In 2025, the world of backlinks changed a lot. As Google’s algorithms get smarter, AI-powered search features become more common, and digital PR becomes more popular, old link-building strategies are being replaced by more strategic and value-driven ones. A recent study of the industry found that digital PR is the best way to create links for 2025, with 48.6% of SEO professionals choosing it over other tactics like guest posting (16%) and making linkable assets (12%).

But what makes digital PR so effective, and how can you use it with other established methods to build a strong backlink profile that gets you genuine results? This complete guide shows you the best strategies that are getting great results in 2025, with real-life examples and expert opinions to back them up.

The State of Link Building Right Now in 2025

Link building is more popular than ever.

Google Trends data shows that interest in link building is at an all-time high, even though people thought backlinks would become less significant. Since February 2025, there has been a big rise in searches for link-building tactics. This is mostly because people want to rank higher in AI-powered search results.

This rise shows a very important fact: AI search engines like ChatGPT still use sources from the top 10 search results roughly 75% of the time. As technologies like Google’s AI Mode and methods like grounding become more popular, getting good backlinks is still important for being seen in both traditional and AI-generated results.

The New Way of Thinking: Quality Over Quantity

It’s no longer possible to construct a lot of links at once.According to research, 94% of people who make links think that quality is more essential than number. The SpamBrain AI update from Google now automatically finds and removes links that aren’t natural. This makes earned media coverage and high-authority backlinks more valuable than ever.

Pages that come in first place on Google have an average of 3.8 times more backlinks than pages that are in second through tenth place. These links come from trusted sources and are related to the page. The focus has changed from how many links there are to how valuable, relevant, and authoritative the referring domains are.

Digital PR: The Best Way to Get Backlinks in 2025

Why Digital PR is the Best

Digital PR is the best way to build connections because it gets editorial backlinks from reputable publications. Digital PR, on the other hand, makes newsworthy stories that automatically get high-authority backlinks from well-known media publications. This is different from guest posting or link insertions.

Some of the best things about digital PR are:

• Scalability: A single interesting story can get dozens of high-quality backlinks from well-known publications.
• Natural link profiles: Search engines think editorial links are more natural.
• Building a brand: PR coverage gives you more authority and trust than merely SEO value.
• Long-term value: Mentions and citations in the press keep adding value over time

Digital PR Strategies That Work

1. Original research and storytelling based on data

The key to successful digital PR efforts is making original research and exclusive data studies. Journalists appreciate statistics because it gives them unique information that makes their tales more believable and interesting. Professional studies are great for getting backlinks because content producers always require reputable references to back up what they say.

HubSpot’s State of Marketing & Trends Report is a good example of a successful report. It has gotten more than 11,000 connections from well-known websites including Shopify, Investopedia, Forbes, and the New York Times.

Important strategies for data-driven PR:

• Do surveys with your brand in your field
• Look at your company’s internal data to find new ideas.
• Put together reports and infographics that are full with pictures and information.
• Link stories to hot themes or problems in your field

2. Expert Commentary and Reactive Outreach

Using platforms like Connectively (previously HARO) to make yourself an expert source for journalists is still a really efficient way to do this. This site unites journalists with experts, giving them the chance to get backlinks from well-known sites like CNN, Forbes, Business Insider, and the New York Times.

Best ways to reach out to experts:

• Answer questions from journalists right away
• Give new ideas that are backed up by real-world examples.
• When pitching, use a friendly, personal tone.
• Put value ahead of self-promotion

3. Newsjacking and Content in Real Time

By keeping an eye on breaking news or popular issues in your field, you may write material that journalists will want to link to.Timing is crucial; when you combine relevancy with speed, you can reach more people.

Good ways to newsjack:

• Keep an eye on Google Trends, Twitter, and trade magazines.
• Write expert comments on breaking news
• Make blog posts that are reactive and have new points of view.
• Give journalists brief, useful pitches on hot issues.

Strategies for Linkable Assets That Work

The Strength of Full Content

Digital PR is the most important thing right now, however making linkable assets is still very important for long-term link building success. Linkable assets are valuable pieces of information that naturally get backlinks because they are so useful that people want to share and reference them.

Linkable assets that work well include:

1. Studies and Research That Are Original

Content that is based on research always gets the most backlinks.Linkable assets are things like original data and industry surveys that other people utilise to back up their own material.

