Link building has come a long way since the early days.
Successful offsite SEO and link building is no longer a matter of quantity (though, quantity and regularly still play a role) so much as it is a matter of quality.
In order to build the authority of your own site, you must leverage the domain authority of existing sites, and construct high quality backlinks that are meaningful in the eyes of users as well as search engines.
Actually, building links on major news sites isn’t as difficult as you might imagine.
But it takes work!
Try any or all of these three significant ways you can earn valuable backlinks from major sites:
| Backlink Strategy | What It Involves | Why It Works | Difficulty | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Link Reclamation | Find unlinked mentions of your brand, founder, product, or proprietary data and request a live link. | These publishers already know who you are, so conversion rates are usually higher than cold outreach. | Low | Established brands, agencies, SaaS companies, founders with media mentions |
| Broken Link Building | Find dead outbound links on relevant pages and suggest your content as the replacement. | You help the site owner fix a problem while earning a contextual backlink. | Medium | Publishers with strong educational content, evergreen blogs, resource pages |
| Digital PR Campaigns | Create newsworthy stories, data studies, rankings, or commentary and pitch journalists directly. | Editorial coverage can produce high-authority backlinks at scale. | High | Brands with internal data, industry insight, or strong spokespersons |
| Statistics Pages | Publish a well-organized stats page with current numbers, sources, and periodic updates. | Writers and journalists frequently cite reliable stats hubs when creating articles. | Medium | SEO, SaaS, legal, finance, healthcare, AI, marketing |
| Free Tools & Calculators | Build a free tool, template, checklist, worksheet, or calculator that solves a real problem. | Useful assets attract natural links better than generic blog posts. | High | B2B services, SaaS, financial services, agencies, real estate |
| Resource Page Outreach | Pitch your guide, template, or tool to universities, nonprofits, associations, and curated resource pages. | These pages are designed to link out to genuinely useful resources. | Medium | Educational content, glossaries, compliance guides, calculators |
| Podcast Link Building | Appear as a guest on relevant podcasts and earn backlinks from show notes and episode pages. | Builds authority, brand search volume, and earns relevant links at the same time. | Medium | Founders, consultants, executives, niche experts |
| Guestographics | Create a visual asset or infographic and offer it to publishers with a suggested embed credit. | Visual content is easier to reference and republish than long-form text alone. | Medium | Data-heavy niches, market research, B2B content marketing |
| List Inclusion Outreach | Pitch your company, product, or service for inclusion in “best of,” “top providers,” and comparison pages. | These pages often rank well and can drive both SEO value and buyer-intent traffic. | Medium | Agencies, SaaS, local businesses, B2B service providers |
| Partner & Association Links | Get listed on partner pages, membership directories, certification pages, and vendor ecosystems. | They are highly relevant, trustworthy, and often easier to secure than editorial links. | Low | B2B firms, agencies, software partners, local service businesses |
Table of Contents
Link Reclamation
One of the most overlooked ways to build high-quality backlinks isn’t actually building new links at all—it’s reclaiming links you already earned.
Link reclamation is the process of identifying backlinks that used to point to your site (or should point to your site) but no longer do, and restoring them.
These links may have disappeared because of website redesigns, deleted pages, URL changes, or content updates.
When a backlink disappears or breaks, you lose the link equity and ranking benefit that link once provided.
Reclaiming it restores that value without the effort of earning an entirely new backlink.
In many cases, reclaiming links can actually be easier than building them from scratch because the publisher already referenced your brand or content.
Common Link Reclamation Opportunities
You can typically reclaim links in several scenarios:
-
Broken backlinks pointing to outdated URLs
-
Unlinked brand mentions where a publisher referenced your brand but didn’t link to your website
-
Lost backlinks removed during website updates
-
Incorrect redirects after site migrations
-
Links pointing to the wrong page
For example, if a journalist cited your company in an article but forgot to link to your site, a quick email requesting a link addition often works surprisingly well.
How to Reclaim Lost Links
A simple link reclamation process looks like this:
-
Audit your backlinks using tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Google Search Console.
-
Identify lost or broken links pointing to your domain.
-
Prioritize high-authority sites where the link previously existed.
-
Contact the site owner or editor and request the link be restored or updated.
-
Provide the correct URL to make it easy for them to update.
Because these sites already referenced your content, response rates are usually higher than traditional outreach campaigns.
