Link building is where SEO myths go to breed. Gurus sell “secret hacks,” dodgy Fiverr gigs offer a thousand backlinks for a fiver, and some people still think dropping spammy comments on blogs in 2025 is a strategy. The truth? Links still matter, but there’s no magic button. You earn them by being useful, interesting, or occasionally just loud enough to get noticed. Trusting someone to build links for you is one of the biggest leaps you can ever make in your business. Everything is done behind the veil and you must trust your link builder with the future of your business. I can’t tell you how many sites I have been asked to fix that are being algorithmically supressed due to toxic links. I have disavowed tens of thousands of links from a single site only to see their rankings increase within weeks. And the shame is they paid an agency to build those links, it’s a double whammy because they then have to pay me to remove them. In any case if you only trust yourself and you want to try link building on your own here is a general guide
According to Ahrefs, 66 percent of pages online have zero backlinks. That’s two-thirds of the web sitting in the dark. Google uses links like votes of confidence, and if nobody’s voting for you, you’re invisible.
The Good, the Bad, and the Spammy
There are really three types of backlinks:
- Good – From relevant, reputable sites. A link from The Scotsman or BBC is gold.
- Bad – Irrelevant or off-topic. If you run a bakery in Glasgow, a backlink from a tech blog in California isn’t doing you favours.
- Spammy – The thousand-for-a-fiver deals. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
Google’s Penguin update years back nuked most link schemes. I still meet clients who paid for link farms in 2018 and are wondering why their rankings never recovered.
Earning Links That Actually Last
Here’s the boring but true bit: real links come from doing things worth linking to. A few strategies that actually work:
- Linkable assets: Create something people want to share. A guide, a tool, even something daft but funny. I once helped a bar in Edinburgh publish a survey on “worst hangover cures.” It landed links from Metro and a couple of Scottish papers.
- Digital PR: Journalists are constantly desperate for quotes and stats. Services like HARO and ResponseSource exist just for this.
- Local sponsorships: Sponsor a youth football team in Dundee, or put your logo on the banners at a Fife gala. Local press loves that, and it’s a natural backlink.
- Guest contributions: Writing for industry blogs still works, as long as it’s relevant. Do not treat it as a dumping ground — think quality over quantity.
A study by Backlinko found that long-form content earns 77 percent more backlinks than short posts. In plain English: if you want links, write something useful, detailed, and shareable.
Avoid the Dark Arts
Shortcuts will burn you. Private Blog Networks, automated comment spam, paid link packages — I’ve seen them all. They work for a bit, then vanish. Worse, they can leave your site penalised.
Google’s John Mueller has said repeatedly that buying links is against the rules. If your strategy depends on outsmarting Google, you’re betting against the house. Spoiler: the house always wins.
Don’t Forget Internal Links
It’s easy to obsess about getting links from other sites and forget your own. Internal links pass authority around like pints in a pub. Every blog post you write should link to your cornerstone content.
I once worked with a Highland estate agency. They had a hundred blog posts with no internal links pointing to property listings. Once we fixed the structure, rankings for “Highland cottages for sale” climbed within weeks — no outside backlinks needed.
Final Word
Link building is not glamorous. It’s not sorcery. It’s creating something worth linking to, telling the right people about it, and avoiding scams. The sooner you stop hunting for shortcuts, the sooner you’ll see results that actually stick.
At Hot Igloo, we’ve helped businesses from small Highland B&Bs to nationwide retailers earn links the right way. The principle is always the same: be useful, be visible, and links will follow.
Want more SEO advice, then check out our complete UK SEO guide here.
Bonus tip – Wiki links may be no follow but that doesn’t mean Google ignores them If you don’t believe me just Google it 😀