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.
What are Natural Links?
Natural links are backlinks that you earn organically, which happen when someone genuinely finds your content valuable and decides to link to it as a helpful resource. Simply put, you gained those backlinks without having to ask, pay, or reciprocate any of yours in exchange.
Natural links are the opposite of backlinks gained from white hat link-building techniques, such as:
While there is nothing inherently wrong with white-hat link building, they are transactional in nature (a.k.a. “you scratch my back, I scratch yours” kind of arrangement). Meanwhile, natural links are never forced but happen purely out of your content’s quality.
For this reason, Google loves natural links because they are the highest form of endorsement.
Bloggers, journalists, and site owners linked to you, without receiving or expecting anything in return, simply because your content adds real value to their audience.
Why are Natural Links Essential for Long-Term SEO?
If you’re in it for sustainable growth and not just short-term gains, natural links make the perfect foundation.
Think of it this way: when a website adds your link because you paid for it, what’s stopping them from replacing it the moment someone offers more?
Remember: That link was a transaction, not a genuine vote of confidence.
Natural links are different. They’re earned because your content is genuinely valuable. No money exchanged, no strings attached, just authentic recognition. This makes them far more likely to stick around and stand the test of time.
Besides this, below are four other key reasons why natural backlinks play a crucial role in long-term SEO success.
Aligns with Google’s Search Essentials
One of the guidelines written on Google Search Essentials is the strict adherence to the search engine’s spam policies, and natural links follow this provision to a T:
When another site links to yours because your content genuinely deserves it, that’s the kind of signal Google looks for.
Google penalizes link-building practices done for the sole purpose of artificially boosting a site’s perceived value and manipulating search engine rankings.
Link spam includes:
- Buying or selling links that are not properly qualified
- Excessive and indiscriminate link exchanges
- Using backlink automation
- Forum comments with backlinks
- Keyword-rich, hidden, low-quality links on widgets
Since natural links weren’t bought, traded, or forced, it is a clear indication that the link follows Google Search Essentials and your content meets quality standards.
Following these guidelines helps your site earn trust with Google’s algorithm over time, which boosts your chances of ranking higher in SERPs.
Reduces the risk of penalties
Search engines, especially Google, are constantly improving their ability to detect manipulative link practices.
Case in point, during the March 2024 core update, Google doubled down on reducing low-quality content in search results, cleaning up about 45% of results that violate their spam policies.
Here is what Elizabeth Tucker, Director of Product Management at Google, had to say:
In addition to algorithmic updates, Google is empowering human reviewers to crack down on spammy websites and implement manual actions.
Since natural links come from genuine interest in your high-quality content, they carry zero risk of triggering manual actions or algorithmic downgrades.
Drives qualified referral traffic to your domain
One of the most underrated benefits of natural links is the quality of referral traffic they bring.
Let’s look at two scenarios:
First, you work with a link builder to generate backlinks for your website. These people typically build links without considering the core tenets of link-building, including:
- Relatedness of the linked domain’s niche or industry
- Domain Authority of the referring website
- Spam Score of the referring website
- Contextual relevance between the referring and targeted pages
- Anchor text used for the backlink
As such, the backlinks you receive may appear on irrelevant sites, surrounded by unrelated content, or use anchor text that feels forced.
Even if those links get clicks, the visitors are unlikely to engage because they are not your target audience. Worse, Google may flag those backlinks as manipulative, which only hurts your SEO further.
Now, contrast that with the second scenario: you receive natural links. When someone links to your content organically, it’s because your page offers unadulterated value, the context fits, the audience aligns, and the anchor text flows naturally.
When site visitors click those links, they are already interested in what you offer, making them far more likely to explore your site and even convert.
In short, natural links don’t just help your rankings—they bring in real people who care.
Builds brand credibility and authority
When people link to your content without being asked, they are essentially vouching for your expertise. These endorsements boost your brand’s credibility in the eyes of Google and human readers.
This is especially relevant when high-authority household brands reference your work. It positions you as a trusted voice in your industry.
Over time, these mentions compound and establish your topical authority, which will eventually result in more natural links across your space.
