspicious fluctuations, manipulative behavior, or unnatural link growth.

It is best to avoid sites created solely to host links or guest posts: they are easy to spot (and easy for Google to devalue). We prefer those who work on their own editorial brand, who have strong relationships in the industry, and who are mentioned by other authoritative sources.

Metrics for measuring authority and choosing partners

Another problem arises, namely understanding how much value the link obtained has for the brand and how reliable the site granting it is. “Historical” metrics such as DA (Domain Authority) and DR (Domain Rating) have accustomed the market to thinking in terms of simple numbers, often used in a superficial or decontextualized way. The current landscape, however, requires tools that read the reality of results and reputation, not just the quantity of links.

Third-party historical metrics—such as DA, DR, Trust Flow, Citation Flow, and the like—have been the “compass” for link builders and site evaluators for years. Their main limitation is that they are proprietary calculations based primarily on the quantity, structure, and apparent quality of the backlinks detected by each tool, with no direct link to actual performance in SERPs. In many cases, DA and DR can be manipulated through artificial networks, links from “junk” sites, or other well-known and easily replicable techniques. Furthermore, these metrics do not consider the thematic consistency of the site with respect to the sector, its ability to maintain its positions over time, its reputation in the eyes of Google, or its presence among the sources considered by AI Overview.

Relying solely on these values leads to superficial choices and risks investing resources in domains that have no real impact on the visibility or growth of the brand.

This is where the new generation of proprietary metrics such as Zoom Authority, Topical Zoom Authority, and AI Rank from SEOZoom come into play: parameters designed to meet the needs of those working in branding, digital PR, and strategic link building, capable of offering a much more realistic picture of a domain’s performance and growth potential.

Zoom Authority represents a paradigm shift: it is our proprietary metric that measures a site’s actual performance based on its performance in Google, the quality and quantity of keywords ranked, ranking stability, and growth potential. Unlike traditional metrics, Zoom Authority does not just count links but evaluates how the domain performs in SERPs compared to competitors, how much organic traffic it generates, and how much the brand is actually present in user searches.

Topical Zoom Authority goes even deeper, analyzing the strength and relevance of the domain within a specific industry or topic: it allows you to understand whether a site is truly “authoritative” on a specific topic or whether its value is only generic.

AI Rank is the latest value: a predictive metric designed for the new AI Overview scenario, capable of estimating the probability that a domain will be selected by Google among the main sources for AI responses, taking into account consistency, visibility, and credibility as perceived by Mountain View technology.

These metrics allow you to evaluate partners with surgical precision: it is no longer a matter of simply finding “strong sites,” but sites with concrete performance, thematic consistency, reliability in SERPs, and the potential to be recognized by Google’s artificial intelligence.

Costs and budget of a link building campaign

The cost of a link building campaign set up in this way can vary greatly depending on the objectives, the sector, the type of partners and the quality of the content to be produced. There is no “standard rate”: transparency, planning and constant monitoring are the real insurance on the budget invested.

Buying links on generalist sites or unreliable networks may seem cheap, but it exposes you to risks and penalties without offering any real value. Investing in editorial collaborations, original content, valuable assets, and long-term partnerships requires a more structured budget, but it brings real and sustainable results.

In Italy, an “entry level” campaign can start from a few hundred euros for individual actions, while a structured, multi-channel project can require several thousand euros per month, especially in the most competitive sectors. The choice must always be calibrated to the expected return and available resources.

Timeframes for seeing results from link building

The same impossibility of making accurate predictions also applies to the results of a link building strategy: the only certainty is that they are never immediate. It takes weeks, often months, before Google recognizes the growth in authority and updates its rankings accordingly, following the timescales of SEO.

In general, the first signs may appear after 30-60 days, but the full effects—especially in competitive sectors—require continuous action and constant monitoring for 3-6 months or more.

The variability depends on the starting point of the site, the frequency and quality of links/mentions, the competition, and algorithmic updates. The important thing is to avoid “spot” campaigns and invest in a widespread, consistent, and lasting presence.

What we are trying to say is that an approach prior to “link placement” is essential, an analysis that is preparatory to increasing the chances that subsequent link building activities will work and bring results. The interventions focus on content and basic on-page optimizations, which can already improve the ranking of the site, but which could continue to falter at the threshold of the SERPs: often, when better results do not arrive even after these optimizations, we discover that our competitors have some ace up their sleeve, usually link acquisition campaigns.

Therefore, link building is necessary to overcome that limit, to push the pages a little higher and compete more efficiently with your opponents. Doing so in the manner we have tried to describe means implementing link acquisition techniques that aim to increase organic traffic in complete safety, to withstand various Google updates and remain at the top consistently over time.

