In the dynamic world of search engine optimization (SEO), link building is crucial in driving organic traffic and enhancing website visibility.
We conducted a comprehensive Survey among SEO professionals and consultants to illuminate the evolving link-building strategies and tools landscape.
Our survey aimed to capture the respondents’ practices, preferences, and perceptions regarding link building. At the same time, our goal was to explore the impact of emerging technologies and recent Google updates.
We conducted our first link building survey in 2020. You can read it here: Link Building Survey 2020, COVID-19 Edition
Summary of Findings
To comprehensively understand the current link building trends, we surveyed a total of 150 SEO professionals. These professionals include individuals working in agencies, in-house SEO experts, and independent SEO consultants.
Here’s a high-level overview of what we found:
- 47.33% of SEO professionals plan to utilize AI tools such as Chat GPT or GPT-3 for link building in future campaigns.
- Regarding the impact of AI in the future of link building, 67.33% of the professionals think it will have a positive effect, while 3.33% fear that AI will leave them jobless.
- The top three link-building methods utilized by respondents in the past 12 months were content creation and outreach (76.67%), guest posts (75.33%), and competitor backlink analysis (64.67%).
- The top link building tool utilized by respondents for themselves or their clients was SEMRush (86.1%). When asked about the single SEO tool they would use if they only had to choose one, a majority 39.33% picked Ahrefs.
- Most respondents (62.67%) reported an average monthly link-building budget of under $1000.
- The main KPI used by respondents to measure the results of their link-building efforts was keyword rankings (77.33%).
- Survey participants emphasized sites with suspicious backlink profiles (61.33%) as their top red flag indicator for link building.
- 34.67% of participants observed a positive impact of link building on SERP rankings following Google’s recent E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) update. 34% mentioned there was no impact, but 26.67% said that the update caused their link-building efforts to be less effective.
- Participants perceived the rankings of link types as follows, from the most valuable to the least valuable: do-follow links, user-generated content, sponsored links, and no-follow links.
- Google’s Link Spam Update had varying impacts on the efficacy of building backlinks, with a significant portion of participants (23.33%) reporting no impact and improved SERP ranking (14%).
2020 vs. 2023 Survey Highlights
Who Took the Survey?
Link Building Budget
Link Building Methods
SEO Tools
Metrics
Link Building Resources
Link Building Today & Tomorrow
Link Building Problems in 2023
2020 vs 2023 Survey Highlights
Before stepping in to the details of this recent survey, let’s compare some of the key findings from the 2020 survey with the results of our 2023 survey.
Link Building Budget
There’s a big change in link building budgeting in 2023. A few years ago, only 45.21% of the respondents said that their budgets were below $1000. Now, 62.67% of the respondents are working around a tight budget.
Link Building Method
Comparing the link building methods chosen by SEO professionals in 2020 and 2023, we can notice a big drop in the preference for Content Creation and Outreach. From 50%, it went down to 28%.
Link Building Tool
Ahrefs still reigns as the most preferred link building tool in our 2023 survey. There may be a drop in votes from the 2020 survey. But it may be due to the new tools that have been released in the past 3 years.
Sentiment Analysis
Comparing the respondents’ emotions towards link building, we can conclude that there has been some improvement since there’s a big increase in positive sentiments.
The recent Google updates and the rise of AI tech may have played a big role in these differences.
Link Building Challenges
Comparing the answers to the question: “What are your primary challenges in link building?” between 2020 and 2023, we can see that there’s not much of a difference.
The sentiment on “quality”, “content”, and “people” or “client” still is a common issue for today’s SEO professionals.
Who Took the Survey?
Our survey includes a wide range of professionals actively involved in SEO.
The fact that the vast majority of participants (54%) identified as independent SEO consultants demonstrates the industry’s thriving community of freelance experts.
Furthermore, 38.67% of the respondents work as SEO professionals within agencies, emphasizing the collaborative and specialized nature of SEO agency services.
A lesser proportion (7.33%) represented in-house SEO experts, suggesting people that work directly within organizations to optimize their online presence.
Link Building Budget
The survey also found some intriguing findings on budget allocation for link-building efforts.
Most respondents (62.67%) indicated a monthly link-building budget of less than $1000. This suggests that many professionals successfully navigate link-building tactics when working with low financial resources.
Furthermore, 21.33% of the respondents reported a budget of $1000 to $2500, indicating a modest expenditure in link-building projects.
Finally, 10% of the participants spent between $2500 and $5000 on link-building activities, indicating a greater commitment to comprehensive link-building tactics.
This emphasizes the heterogeneous environment of SEO specialists, with the majority working as freelance consultants and within a wide range of link-building budgets.
This also demonstrates the SEO specialists’ adaptability and resourcefulness in executing excellent link-building techniques in a variety of circumstances and financial ranges.
Link Building Methods and Strategies
The top three link building tactics used by respondents in the last 12 months were discovered to be content production and outreach, guest posts, and competition backlink analysis.
76.67% of the respondents indicated using content production and outreach as their primary link-building technique, demonstrating its popularity and efficacy in generating backlinks.
