Link building gets way more complicated than it needs to be.
People chase hacks, automation scripts, private networks, or whatever new tactic someone on YouTube swears is “secretly crushing it right now.”
But here’s the truth:
Most link building strategies stopped working because they were never based on real value in the first place.
Over the years, through client work, audits, and my own projects, I’ve boiled link acquisition down to three methods that consistently work (four if you count building your own private network, but we are not including that today), consistently earn real links, and consistently scale without risking your site:
- HARO, Qwoted, Featured, and similar platforms
- Building genuinely linkable assets
- Press releases – when you actually have something newsworthy
None of these rely on loopholes.
None require spamming inboxes or blasting templates to 500 websites at a time.
And none will get your site penalized.
They work because they create value for someone else: a journalist, a writer, a creator, a business owner, or an audience.
This week’s note breaks down how each method works, who it’s best for, and, most importantly, how to use them the right way.
(Especially press releases. Because if you’re doing press releases “for the backlinks,” you’re doing it wrong.)
Let’s dive in.
Method #1: HARO, Qwoted, Featured & Similar Platforms
If I could only choose one link building method for most businesses, especially early-stage SaaS, consultants, agencies, or ecommerce founders, it would be this one.
Platforms like HARO (Help a Reporter Out), Qwoted, Terkel, and Featured create a direct line between you and journalists who need expert sources right now.
Not next week. Not next month. Now.
And that’s exactly why this method still works in 2025.
Why These Still Work
There’s endless demand for expert quotes.
Reporters, bloggers, editors, listicle writers, newsletter creators, and industry publications all need credible voices to fill out their stories.
When you answer a query:
- The link is editorial.
- It fits naturally in the article.
- It’s on a site with real authority.
- And it’s earned, not manufactured.
These are the kinds of links Google loves because they’re based on actual expertise and value, not manipulation.
Some of the best links I’ve ever earned for myself and clients came from a 2–3 sentence quote in a HARO query.
How to Get Better Placement
There are two major keys to success here: speed and substance.
Respond Fast
By the time most people see a query, it’s already too late.
If you want to win consistently:
- Enable alerts.
- Check queries twice a day.
- Respond within the first 30 minutes when possible.
Answer the Exact Question Asked
Reporters ignore responses that wander or sound canned.
Keep it tight and specific.
Be Quotable
Write something the journalist can lift word-for-word.
Examples:
- “Most businesses don’t have a traffic problem. They have a prioritization problem.”
- “The biggest mistake I see founders make is treating SEO as a sprint instead of a system.”
Give them soundbites, not paragraphs.
Add a 1–2 Sentence Authority Cue
Not a resume.
Just enough for the journalist to know why your quote matters:
- “I’m an SEO consultant who reviews over 200 sites a year.”
- “I’ve helped 50+ ecommerce brands optimize fulfillment costs.”
Short. Strong. Credible.
How to Scale
Most people fail at HARO/Qwoted because they treat it as something they’ll “get to later.”
If you want to build momentum:
- Block 20 minutes on your calendar daily.
- Save a bank of quotable lines you can customize fast.
- Build a small bio you can paste consistently.
- Keep a Google Doc of past responses you can tweak.
Once you find your rhythm, you can produce 1–3 responses per day in under 10 minutes.
And if you land even one solid DR 70+ link per month?
That compounds.
Who This Works Best For
This method works exceptionally well for:
- Founders
- Consultants
- Agencies
- Industry experts
- Anyone with niche knowledge
- Ecommerce owners who know their industry well
- Thought leaders producing quality content
If you have expertise, real expertise, and you can articulate it quickly, this method will always work for you.
Method #2: Building Linkable Assets
If HARO is the “quick win” link-building method, linkable assets are the long-term, high-ROI method.
They compound. They scale. They work in every industry. And unlike most link-building tactics, they keep earning backlinks long after you publish them.
A linkable asset is anything on your site that people naturally want to reference, cite, or share.
Tools. Data. Guides. Research. Calculators.
Anything that’s useful, original, or authoritative.
This is where businesses that struggle with traditional link building often find their breakthrough.
What Makes Something a Linkable Asset
A good linkable asset is:
- Useful – It solves a problem or answers a question.
- Unique – It offers something others don’t.
- Referable – It’s something journalists or creators want to cite.
- Evergreen – It stays relevant over time.
- Bookmarkable – People save it because they plan to come back.
If you hit even three of these five traits, you’re ahead of 99% of your competitors.
Three Types of Linkable Assets That Work Best
Here are the specific asset types I rely on most.