2. Complete Guides and How-Tos

Articles that are longer than 3,000 words tend to get 3.5 times more backlinks than shorter items. In their fields, in-depth manuals that cover everything become the go-to sources.

3. Tools and calculators that are free

Users get quick value from interactive tools.People are inclined to share a tool with others and link back to it as a useful resource if they find it helpful. For instance, Bankrate’s mortgage calculator has gotten more than 35,000 connections from well-known sites like CNN and Business Insider.

4. Statistics and Data Collections

Statistics pages are very useful since they help other content authors get the statistics they need to support their arguments. These pages are like curated lists of the top research in your field.

5. Visual Content & Infographics

People can easily share and link to visual content.Infographics are a great way to get links from websites that want to improve their own content since they show information in a way that is easy to distribute and looks good.

Case Study: The Skyscraper Method in Action

Julie Adams from Our Beautiful Planet showed how powerful linkable assets can be with the Skyscraper Technique. Instead of posting new material all the time, she made something special and used focused outreach to gain backlinks.The outcome was a 194.1% rise in organic traffic, which shows that combining outstanding content with smart marketing works very well.

Quality Over Quantity in Strategic Guest Posting

How Guest Posting Has Changed

Guest posting is still useful in 2025, but the way it works has changed a lot.Guest blogging is still a great way to get the word out if you do it well and focus on sites that are really relevant, trustworthy, and have a lot of authority.

First, you need to be an expert, and then you can establish links. Publishers are quite picky these days and often won’t accept generic submissions because there is so much low-quality, AI-generated content out there.

Current Trends and Statistics for Guest Posting

• 3% of guest posting sites are thought to be low quality if their DR is less than 40 and their monthly organic traffic is less than 10,000.
• A good guest article costs between $692 and $957 on average.
• In 2025, guest posting opportunities that are customised to a niche will be more popular than general ones.

How to Make Guest Posting Work for You

1. Find websites that are relevant to your niche

Look for websites that are very comparable to yours and have the same target demographic.Search engines like links from sites that are connected to the topic of the page. For example, investment blogs might be better for a financial planning organisation than general business sites.

2. Make content that is valuable first

The best guest blogs give the audience real value before they try to sell them something. Instead of pushing items or services, focus on solving actual issues or sharing new ideas.

3. Don’t just make links; make connections.

When you work with publishers for a long time, you frequently get more chances to guest post and work together better. Before submitting your own ideas, interact with the content of publishers, share their posts, and add value.

Building Links That Don’t Work: An Opportunity That Isn’t Well Known

Why Broken Link Building Still Works

As an additional SEO strategy, broken link building will still work in 2025. This white-hat method works because it helps website owners improve the experience of their users while also getting you high-quality backlinks.

It’s easy to do the process:

• Look for links that don’t work on websites in your niche.
• Make or find material that can take the place of the broken resource.
• Contact webmasters and recommend that they use your content instead.

Advanced Strategies for Building Broken Links

1. Concentrate on Pages with High Authority

Put your energy into replacing broken links on pages with a lot of traffic and authority with useful, relevant content. Use Ahrefs and Archive.org to find broken links and check the quality and freshness of your backlinks.

2. Pages for Target Resources

Resource pages are more likely to have broken links than typical content pages, which makes them good targets.There are typically a lot of broken links on a website’s “resources” or “links” page that need to be fixed.

3. Try the “Value-First” Way

Instead of asking for link replacements right away, add value by noting a lot of broken links on a site.This method is great for developing links to resource pages because resource pages often contain broken links.

Case Study: How to Build Broken Links That Work

A digital marketing business used broken link building to find high-DR websites in their field. They produced a full SEO guide to replace a popular but no longer useful resource that had more than 500 linking sites. This got them 47 high-quality replacement links in just six months.

Building Links to Resource Pages: How to Make Your Work More Effective

The Strength of Resource Pages

Getting backlinks from pages that have curated lists of links to other websites is what resource page link building is all about. These sites are meant to help users by linking to useful resources, which makes them open to ideas for good content.

Why this plan works so well:

• Owners of resource pages regularly look for useful stuff to add.
• Some resource pages even feature a link that says “Suggest a resource.”
• The conversion rate is usually higher than cold outreach.
• Links are useful and meaningful in the right context.