This natural and strategic link building strategy is therefore divided into various phases, including preparatory phases, with onsite optimizations and research of possible host sites, and more active phases, in which links begin to be released. It is important that the race to the SERP is conducted in a cautious and consistent manner, without risking falling due to haste, and that Google is given time to get to know, evaluate, and (hopefully) appreciate our site. When we are close behind our competitor in SERP, we can then aim for more serious and influential links from more authoritative sites, which can give us the strength for the final push, without ever forgetting to strengthen the brand and not just our keywords.

Content, social media, collaborations: the integrated strategy

A solid digital presence is built when content, social media activities, and editorial collaborations work together, and effective outreach is based on personalization, listening, and relationships.

Pillar content—in-depth guides, industry analysis, original studies, evergreen resources—is the foundation that attracts natural links, encourages sharing, and stimulates discussion. Assets such as infographics, white papers, video case studies, and interactive tools generate spontaneous linkability.

YouTube is now not just an entertainment platform, but a primary source that Google also uses for AI Overview: producing quality videos and integrating them into your digital assets increases authority and visibility.

Community engagement happens on social networks, vertical groups, and industry forums: participate in discussions, listen to what people are looking for and commenting on, and bring value even outside your own channels.

Editorial collaborations are now long-term relationships: it’s not just about asking for links, but building value together. Presenting yourself with unpublished data, exclusive research, real stories, and market insights transforms your brand into an authoritative source and encourages mentions and lasting partnerships.

Synergies between link building and other digital strategies

There is another element to consider: the best results come when the campaign is integrated with other digital marketing levers. SEO and content marketing are at the heart of this: quality content attracts natural links and facilitates editorial partnerships.

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Social media activity amplifies content distribution, encourages spontaneous mentions, and helps attract new prospects for collaborations.

Digital PR consolidates relationships, builds reputation, and opens doors to mentions from vertical sources.

Influencer marketing campaigns, email outreach, and cross-channel projects (podcasts, videos, online events) can also strengthen the effectiveness of link building, generating buzz and cross-platform recognition.

The new operational framework

In summary, today the goal of link building is no longer “to get 10 links per month,” but “to become the most cited source in our industry for topic X” or “to increase positive mentions of our brand by 20% in one year.”

Planning must be integrated and include a mix of activities that work in synergy to build the brand’s reputation on multiple fronts.

1. Evaluate partners and sites: the criteria that really matter

Choosing which sites to partner with is crucial. The old criteria are no longer enough. Here’s what we analyze today:

• Health and relevance of the site: is it a vertical site in our industry or a generalist site? Is it updated frequently? Does it have a clear and authoritative editorial line?
• Trust and trust signals: does the site have real, stable traffic? Does it show suspicious fluctuations that could indicate past penalties? Do users interact with the content?
• Reliable metrics: use metrics that reflect real performance in SERPs, not just link math.

2. Content, social media, collaborations: the integrated strategy

The operational strategy is based on three pillars that feed into each other:

• Content: create pillar content on your website and “linkable assets” (or rather, “mentionable assets”) such as original research, data, and studies that position the brand as a primary source of information. In this regard, YouTube videos are a powerful asset, as Google analyzes them, transcribes them, and uses them as sources for SERPs and AI Overviews.
• Social: use social channels not only to distribute, but to create conversation, listen to the community, and build direct relationships with industry experts and influencers.
• Collaborations: activate an advanced outreach process based on building authentic relationships with journalists, bloggers, and creators, offering them value before even asking for anything in return.

3. Practical tips for copywriters

Those who write content for these activities need to change their mindset. It is no longer about writing an article “to get a link.”

• Value first: the content must be of the highest value to the audience of the host site.
• Natural anchor text: the obsession with optimized anchor text is a thing of the past. Today, a link on a brand mention or in a natural sentence is often more effective and increasingly safer.
• Adaptation: the tone of voice, style, and format must be perfectly suited to the context of the host site, not the other way around.

Mistakes to avoid

Despite the best intentions, it is possible to make mistakes that can compromise the success of a campaign or, in the worst cases, even result in penalties at the page or site level.

Some historical mistakes are still relevant today: improvising campaigns without a strategy, ignoring the quality of partner sites, relying on manipulative networks, neglecting backlink profile analysis, overusing the same anchor text, proposing low-quality or off-topic articles, choosing unoptimized pages to link to, focusing only on quantity and not on context.