5 Proven Ways to Do Natural Link-Building
I know what you’re thinking: if natural links are built organically, doesn’t that mean you just sit back and hope people link to you? Not exactly.
While natural links aren’t forced or bought, you still need to put in strategic effort to earn them.
Think of it like gardening. Growth is natural, sure, but only if you plant the right seeds, water regularly, and give them some sunlight.
Similarly, generating natural links requires some work. And here are 5 proven ways to do natural link building (P.S. these tactics work because they attract people first, and links second):
1. Publish link-worthy content
The most straightforward method of building natural links is to create content worth linking to. These are called link-worthy or linkable assets or high-value pieces designed to generate backlinks.
This takes the first spot because link-worthy content is the pinnacle of natural links. You can’t just publish content on an overused topic and expect people to gasp in amazement with a backlink to boot.
Linkable assets can take on many forms: comprehensive how-to guides, detailed infographics, case studies, free online tools, whatnot. Any piece of content or interactive page that educates, solves a problem, makes life easier, or adds unique value to readers is considered link-worthy.
Consider the case study we published about link decay as an example.
Upon analyzing its backlinks with Linkody, it already has 41 backlinks to date, including links from popular sites like TechTarget, ITPro Today, 123 Reg, and SimplyBook, as shown in the screenshot below:
In other words, the more helpful and well-researched your content is, the more likely it is to be referenced organically by bloggers, journalists, and other site owners.
(Note: Before proceeding with #2, make sure you have #1 covered first, otherwise, these strategies won’t work.)
2. Share your content across social media platforms
Are you familiar with cellular respiration, a.k.a. the energy-producing physiological process done by organic beings? During glycolysis (the first phase of respiration), organisms undergo what we call the “energy-investment phase,” where they must spend some energy first before getting way more energy back once the respiration process is over.
The same process applies to natural link building.
While having natural links directly makes your content more discoverable, you must first make your content discoverable before earning natural links—see the resemblance?
That’s where social media does the heavy lifting.
Most, if not all, of your target audience, relevant site owners, and contemporary bloggers are on social media. Therefore, you have to meet them where they already are and showcase your link-worthy content there if they haven’t seen it yet.
Share your posts on X, LinkedIn, and Facebook, tailoring the message for each platform:
- A conversational caption for Facebook
- A thought-leader angle on LinkedIn
- A stats-focused hook for X
End each post with a persuasive CTA to read the entire piece on your site.
For instance, consider this Facebook post by Barry Schwartz:
He included a spine-chilling copy (if you’re an SEO) and proceeded to add a CTA link to his website, where you’ll find snippets of the podcast and Barry’s commentary thought-piece about the future of SEO.
See? If bloggers are not actively frequenting your website, a social media post ought to grab their attention. You may even boost the post using targeted ads to maximize your reach, albeit at the cost of a few hundred bucks.
Engaging posts are more likely to get shared, bookmarked, or even picked up by bloggers and industry websites looking for credible sources to reference.
Sure, social signals are not direct ranking factors, but they do fuel visibility and, by extension, visibility fuels links.
3. Include snippets of shareable content in email marketing
Email marketing remains one of the most personal ways to distribute content, especially to people already interested in what you do.
If you already have a mailing list and regularly send out newsletters, use this marketing channel to highlight new blog posts, data studies, and tools you’ve published.
Story time: When I was still at BME, the internal marketing lead, copy team lead, and myself created the newsletter called “The Marketer’s Blueprint.” I was in charge of writing its content each week, and I never missed featuring snippets of the latest blog post in each newsletter we send out.
This made it simpler for our mailing list (which included marketers and site owners) to read our blog posts, which may result in a backlink if they found the resource useful.
For example, take a look at this screenshot from Tracksuit’s newsletter:
The company included a short description about the importance of brand building before hitting recipients with the CTA to visit their dedicated blog post.
If you notice, the copy isn’t that extensive, but delivers the message clearly while leaving some room to be desired, or, as my psychology professor puts it, “it was written like some hot pants (those very short shorts for women), short enough to be interesting but long enough to cover the essentials.”
Nonetheless, when this email content lands in the right inbox, like a branding specialist, marketer, or blogger, it increases Tracksuit’s chances of earning a natural mention and backlink.