A close second, 75.33% of the respondents recognized the benefit of guest posts in developing quality links. Contributing articles or blog posts to other websites in their niche allows them to obtain exposure and important backlinks in exchange.
Competitor backlink analysis was another notable link-building method used by 64.67% of the respondents.
By analyzing competitors’ backlink profiles, these astute marketers uncover feasible link building possibilities and seek to emulate or outperform their competitors’ link-building techniques.
Most Preferred Link Building Tactic
When the SEO professionals were asked about their preferred tactics, the responses varied.
A consequential preference for content creation and outreach was noted by 28% of the respondents, demonstrating its continued significance as a preferred link building approach.
This strategy entails producing high-quality, valuable content and actively reaching out to relevant websites or influencers in order to obtain backlinks.
Guest articles remained a popular technique, with 24.67% of the respondents supporting it. Guest posting is an appealing choice for establishing backlinks and increasing online visibility since it allows you to exhibit your skills while also reaching a larger audience.
Furthermore, a modest but significant proportion of the respondents, 9.33%, indicated that competitor backlink analysis was their favorite link-building technique.
This technique entails utilizing public relations tactics such as press releases, media outreach, and influencer engagements in order to increase awareness and secure valuable backlinks from authoritative sites.
The findings highlight the significance of content generation and outreach, guest posting, and competition backlink research as effective tactics for building quality links and increasing online exposure.
Common Link Building Methods
We asked the survey respondents, “In a sentence or two, tell us how you build links for yourself or your clients.”
Their varying answers still had common responses. Based on the responses provided, here are the grouped answers and the percentage value of how many people mentioned each method:
- Outreach and Email Campaigns (34%)
Normally, my methods are manual outreach and reverse outreach and AI tools can be very helpful in looking for keywords or writing up the perfect emails.
- Personalized emails and manual email outreach were frequently utilized to forge genuine friendships and alliances.
- Additionally identified as efficient approaches were direct outreach, organic outreach, and cold email outreach.
- Some respondents said that communication via cold emails should be automated.
- Emailing webmasters one at a time has become a common method of communication.
- Guest Posting (20%)
We prefer guest posting, content marketing, getting active on social media, creating and distributing infographics and much more…
- Guest posting on other sites was common while trying to build backlinks.
- It’s common practice to ask for guest posts and provide free, excellent content.
- To obtain several links, some responses proposed purchasing guest post insertions.
- Competitor Analysis (9%)
I find competitors backlinks and reach out to sites they have guest posts on. I reach out to those sites and then also check backlink profiles of other businesses that have posts on that site.
- The importance of conducting competitor backlink research and analysis was emphasized.
- It was advised to replicate the successful link-building techniques used by rivals.
- Targeting blogs that are identical to or similar to those of rivals was also discussed.
- Content Creation and Promotion (9%)
I edit and format articles and web pages in a way that it would contain internal links and links to high ranking sites by building high-quality backlinks (this is very important).
- The importance of producing excellent, valuable, and shareable content was highlighted by respondents.
- Effective techniques included content marketing and generating consistently excellent blog content.
- It was advised to create compelling content that organically attracts backlinks.
- Tools and Services for Link Building (12%)
We use paid services
- The SEMrush Link Building Tool, Authority Builders, and link building companies were among the link building resources used.
- For link building, some respondents cited using AI technologies, backlink services, and third-party platforms.
- In addition, link exchanges were mentioned as ways to get links.
- Research and Analysis (10%)
I am building the links manually after the analysis so that I can give them value for money. Also, it depends on the business niche.
- Finding possible prospects and researching competitor backlinks were crucial tasks.
- For research and analysis, the use of programs like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, Majestic, and BuzzStream was common.
- The importance of locating pertinent websites, directories, and citation sources was highlighted.
- It was advised to look up specialist websites and get in touch with webmasters there.
- Social Media and Online Presence (6%)
Niche edits, Google News approved guest posting sites, citations, podcast submissions, interview submissions.
- Utilizing social media platforms for outreach and content marketing was a frequent strategy.
- It was mentioned to promote links on numerous social media platforms, such as Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Reddit.
- Building connections was thought to benefit from active social media activity.
- Buying Links and Paid Promotions (5%)
I’ve used a collection of tools for this purpose in the past. These include RankerX, GSA, and creating PBNs, web 2.0 automations and guest posting services. I much prefer to target high authority blogs and write decent posts that actually get views rather than quick and dirty methods. But building a brand by getting links from top blogs is definitively the way to go for credibility and building authority. I also analyze competitor backlinks and target the same/similar blogs. I used DA along with other metrics to find possible link targets. I then link to these posts with web 2.0 links and social links, secondary blog posts, etc
- Some survey participants acknowledged purchasing connections directly from suppliers or websites.
- Another method advised was to buy link insertions from link-building firms.
Link Relevancy Factors
Participants outlined a number of crucial factors to take into account when determining a link’s value.
The two main considerations were the topic of the page (57.33%) and the domain’s niche (57.33%). The relevancy of the text surrounding the anchor text (52.67%) and (56.67%) the written content were also conside
