Many people still don’t understand link building, but it’s probably the most important thing for long-term organic success. The world of digital marketing has changed a lot, and while many agencies have changed their strategies, a lot of them still use methods that haven’t kept up with Google’s algorithm changes. Agencies that are ahead of the curve can take advantage of the gap between old and new best practices.
The landscape has changed a lot. What worked in 2020 seems old-fashioned now, and the agencies that are doing well now use a completely different method. Media outreach strategies are a useful way to get high-authority backlinks naturally, but you need to know how to do it right and how the competition is getting tougher. Agencies that do well and those that don’t often have a hard time because they don’t understand this basic change in how search engines judge link quality.
The End of Old-Fashioned Link Building
Do you remember when you could buy 100 backlinks for $50? Those days are long gone, and I’m glad they are. Google’s algorithm updates are getting better and better at finding and ignoring link schemes that try to trick people. The search engine doesn’t always punish low-quality links; in fact, it often just ignores them. This means that these kinds of tricks don’t work instead of hurting the site.
The problem is that some agencies still think in the old way. They care more about quantity than quality, go after domain authority scores instead of relevance, and see link building as a way to make money instead of a way to build relationships. Links are going back to what they were meant to be: real suggestions from one website to another.
Why Context Is More Important Than Authority
You might be surprised to learn that a link from a smaller, more relevant website can be more valuable than one from a big, well-known website that has nothing to do with your field. This principle has been shown over and over again in campaigns where metrics were less important than context.
Search engines are getting better at figuring out how linking and linked content are related to each other. A link from a niche industry blog that really talks about your expertise is worth more. than a link from a site with a lot of traffic that is not specific to your field. This change has completely changed how successful agencies get links.
The Growth of Earned Media Strategies
Today, the best ways to build links are more like traditional public relations than old-school SEO methods. Google’s official documentation says that successful agencies are putting more and more emphasis on building relationships and earned media. Earned media is publicity that comes from things other than paid ads, like press coverage, social media mentions, and sharing content that people find on their own. Agencies that get this are making their clients look like thought leaders and industry experts, which naturally brings in links through useful content and real expertise.
This method needs more time and money up front to make content and build relationships, but the results last a lot longer. You’re not always looking for new links to replace ones that aren’t worth as much anymore. Instead, you’re building a base of real authority that grows over time.
What Really Works in 2025
The agencies that are getting consistent results are focusing on three main strategies:
First, they’re making content that is really newsworthy that bloggers and journalists want to link to. This isn’t about writing another “10 Tips” piece. It’s about doing original research, breaking news in your field, or giving new points of view that make conversations more interesting.
Second, they’re getting to know journalists and other important people in the industry long before they need anything from them. The best link builders in the business spend more time managing relationships than they do sending out emails to get links.
Third, they see every interaction with a client as a chance to make a link. Speaking at conferences, being a guest on podcasts, and writing for industry publications are all great ways to build brand authority and create natural link opportunities.
The Problem with Measurement
A lot of agencies still use a small number of metrics to measure success, which is where they go wrong. Domain authority and page authority scores can help you figure out where to go next, but they shouldn’t be the only thing you look at to see if you’re doing well. Agencies that are doing well look at more general metrics like the quality of referral traffic, the sentiment of brand mentions, and the stability of rankings over time.
A recent study by Google’s Search Quality team found that the average page that ranks at the top has been there for almost three years. This correlation doesn’t prove that one thing causes another, but it does suggest that long-term link-building strategies may be better than quick wins. This information backs up what a lot of people in the industry have seen: the best ways to build links are the ones that build real authority over time.
Making Plans for the Future
In the next few years, the agencies that will do well will be the ones that see link building as a part of a bigger digital PR plan. Digital PR is a mix of traditional public relations and online marketing. It focuses on building brand visibility and authority through online publications, partnerships with influencers, and content marketing. They know that every link should do more than one thing: help with search engine rankings, bring in relevant traffic, and make people aware of their brand.
This all-encompassing method needs different skills than regular SEO. It requires knowledge of how to deal with the media, market content, and position a brand. The technical parts of link building, like optimizing anchor text, placing links, and doing technical SEO, are still important, but they’re no longer the only things that matter.
The real edge over the competition comes from knowing how to make content and experiences that naturally draw links because they are useful to both the linking sites and their audiences. This change shows that the industry is growing up and moving away from trickery and toward strategies that are in line with how the web was meant to work.
If you want to stay competitive, the message is clear: change your strategy to focus on earned authority instead of links that you get. Clients who use this strategy today will be the ones who show up at the top of search results tomorrow.