A. Tools (Now Easier Than Ever With AI)
This is the most underutilized category because people assume “I’m not a developer, I can’t build tools.”
That hasn’t been true for at least two years.
AI makes it incredibly easy to build small tools that used to take hours or days to code.
I’ve built tools using ChatGPT in less than 15 minutes, and they convert beautifully as link magnets.
Examples of tools you can build (and I will link to a few live examples):
- SKU generator
- Product description generator
- Get-out-of-debt calculator
- Shipping cost estimator
- Ingredient-based recipe generator
- Personal budget planner
- Content idea generator
- Social media caption generator
- Calorie or macro calculator
- Loan payoff calculator
And you can tie these tools to any niche.
Even a simple tool can attract hundreds of links if it fills a gap.
Reporters love tools because they make their articles more credible.
Bloggers love tools because they keep readers on the page.
Communities love tools because they solve a problem quickly.
Add a small tool to your site and you’ve created a passive link-building machine.
B. Statistics Pages
If you want journalists to link to you, give them what they need most:
data they can cite.
Writers and editors constantly look for statistics to back up claims:
- “X% of creators prefer Instagram Reels over TikTok.”
- “Y% of remote workers feel burnt out.”
- “Z% of U.S. households now use meal kit subscriptions.”
If you publish updated stats pages, you instantly become a source worth quoting.
Examples:
- 2025 Influencer Marketing Statistics
- Small Business Financial Data and Trends
- Fitness & Health Industry Benchmarks
- Remote Work Adoption Statistics
- Social Media Platform Usage Breakdown
- Cybersecurity Threat Statistics
These pages accumulate links over time. The more you update them, the more they get referenced.
C. Deep Guides / Tutorials
Some content deserves 800 words.
Some deserves 3,000+ words because it becomes the definitive source on the topic.
Evergreen guides attract links naturally because they serve as reference material.
Examples (broad and relatable):
- The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Strength Training at Home
- How to Start a Freelance Business: Step-by-Step Guide
- The Ultimate Guide to Budget Travel in 2025
- How to Build a Personal Brand on LinkedIn
- A Beginner’s Guide to Cybersecurity Best Practices
- How to Grow on YouTube: A Data-Driven Approach
- Beginner’s Guide to Investing
- How to Create a Simple Web App Without Coding
Great guides solve big problems and answer every question surrounding a topic.
They become sources everyone else refers to, which is exactly how you attract links at scale.
How to Promote Linkable Assets
You don’t have to do aggressive outreach.
Just help the right people notice your asset.
- Send it to journalists who’ve written about similar topics
- Share in relevant niche communities
- Pitch it as a resource, not a “please link to me” ask
- Submit to directories that accept tools or reference materials
- Add internal links from your strongest pages to help it get discovered
Linkable assets are a slow burn, but once they take hold, the link flow becomes passive.
Method #3: Press Releases Done Right
Press releases have a terrible reputation in SEO, and honestly, they earned it.
For years, people blasted out low-quality releases through cheap distribution sites just to get 200 syndicated “links” from domains no one reads.
Those links never mattered.
Google ignored them then, and Google ignores them now.
But here’s the truth most SEOs overlook:
Press releases still work, if you actually have news worth sharing.
Not for the links inside the release itself, but for the coverage the release can generate.
A good press release is a starting point for real stories written by real journalists on real websites.
That’s where the real backlinks come from.
The Biggest Misconception
Let’s get this part out of the way:
Press releases are not a link-building tactic.
At least not in the direct, “these syndicated links will help rankings” sense.
If you’re publishing press releases because you think the links in the release itself matter…
they don’t.
They’re almost always:
- nofollow
- syndicated
- low-quality
- ignored
- duplicated across dozens of sites
The SEO value is almost zero.
The actual goal is to create a story that journalists, bloggers, and creators want to cover on their own websites.
Those links, the ones earned because of the story, are the ones that count.
What Makes Something Newsworthy
Press releases only work when there’s something worth writing about.
Otherwise, you’re just announcing that your business exists… again.
Here are some examples the media pays attention to:
Product launches
New product, new feature, new service, something substantial.
Proprietary data
If you analyzed industry trends, surveyed thousands of customers, or generated new insights, journalists will care.
Research or internal reports
Publish something the industry hasn’t seen yet.
Partnerships & collaborations
Partnering with a well-known company or influencer can spark coverage.
Surprising insights or contrarian takes
Data that challenges assumptions often gets attention.
Fundraising or milestones
Major revenue goals, funding rounds, user growth milestones, etc.
