It’s no secret that Google prefers natural links that are organically built, and not bought. 

While Google acknowledges that buying and selling links are common in the digital economy, they urge site owners to qualify purchased backlinks properly, either with a rel=”sponsored” or rel=”nofollow”, which transfers less authority than dofollow links.

So why the distinction if all backlinks serve the same purpose? And who would willingly mark a link as nofollow, knowing it won’t carry much SEO weight?

Here’s the reality: link-building in 2025 often feels anything but natural.

Every outreach specialist is bent over backwards trying to send cold emails, paying for link placements, and even resorting to shady link schemes. Does it work? Sometimes. Can they trigger penalties? Absolutely.

The safest way to earn backlinks is not having to chase them down. Natural link building is less about hacks and more about relevance, quality, and visibility. 

In this guide, we’ll walk you through proven and ethical ways to attract natural links that boost your SEO and authority over time, without putting your site at risk of Google penalties. 

Without backlink-worthy linkable assets to showcase, building links will be a challenging experience in 2025.

Why? 

First of all, Google has been cracking down on questionable link-building practices, like excessive link exchanges and buying links. If you could freely do these 10 years ago, the same practices could get you penalized today.

Secondly, SEOs are becoming more mindful about their external linking efforts, which means they would think twice before giving you that coveted backlink.

Linkable assets are non-negotiable to support your link-building campaign.

This begs the following questions: 

1. What are linkable assets?
2. Why are they essential for SEO?
3. Which linkable assets are best to build in 2025?

Stay tuned because we’ll answer them today.