It’s all about reaching the right people and hooking them with your link-worthy content.
4. Participate in relevant forums and communities
Participating in the conversation of like-minded people pays off when you’re building natural links. By contributing to niche forums, Facebook groups, subreddits, or Q&A platforms like Quora, you are able to build trust and authority, especially if what you’re saying is actually helpful to other members.
Google has mentioned that including optimized links in forum comments or signatures is an example of link spam, as seen below:
But it isn’t the case when you are providing helpful answers and linking your content as an additional relevant resource to explain your point further.
For instance, look at this Reddit comment when asked about the best go-to SEO resources:
Including your link on forums or groups isn’t about seeking backlinks from people. It’s all about putting your site out in front of engaged users, so they can give your content a visit and assess whether it’s worth citing later in their own blogs, articles, or discussions.
The key here is authenticity. Don’t spam. Instead, be part of the conversation.
Remember: people link to voices they trust, not to those trying to shove links down their throats.
5. Become an authority in your niche
How do you think Neil Patel became the Neil Patel?
Business ventures aside, he focused on making his insights heard by publishing high-quality content, speaking at webinars, hopping on podcasts, publishing articles on multiple platforms, etc. All of these combined developed his image as the SEO guru we all know and look up to.
Should you do the same? If you can, what’s stopping you?
Becoming an authority in your industry takes a lot of gruntwork:
- You must consistently publish quality content week after week
- You have to occupy all possible spaces where your contemporaries can be found, whether in search or on social media.
- You must have your name plastered across websites as a guest post contributor.
- You might need to engage in disruptive marketing to get people’s attention.
… among other things.
Whatever it is, guaranteed it won’t be easy. But lucrative rewards await when you elevate your name as an authoritative figure in your niche.
For one, you establish a loyal following. And these people will fight for your good name and spread the good word of your existence.
Secondly, your words will carry more weight compared to less-popular individuals in your industry. Every post you publish will have more eyes looking, and this, more often than not, will result in natural links.
Once you become an authority, people will start linking to your content as a credible resource, especially when your name is attached to valuable insights.
Monitor and Learn from Natural Links
Say, you start earning backlinks organically, it’s important to actively monitor them.
Tools like Linkody make this easy by automatically tracking new and lost backlinks, showing which pages are being linked to and who is linking to them.
In addition, Linkody also includes essential insights to know whether those natural links deserve a spot in your backlink profile.
This includes:
- Spam Score of referring pages
- DA of referring domains
- Rel attributes of links
- Anchor text usage
- Top-Level Domain information
- Links from Private Blog Networks
Gaining natural links is great, but not all of them are advisable to keep. By monitoring using Linkody, you can distinguish the good ones from the links you should disavow.
Moreover, don’t just monitor—analyze! Look for patterns.
Are certain blog posts, tools, or visuals getting more attention than others? Are they educational? Original? Data-driven?
Knowing what type of content attracts natural links helps you replicate that success. If your how-to guides consistently earn links from niche blogs, that’s a clear signal to create more of that format.
It also helps you understand who is linking to you. Are they bloggers? Journalists? Forum users? This tells you who finds your content valuable, and can help shape future content distribution or outreach.
Finally, monitoring lets you track lost or broken backlinks, so you can reclaim them before value is lost.
In short, natural links aren’t just the reward. They are feedback. Monitor them smartly and you’ll uncover a content strategy built on real-world signals, not just guesswork.
Ready to Organically Build Natural Links to Your Website?
Natural link building is never about taking shortcuts or quick tricks. It’s about creating content so useful, relevant, thought-provoking, and/or inspiring that others feel compelled to link to it.
Ironically, organically earning natural links takes a lot of effort and investment. From publishing link-worthy pieces to sharing them smartly via social media and online communities, every action compounds over time.
Once you’ve etched your name as an authority in your niche, natural links will come naturally. When it does, tools like Linkody can enable you to monitor what’s working, so you can double down on them.
The process may be slower than buying links, but the rewards—sustainable rankings, qualified traffic, and real authority—are worth it. Start planting those seeds today, and watch your backlinks grow naturally.
Ready to build natural links to your website? Monitor them with Linkody.