How to Find Resource Page Opportunities

1. Use Google Search Operators

To identify resource pages in your niche, use precise search terms:

[Your niche] + “resources”

[Your niche] + “useful links”

[Your niche] + “helpful resources”

[Your niche] + intitle:resources

2. Analysis of Competitors

You can use tools like Ahrefs to look at your competitors’ backlink profiles and find resource pages that link to them.These pages already connect to information that is comparable to yours, so they are great places to put your own resources.

3. Look for sites run by the government or schools

Many educational and government websites have big resource pages.This method will help you make strong .edu and .gov backlinks.

What E-E-A-T Does in Modern Link Building

How E-E-A-T Affects Things

E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) will be very important for link building success in 2025. Google’s algorithms are putting more and more weight on material and sites that show these traits, especially when it comes to YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) issues.

Important E-E-A-T elements that effect link building:

• Experience: You should have first-hand experience with the topics you’re writing about.
• Expertise: Having clear proof of your knowledge and skills in your subject
• Authoritativeness: Having a good name and being known in your field
• Trustworthiness: Your content should be clear, correct, and dependable.

Building E-E-A-T Through Smart Link Building

1. Aim for Sources with High Authority

Backlinks from trusted sources like government websites, colleges and universities, or significant news outlets are very important for ranking YMYL material. These links tell Google that your material is real and reliable.

2. Make content that is at an expert level.

To build links for E-E-A-T, you need to make content that shows real knowledge. This includes:

• In-depth case studies based on your own experience
• Insights from your job based on data
• Expert analysis of developments in the industry
• Research that is new to your field

3. Set up author authority

Author bios, qualifications, and consistent authorship throughout high-quality content all assist show that someone is an expert. When you ask for links, make sure to talk about your skills and experience in the sector.

How to Tell whether Link Building Worked in 2025

Important Metrics

1. Trust and Domain Authority Metrics

Keep an eye on the domain rating (DR) and domain authority (DA) of sites that link to you.Make sure to get links from domains with a DR of more than 40 and a lot of organic traffic.

2. Context and Relevance

Link relevancy is getting more and more significant. Find out how relevant your backlinks are to your content and sector in terms of context.

3. Link Speed and Natural Growth

Watch the speed at which you get links to make sure they follow natural growth patterns.Spam filters can go off when links suddenly go up.

4. Tracking Brand Mentions

Keep an eye on brand mentions that don’t have links and turn them into real backlinks.Brand mention monitoring is part of the strategy for 71% of link builders.

Link Building Strategies for 2025

Improving Internal Linking

External backlinks get a lot of attention, but internal linking is still a strong SEO feature that makes up 1% of Google’s ranking algorithm.Strategic internal linking helps spread link equity over your site and boosts the rankings of crucial pages.

Best ways to link to other pages on your site:

• Use descriptive anchor text to link to significant and relevant pages.
• Use internal links to link to pages that are related and assist search engines figure out how they are connected.
• Make sure to link from pages with a lot of authority to newer content.
• Make subject clusters by using pillar pages and other content that supports them.

The Future of Link Building: AI and Automation

AI tools are becoming to be more important in the process of developing links. But the human part is still very important for:

• Personalising outreach and developing relationships
• Quality check of content
• Making strategic decisions
• Managing the reputation of a brand

Conclusion: Your Plan for Building Links in 2025

In 2025, the best link building strategies use a mix of many methods to develop a single plan:

1. Lead with Digital PR: Use expert positioning and data-driven storytelling to get high-authority journalistic links.
2. Make great linkable assets: Create in-depth resources that naturally get citations and referrals.
3. Do strategic guest posting: Instead of reaching out to a lot of people, focus on getting high-quality placements in publications that are relevant to your speciality.
4. Use broken link building as a way to aid other sites and get good links at the same time.
5. Build Relationships: Building long-term relationships with other professionals in your field, journalists, and content providers is still the best way to build links that will last.
6. Make E-E-A-T a top priority: Make sure that all of your material and outreach show that you are experienced, knowledgeable, authoritative, and trustworthy.

In 2025, the link building world rewards those who focus on adding real value, making real connections, and showing actual knowledge.The basic idea stays the same, even if the strategies change: to get links, you need to be helpful and knowledgeable in your subject.

connect building today isn’t about getting quick victories or using sneaky approaches. It’s about becoming a reputable source that people want to connect to and cite. If you follow these tips consistently and focus on quality over number, you will construct a backlink profile that not only boosts your search ranks but also makes your business an authority in your field.