What is Link Building? The Complete Beginner's Guide 2026

If you have ever wondered why some websites rank at the top of Google while others are stuck on page 4 and never seen, the answer is often the same: link building.

Links are Google's currency. Every link from another website to yours acts as a vote of trust. The more quality links you have, the more authority Google attributes to you, and the higher you rank. It sounds simple, but like all SEO there are nuances worth understanding before you invest time and money.

This guide is written for those who are new to link building, or who want a solid understanding of what it is really about, without unnecessary jargon.

What is a backlink?

A backlink (also called an inbound link) is a hyperlink on an external website that points to your website. When the blog sundhedsguiden.dk links to your clinic, you have received a backlink from them.

You may have thousands of internal links on your own website, links from one subpage to another, but these do not count as backlinks. It is exclusively links from other domains that are relevant in this context.

Backlinks are typically divided into two types:

• Dofollow links: These are the links Google "follows" and allows authority to pass through. They are the most valuable for your SEO.
• Nofollow links: These instruct search engines not to transfer authority. They can still generate traffic and brand visibility, but they do not directly boost your ranking.

Most link building efforts focus primarily on acquiring dofollow links from relevant, trustworthy websites.

Why does Google place such high value on links?

Google's algorithm is constantly evolving, but links have been one of the primary ranking factors since the search engine's inception. The idea originates from academic citations: the more often a scientific paper is cited by others, the more credible it is considered to be. Google transferred this logic to the internet.

According to an analysis by Backlinko, websites on Google's first page have on average 3.8 times more backlinks than websites on page two. That is a considerable difference, underscoring the importance of links.

Google itself confirms that links remain among the top three ranking factors, alongside content and user experience (Core Web Vitals). It is no secret, and it is not about to change.

The important thing to understand is that Google does not simply count the number of links. The algorithm evaluates the quality of the pages linking to you. A single link from a large, well-respected news site can be worth more than a hundred links from random blogs with no readers.

What makes a link valuable?

Not all links are created equal. Here are the most important factors that determine whether a link is worth acquiring:

Domain Authority (DA) and Domain Rating (DR)

These are metrics created by Moz and Ahrefs respectively to estimate a website's overall authority on a scale from 0 to 100. The higher the DA or DR, the more "link juice" the link transfers to you. A link from a website with DA 60 is typically far more valuable than five links from sites with DA 10.

Relevance

Google places great emphasis on whether the website linking to you is relevant to your field. If you run a webshop selling running equipment, a link from a running blog is more valuable than a link from a recipe website, even if the recipe website has a higher DA. Relevance is crucial.

Anchor text

The anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a link. If it contains natural, relevant keywords, it sends a positive signal to Google. However, you should avoid over-optimising — if all your links have exactly the same keyword-rich anchor text, it can appear manipulative and trigger a penalty.

Placement on the page

A link in the body text in the middle of an article carries more weight than a link in a footer or sidebar. Google considers contextual links within relevant content to be more editorially justified and assigns them greater weight.

The website's organic traffic

A website with genuine organic traffic — visitors who find the site through searches — is a sign that Google already trusts the site. Links from sites with documented traffic are more valuable than links from sites that were simply created for link building purposes and are never visited.

The most common types of link building

There are many paths to a link. Here are the most commonly used methods:

Guest blog posts

You write a relevant, valuable blog post for an external website, and in return a link to your website is included in the post. This method is one of the most effective and accepted forms of link building, provided the content is genuinely good and relevant to the readers of the host site.

Link building via marketplace

On platforms such as LaaS's marketplace, you can purchase verified links from publishers who accept sponsored content. This gives you control over the process, full transparency on domain metrics, and a predictable delivery time, without having to negotiate with hundreds of publishers manually.

Digital PR and linkbait

You create content that is so valuable, unique, or newsworthy that others naturally want to link to it. This could be original data, interactive guides, or expert commentary for journalists. The method is time-consuming, but produces the most authoritative "natural" links.

Broken link building

You find pages on relevant websites that link to content that no longer exists (404 errors), and suggest your own page as a replacement. It is a win-win: you help the webmaster fix a problem, and you get a link.

Resource link building

Many websites have resource pages with links to useful guides and tools within a specific topic. You can reach out and suggest that your website be added, but your page must of course offer genuine value to be included.

What is a bad link, and what happens?

Just as good links can boost your ranking, bad links can harm it. Google is open about the fact that it does not want manipulative link patterns, and it enforces this through manual actions and algorithmic adjustments (particularly the Google Penguin update).

Avoid these types of links:

• Links from link farms and PBNs (Private Blog Networks): Sites created solely for the purpose of selling links, with no real visitors or editorial content.
• Links from irrelevant or spammy sites: A Danish builder has no use for links from foreign gambling sites.
• Mass-produced links: Hundreds of identical links created all at once. This is a clear signal of artificial manipulation.
• Links with over-optimised anchor text: If 80% of your links have exactly the same keyword as anchor text, it looks suspicious.

If Google detects a manipulative link pattern, the consequence can be a manual penalty — a ranking drop that can take months to recover from. It is rarely worth taking shortcuts.

How to get started with link building

A good link building strategy does not start with buying a hundred links. It starts with an overview.

1. Analyse your current situation

Use a free tool such as Ahrefs' Backlink Checker or Moz's Link Explorer to see which links you already have. What is your current DA? Who is linking to you, and are they relevant?

2. Research your competitors

See which sites are linking to your competitors. This is your first "hit list" of relevant sites that could potentially link to you. Many of these publishers have already demonstrated that they are interested in your subject area.

3. Set a realistic goal

Link building is a marathon, not a sprint. For most businesses, 4–8 quality links per month is a realistic starting point. Focusing on quality over quantity is always the right approach.

4. Choose your method

Do you have the time and resources to produce content for guest blog posts? Or is a transparent marketplace like LaaS — where you can choose publishers based on domain metrics, traffic, and niche — a better solution for your situation? There is no single right answer; it depends on your business's resources and goals.

5. Measure and adjust continuously

Use Google Search Console to monitor the development of your link profile. Are you seeing increasing organic traffic over time? Are you ranking higher for your target keywords? Link building typically takes 3–6 months before you see the full results in search rankings.

Conclusion

Link building is not magic, but it is also not something you can ignore if you want to rank competitively in Google in 2026. It is about acquiring credible, relevant links from sites with genuine authority, and doing so in a way that stays within Google's guidelines.

The good news is that you do not need to navigate this alone. With the right tools and a transparent marketplace, the process can be made predictable and manageable, whether you are a small local business or a growth-focused brand.

Ready to take the first step? Browse our marketplace and find the publishers that match your niche and budget.