In the new scenario, there are additional risks such as over-optimization of mentions, the use of obsolete metrics without looking at actual performance in SERPs and AI Overviews, the creation of artificial or inconsistent mention profiles, and the lack of constant monitoring of results.

To summarize the information we have provided above, we have identified 10 common link building mistakes to avoid in order to prevent investing money and time in an activity that may not only fail to deliver results but, on the contrary, cause damage to your website.

1. Focusing only on “do-follow” links, ignoring the value of mentions. Instead of rejecting an opportunity on a prestigious publication just because it offers a ‘nofollow’ link, we jump at it: the resulting brand association value and potential qualified referral traffic far outweigh the “lost” link juice.
2. Choosing partner sites based solely on outdated metrics such as DA. Before entering into a partnership, we always cross-reference data: we analyze the site’s estimated organic traffic and its main keywords with a metric based on actual performance such as Zoom Authority, and we verify the actual engagement of its community on social channels.
3. Writing low-quality guest posts just for backlinks. Our approach is to treat every guest post as if it were a “pillar” piece of content for our own blog, investing the necessary time in research and writing to offer tangible value to the host site’s audience, not just to “snag” a link.
4. Always using optimized anchor text. For every 10 link or mention opportunities we get, we make sure we have as diverse a profile of anchors as possible: some are dry keywords, but many more use the brand name, the site URL, or generic phrases such as “find out more” or “read the guide,” for a result that appears organic and not manipulative.
5. Ignoring the thematic relevance of the host site. A link from a recipe site to a finance site is a weak and confusing signal to Google; that’s why we use tools such as Topical Zoom Authority to verify that a potential partner site is not only authoritative in general, but also a recognized authority in our specific vertical sector.
6. Running hit-and-run campaigns instead of building lasting relationships. We maintain a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) of our editorial relationships, interacting with key journalists and bloggers in our industry on a regular basis, sharing their content and offering insights, even when we don’t have an article to propose, to turn a simple contact into a real strategic partnership.
7. Neglecting YouTube, video content, and social media. In our editorial plan, for each piece of “pillar content,” we always evaluate the creation of complementary social content on YouTube and other platforms, optimizing the title, description, and tags to also tap into the huge user base of the world’s second largest search engine and become a potential source for AI Overviews. And we don’t neglect more innovative channels either—for example, we also try to do SEO for TikTok.
8. Thinking that link building is a separate activity from the rest of marketing. In our kickoff meetings for a new project or product launch, the head of Digital PR sits at the same table as the social media manager and product manager. This ensures that every marketing initiative is conceived from the outset as an opportunity to generate buzz, media coverage, and valuable mentions.
9. Creating “AI-friendly” content that sounds fake and inauthentic. Our internal rule is that no text generated by artificial intelligence can be published without a thorough “humanization” process. One of our expert copywriters must always review it to add real experiences, anecdotes, original data, and, above all, our unmistakable and authentic tone of voice.
10. Not monitoring your brand’s reputation and sentiment. We have set up constant alerts for our brand, our products, and key figures in the company. We use brand monitoring tools that notify us in real time of any new public mentions, allowing us to quickly respond to positive feedback or manage any issues before they escalate.

FAQs on link building, mentions, and reputation

In recent years, link building has undergone a radical transformation: from simple backlink hunting, it has evolved into a brand ecosystem strategy, where what matters is the ability to generate trust, build relationships, and gain visibility in the contexts that really matter to your audience. Today, spontaneous mentions, the quality of citations, consistency of messaging across multiple channels, and continuous presence have become crucial factors, often more important than the number of links acquired.

The key message is clear: it is not enough to be present; you need to become recognizable, reliable, and useful in the eyes of users, search engines, and artificial intelligence systems. Only an integrated, real-value-oriented strategy will deliver solid, lasting results.

We have collected some of the most common questions that arise when discussing this new approach, providing concise and direct answers.

1. What is link building?

It is the set of activities that aim to obtain links and mentions from other websites and digital sources to your project, with the goal of strengthening your online authority, visibility, and reputation.

2. What is link building used for today?

It serves to increase the perceived value of your brand in the eyes of people, search engines, and AI, strengthening your presence in the channels that really matter to your audience. That’s why we like to talk about “authority building”: its purpose is no longer just to accumulate links to manipulate rankings, but to build reputation and trust around a brand through an integrated strategy of content, mentions, and relationships, of which quality links are a natural consequence.

3. What is the difference between link building and Digital PR?

Traditional link building focuses on acquiring backlinks; Digital PR aims to build relationships, generate mentions, stimulate conversations, and gain organic visibility through multi-channel management.

