Links & trust · 3 minute read
Earn links without taking shortcuts
Create something worth referencing and understand which link tactics to avoid.
Google uses link analysis systems, including PageRank, to understand relationships between pages—not just count links.
STEP 01
Make something worth citing
Original research, useful tools, clear tutorials and genuinely helpful resources give other publishers a reason to reference your work. Relevant editorial links are more meaningful than chasing a large number of unrelated links.
Your next step: Choose one resource on your site that would genuinely help another publisher’s readers.
STEP 02
Build real relationships
Share relevant work with communities and publishers who may find it useful. Do not buy links to manipulate rankings or exchange them excessively. Paid placements should be appropriately qualified, usually with rel="sponsored".
Your next step: Identify three relevant publications and explain how your resource helps their audience—without demanding a link.
STEP 03
Review links in context
Look at the linking page, its relevance and why the link exists. A third-party authority score is not a Google metric. A lost link alone does not prove why a page’s rankings changed.
Your next step: Review the actual source page before deciding whether a link is valuable.
Put it into practice with Serpsly
Backlink Checker
Learn how to interpret a link profile using the sample report; confirm real links with a live source before acting.