If it doesn’t make you say, “This would make a good headline,” it probably isn’t newsworthy.
How to Turn a Press Release Into Actual Backlinks
The magic isn’t in distribution. It’s in amplification.
Here’s how you turn a release into real coverage:
Create a headline journalists can use
Press releases without a headline angle get ignored.
Pull out a hook they can build a story around.
Add meaningful data, quotes, and visuals
Make the journalist’s job easier.
The more they can copy/paste or reference, the more likely they’ll write about it.
Pitch reporters directly
Distribution sites are passive.
Emailing a reporter who has written similar stories doubles (or triples) your odds of coverage.
4. Follow up, gently
Journalists are swamped.
A single, polite follow-up gets far better results than spamming 20 pitches.
Make the story easy to write
Include context, bullets, stats, angles, and a concise summary.
Remember: journalists don’t want to dig.
They want to publish.
Who This Works Best For
Press releases are ideal for companies that have real momentum or real data:
- SaaS companies with usage metrics or feature launches
- Ecommerce brands launching new lines or hitting milestones
- Agencies releasing internal research
- Tech companies with partnerships or funding
- Any business with proprietary data or meaningful insights
If you have something real to announce, press releases can attract legitimate editorial coverage and some of the strongest backlinks you’ll ever earn.
5. Which Method Should You Use?
Each of these three link-building methods works, but they don’t all work equally well for every business, every stage, or every goal.
The key is choosing the right method based on what you need right now.
Here’s the simplest way to think about it:
If you need fast authority → HARO, Qwoted, Featured
These platforms deliver high-authority editorial links without the timelines, outreach, or heavy resources other methods require.
Perfect for:
- Newer websites building initial authority
- Consultants or agencies needing credibility
- SaaS founders positioning themselves as experts
- Niche businesses with unique knowledge
If you can commit 20 minutes a day, you can earn consistent, high-quality links.
If you want long-term, passive link growth → Build linkable assets
Linkable assets compound over time.
Once a tool, statistics page, or evergreen guide starts earning links, it continues working without ongoing outreach.
This is the best method for:
- Businesses with evergreen topics
- Brands willing to invest in content or tools
- Anyone wanting consistent, recurring natural links
- Sites looking to scale authority across an entire niche
If you only build one major “link-building engine” this year, make it a linkable asset.
If you have real news or proprietary data → Press releases
Press releases are the most misunderstood and most misused link-building tactic.
They only work when the announcement is genuinely newsworthy and gives journalists something to write about.
Use this method if you have:
- A major launch
- A significant update
- A big milestone
- Internal data the industry will care about
- A research report or proprietary insights
If you’re forcing a story, the method falls flat.
If you have a real story, it can produce some of the strongest editorial backlinks you’ll ever earn.
A Simple Decision Matrix
| Your Goal | Best Method |
|---|---|
| Build authority quickly | HARO / Qwoted / Featured |
| Earn links passively over time | Linkable assets |
| Get journalists to cover your story | Press releases |
| Become a cited resource in your niche | Linkable assets + statistics pages |
| Build founder/brand credibility | HARO and expert sourcing |
| Launch a product or announce data | Press releases |
Each of these methods supports the others.
You don’t need all three at once, but over the course of a year, most businesses benefit from using each one strategically.
6. Summary / Key Takeaways
Most people overcomplicate link building.
They chase hacks, spam tactics, and automation scripts and then wonder why nothing moves the needle.
These three methods still work in 2025 because they’re built on real value, not loopholes:
1. HARO, Qwoted, Featured, and similar platforms
- Fast, reliable way to earn high-authority editorial links
- Great for brand credibility
- Scales easily with a simple daily workflow
- Works especially well for founders, consultants, and subject matter experts
2. Linkable assets (tools, statistics pages, deep guides)
- The most scalable long-term link-building method
- AI now makes building tools and calculators easier than ever
- Statistics pages and evergreen guides attract natural links year after year
- These assets become your site’s permanent “link magnet”
3. Press releases (when you actually have news)
- Not for the links inside the release itself
- The goal is to spark real coverage and real editorial backlinks
- Works best with product launches, proprietary data, research, partnerships, or major milestones
The big picture:
- Need fast authority? → HARO/Qwoted/Featured
- Want passive link growth? → Linkable assets
- Have true newsworthy content? → Press releases
Pick one. Execute it well.
Then layer in the others over time.
When you stop chasing shortcuts and start building real assets, links stop being a painful SEO chore and start becoming a natural outcome of doing real things worth talking about.