4. How will link building be done in 2025?

The strategy starts with an analysis of the brand, the competition, and the target communities. Authoritative partners and sites are selected, valuable assets are created (pillar content, videos, research, case studies), relationships are cultivated, and the return in terms of reputation and presence is constantly monitored using advanced metrics such as Zoom Authority and AI Rank.

5. Are links still important for SEO?

Yes, quality links from authoritative and relevant sites are still an important ranking signal. However, their weight has been recalibrated and is always evaluated by Google within a broader context that includes mentions, social signals, and overall brand authority. A link alone no longer makes a difference if it is not supported by a solid reputation.

6. What is the difference between a link and a mention?

A backlink is a clickable hyperlink from page A to page B. A mention is any textual reference to a brand, product, or person on a web page, even without a clickable link. Today, Google is able to recognize both and use them to evaluate the authority of an entity.

7. Why are mentions more important than links?

Authentic mentions—even without hyperlinks—are signals recognized by Google and AI Overview: they demonstrate that the brand is part of real conversations, often with a greater impact than formal links, especially when placed in vertical or industry contexts.

8. How do you get mentions?

You don’t “get” them like you did with links. You “earn” them. You earn them by producing exceptional content, offering original data and research, building authentic relationships with the media and industry experts, and becoming such an interesting and authoritative voice that others feel the need to mention you spontaneously.

9. How can I track mentions without links?

There are “brand monitoring” and “social listening” tools (such as Google Alerts for basic monitoring, or more advanced platforms) that notify you whenever your brand name is mentioned online, on news sites, blogs, or social media. This allows you to keep your finger on the pulse and, if necessary, join the conversation.

10. So links are no longer useful?

Absolutely not. High-quality, relevant, and naturally obtained links remain an important ranking signal. What has changed is their role: they are no longer the only thing that matters. Today, they should be considered part of a bigger picture, that of the brand’s overall reputation, in which even mentions without links play a crucial role.

11. How can I select truly reliable sites and partners?

Evaluate the verticality, quality, and freshness of content, editorial reputation, presence in Google results, and real performance metrics such as Zoom Authority and Topical Zoom Authority. Avoid generalist sites that lack identity or are built solely to host guest posts.

12. Are historical metrics such as DA or DR still relevant?

They are still used as a quick reference, but they are no longer sufficient to measure the real value of a site: today, analysis needs to be supplemented with parameters that evaluate actual performance, thematic consistency, and presence in AI Overview.

13. What should you not do in a link building campaign?

Avoid link schemes, forced exchanges, publication on manipulative networks (PBN), forced or repetitive anchor text, low-quality content, and “spot” activities without a strategy. Always be consistent, natural, and focused on the real value of relationships.

14. How is digital reputation measured today?

In addition to backlinks, organic buzz, the number and quality of mentions, presence among Google’s preferred sources, perception in communities and on social media, and metrics such as Zoom Authority, Topical Zoom, and AI Rank all count.

15. How do videos and YouTube help reputation?

Videos are increasingly used by Google as a source for answers in AI Overview: producing quality content on YouTube and integrating it into your digital strategy increases visibility and authority.

16. Is link building still useful with Google’s AI Overview?

Yes, but it needs to be rethought: the consistency of the ecosystem, the continuity of citations, the presence in “central” sources for the sector, and the ability to build stable and authentic relationships are much more important.

17. How can you avoid penalties and SEO risks with link building?

Choose reliable partners, alternate anchors and types of mentions, never push manipulative practices, constantly monitor SERP response, and update your strategy based on real data.

18. How can I start a Digital PR strategy if I’m starting from scratch?

Start by analyzing your identity, build distinctive assets, identify the real influencers and opinion leaders in the industry, focus on the quality of your first collaborations, measure every result, and build your presence across multiple channels.

19. Does link building work for small brands or only for large ones?

It works for everyone: the important thing is to choose the right priorities, be present in vertical communities, and invest in quality, authenticity, and relationships, not just numbers or generalist portals.

20. Is guest posting still a valid technique?

Yes, on one condition: that the primary objective is not the link, but the opportunity to offer high-value content to the audience of another authoritative and targeted site. Today, guest posting is a branding and positioning activity as an industry expert. The link, if it comes, is a welcome consequence, not the reason for the activity.

21. How long does it take to see the results of an “ecosystem” strategy?

Much longer than an old-school aggressive link building campaign. We’re not talking weeks, but months. Building reputation is a marathon, not a sprint. However, the results are infinitely more solid, long-lasting, and immune to algorithmic fluctuations. It is a long-term investment in a company’s most important asset: its brand.