For many websites, link reclamation is one of the fastest ways to strengthen a backlink profile and recover lost ranking signals.
Broken Link Building
Broken link building is a classic SEO strategy that remains highly effective when executed correctly.
The concept is simple: you find broken outbound links on other websites and suggest your own content as a replacement.
Broken link building works because it solves a real problem for website owners while earning a backlink for your site.
A broken link occurs when a page links to a resource that no longer exists (usually returning a 404 error).
Broken link building replaces those dead resources with relevant working content from your website.
Because broken links create a poor user experience and reduce the quality of a page, many editors are willing to fix them quickly when someone points them out.
Why Broken Link Building Works
This strategy succeeds because it creates a win-win situation:
-
The publisher fixes a broken resource
-
Their readers get a working link
-
You earn a relevant backlink
Unlike cold outreach where you are asking for a favor, broken link building provides value first.
How to Run a Broken Link Campaign
A typical broken link campaign involves several steps:
-
Identify relevant resource pages in your niche.
-
Use a link checker tool to find broken links on those pages.
-
Create or identify content on your site that can replace the broken resource.
-
Email the site owner and notify them of the broken link.
-
Suggest your content as a helpful replacement.
For example, if a marketing blog links to a “SEO statistics” page that no longer exists, you could recommend your own SEO statistics article as a replacement.
The key to success with broken link building is relevance.
Your replacement content should genuinely improve the page where the broken link currently exists.
Write High Quality (Link Worthy) Content
Writing high quality content is one of the most effective ways to increase the likelihood that you will attain high quality links from larger websites.
In short, writing high quality content increases the perception that you are a professional and leads other website owners to believe that you are the type of individual with whom a business relationship could be mutually profitable.
There are a variety of things you can do to ensure that the content you produce is high quality:
- Make your text is “scannable.” To ensure that your readers can quickly scan through your content to find the information they want, make a point to include things such as headers, bullets, and numbered lists. Use shorter paragraphs, shorter sentences, and more line breaks. It helps people scan/skim the content which is how most people consume text content these. If it isn’t skimmable then I think people will just click that back button and look for something that is. Be very focused and targeted when using h2 and h3 tags to segment content into sections that make sense, so readers can easily get to the info they want.
- Become a source for research. Be a source for first-person research and data in the form of industry surveys, direct market research and unbiased reporting. Report your findings via graphs and charts and promote them heavily. You are likely to get natural, quality links this way. Lists of statistics work VERY well for becoming a link-worthy, linkable source.
- Don’t focus on word count. It’s really more about post quality. In fact, most of post updates have involved cutting a lot of content that I just felt was too fluffy. Cut the fluff wherever you can and get to the point. People have short attention spans these days and just want answers.
- Move the “meat” of your articles as close to the top as possible. No more long-winded intros or background stories. I also cut out stuff that I think should be obvious to my readers, and I just try to get right to the good stuff.
- Listicles are big-time winners, especially for acquiring high quality backlinks.
- Make sure every post has a target keyword. Use Yoast to make sure you are optimizing each post for its target keyword, and after publishing the post I always make sure to build at least three internal links to it from other pages on your blog, using the keyword as anchor text, when possible.
- Keep your opening paragraphs as short as possible, while including the target keyword as close to the top as I can. It’s all part of my effort to cut out fluff and just provide dense content. I think people are just tired of fluff in general.
Become a Source & Thought Leader
If you’re serious about getting links from larger websites, you should know that becoming a thought leader in your area of business can help you accomplish your objective.
This is the case for several reasons, one of which is that your website gains credibility (and subsequently, visibility) when people believe that you have extensive education and experience in your chosen field.
So, how do you become a thought leader in your area of business?
- Write and publish a book & then promote it.
- Continually publish thought leadership articles on your website that are sharable, include research findings
- Attend lectures and conferences where you can network with other thought leaders
- In the remote working era, you can even connect with other thought leaders on social channels. Linkedin is my personal favorite for this
Becoming a source also means using channels that can connect you with high-profile journalists where you can acquire quality links for your website.
For more information on this strategy, please visit our HARO link building services guide.
Add A Blog
Adding a blog to your website is a fun and effective way to get more links from larger websites.
Like several of the other link building strategies outlined here, adding a blog is a viable link building strategy because it can increase the visibility of your website and thereby catch the attention of larger websites who will then view linking you in to be a mutually profitable decision.
To make the most of each blog post, be sure that the content you publish there is interesting and informative.
Also make a point to try to guest post on the blogs of other people.
This is a good networking strategy that also increases the likelihood that you can reach more people within your target audience.
Ask for High Quality Backlinks! (But Be Willing to Give)
Asking can be an incredibly effective way to get links from larger websites.
To make the most of this opportunity, write a very professional yet personal e-mail in which you discuss a bit about your work background as well as your own interests.
Talk about the purpose and function of your website and explain why you’d be interested in having the web owner link you in.
Be sure that your e-mail includes substantive information indicating that you are thoroughly familiar with the web owner’s site.
This will likely flatter him or her.
The best part about asking to get linked to a larger website is that you may get a yes, and the worst thing that can happen is that the website owner says no.
In today’s world, so many SEOs are asking for links (often through direct outreach, link reclamation or broken link building campaigns) that in order to differentiate yourself, you may need to first expect to “give” before you “get” when it comes to high-quality backlinks.
Here’s one typical example for a guest post request (similar examples could be provided for those looking for broken links), but where is the “give”?
What are you going to give them that is of value before you expect to receive a high-quality backlink?
Get Professional Help.
Although you and your staff may be somewhat effective in creating and maintaining the type of website that will garner interest from larger websites, professionals can probably do a much better job than you at garnering quality backlinks.
With this thought in mind, give consideration to hiring a professional web design or SEO company to help your business gain the online visibility and popularity that you want.
These professionals will typically have years of experience in the industry, thus enabling them to quickly and effectively develop and implement the type of web design and marketing strategies that will leave larger website owners wondering about you.
Once they become curious, the likelihood of you getting linked increases exponentially.
This is where SEO.co’s quality link building services come into play.
Have a Link-Worthy Brand
Last but certainly not least on this list of strategies to help you attain links from large websites is the implementation of a high quality branding campaign.
Although defined broadly, branding is basically the process of using graphics, icons, text, mottos and other forms of visual or textual media to create a unique and meaningful image for a business and the goods and services it sells.
Branding is important for many reasons, including the fact that it increases the likelihood that prospective customers will remember specific information regarding your products and subsequently make purchases.
When this happens, your brand will gain visibility and credibility, the two primary factors which can cause larger websites to link you.
Digital PR and Data-Driven Backlinks
Traditional link building focuses on outreach to niche websites, but digital PR takes a different approach: it earns backlinks through newsworthy stories, data studies, and media coverage.
Digital PR campaigns are designed to attract links from journalists, bloggers, and publishers by creating something worth citing or reporting on.
Unlike traditional link building, which targets industry blogs and niche websites, digital PR often earns links from high-authority publications and media outlets.
These editorial backlinks can significantly strengthen your domain authority and brand visibility.
Examples of Digital PR Link Assets
Some of the most effective digital PR assets include:
-
Original industry surveys
-
Market research reports
-
Data studies or benchmarks
-
Trend reports
-
Expert commentary on current events
-
Industry rankings or lists
For example, a marketing company might publish a report analyzing thousands of ad campaigns and pitch the results to journalists covering advertising or business trends.
How to Earn Links with Digital PR
A typical digital PR campaign follows this structure:
-
Create a unique dataset or research asset
-
Turn the data into a compelling story
-
Pitch the story to journalists and industry publications
-
Offer expert commentary or quotes
-
Promote the research through social media and outreach
When successful, digital PR campaigns can generate dozens—or even hundreds—of backlinks from authoritative websites.
In addition to SEO benefits, these campaigns also increase brand awareness, referral traffic, and media visibility.
Take Advantage of Google News as a Digital PR Strategy
Your first option is one of the easiest. In order to get a link on a major news site, you have to get noticed.
And getting noticed isn’t just a matter of making an introduction.
In order to get seen and appreciated by a major news site, you have to have information that is truly newsworthy; these outlets have a reputation because they’re committed to publishing only the most significant material.
Google News is a publication outlet that can help you achieve that visibility and credibility.
If you’re new to Google News, think of it as a gigantic, constantly updated database with news stories from around the world.
Google takes this aggregated cache of news and then displays it to users using sophisticated algorithms that show content appropriate for each user’s interests, history, and geographic location.
Google News allows almost anyone to post credible news articles for consideration to be included in this database.
If you have a “news” or “press” section of your website (and you actually use it to publish newsworthy information), this option is perfect for you.
You can set your site up within the Publisher Center and submit content regularly for consideration. You can also submit individual articles or press releases.
If you’re lucky, another major news publication will take notice of your Google-published news entries and will either reference it in a link out to your site, or follow up with you for more information.
It’s a roundabout way of getting attention from news sites, but if your content is worth their attention, they will take notice.
The worst-case scenario here is that no major news sites pick up your link—if that’s the case, you can still enjoy the benefits of having your articles listed on Google News.
It may not increase your domain authority as much as a pack of high-authority links, but it will send a significant flow of new organic and referral traffic to your site.
Distribute Your Own Press Releases.
The principle behind this tactic for getting quality links is the same as the previous entry: in order to earn a link on a major news site, you have to get their attention with a major news article.
Google News is incredibly useful for sites with regular news releases, but it only increases the visibility of content in one channel: Google search results.
If you’re interested in submitting your article to major news sites directly for consideration, you can distribute your own individual press releases with a service like PRWeb.
Through PRWeb, you’ll be able to publish your press release and syndicate it—depending on the service you use, you should be able to submit it to tens of thousands of different news outlets, differentiating them according to their geographic location or industry niche.
This distribution usually includes some of the biggest names in national news, but you will have a higher chance of getting picked up in low- to medium-authority news sites.
If your press release is highly significant, well-written, and timely, you do stand a decent chance of getting picked up by a major news outlet, featuring a link pointing back to your site as a reward for your efforts.
However, even if your article falls through the cracks of the highest-tier publications, the relevant, contextual links you earn on lesser-known publications will still be highly valuable.
This is especially true for local news sites, which will earn you quality backlinks anchored with a specific location, enhancing your relevance in local SEO.
Temper your expectations by remembering that submitting a press release is no guarantee of publication on a major news channel, but distributed press releases are still one of the best shots you have.
Submit newsworthy press releases regularly for the best SEO benefit.
Get Involved in the Community with Comments.
Comments are always a decent option for manual link building, and major news sites are no exception.
You’ll certainly get more visibility and credibility if a news site publishes one of your articles, but if you’re looking to get some high-authority link juice, posting something relevant in the comments section is a great alternative.
Your best bet is to find an article that has something to do with your industry.
For example, if you work with new technology, find something in the “Technology” section that is related to a product you’ve produced.
If you work in financial services, something in the “Money” section might be better.
You can also use a search function to find a highly specific article but do your best to select articles with a recent publication date in order to stay relevant.
As with any link building exercise, take caution to ensure your links are natural.
Any indication that could give a webmaster the impression that you are only posting a link for the page rank boost will immediately get your comment flagged as spam and removed.
Make sure your link is to a specific, relevant page on your site, and introduce the link by explaining why you’re posting it and why it’s relevant to the article.
Get involved with the discussion, and you might earn a handful of new web visitors in addition to improving your SEO.
Getting free backlinks from major news sources is neither stable nor easy enough to be a reliable, independent link building strategy.
However, when executed as part of a broader, multifaceted offsite SEO service campaign, news-related link building can be an enormous assist to your efforts.
Be patient with news sites and stay consistent in your efforts even if you don’t get a bite right away.
Emphasize the quality and relevance of your news items and diversify your strategy whenever possible to cover the most ground.
Eventually, you’ll find a rhythm for your news, and your SEO strategy will succeed because of it.
Don’t Be A One-Trick Link-Building Pony!
If your goal is to ensure that you get links from larger websites, you should know that the strategies outlined above can help you accomplish this goal.
To make the most of the information listed here, be sure to use all of the techniques synergistically to increase your online reputation as quickly as possible.
Once this happens, you will likely find that a variety of large, authoritative websites are interested in linking you.
Want to understand your existing backlink profile?
Use our backlink checker now to find out!
If you need help to build high quality backlinks, we’re a full-service SEO company. Our SEO services can be a great assistance.
Contact us today about boosting your rankings in the search engine results pages!
- How Do I Get High Quality Backlinks in 2026? - March 16, 2026
- Top Legal Software Tools in 2026 - March 9, 2026
- Should You Be Using a Private Blog Network (PBN) for Link Building in 2026? - March 4, 2026