Link building is one of the oldest and most effective SEO tactics. It’s also one of the most productive ways to grow organic search traffic.
Oddly, though, link building can actually harm your traffic, too.

Historically, links were how Google figured out which websites were good: a link was a recommendation, so websites with more links ranked higher. Google let the web decide how good each page was. Since then, Google updates have largely been about getting ahead of efforts to game this process by acquiring unearned links.
We’re now at a point where only very white hat link building methods still reliably work. It’s basically impossible to beg, borrow, steal, or buy links effectively. All you can do is earn them. But there are still smart ways to do that. And some of them allow you to piggyback on your competitors’ successes at the same time!

1. Guest Blogging
Google has warned against guest posting and put a lot of people off. But high quality, targeted guest posts are different from the mass-produced, low-value posts that were a staple of many SEO strategies a few years ago. Done right, guest blogging can be an effective link building tool.
The first thing you need to do is get the best guest blog spot you can. Identify sites that might take your guest post by scoping out your competitors’ guest posts. For an example here, I’ll use Neil Patel, which means we’ll get a lot of search results.
Start with an advanced Google search, using the author’s name in quotation marks and the words “guest post” also in quotation marks. Include the author’s home domain with a minus sign in front so all those results will be excluded.

2. Public Relations
Public relations in the context of link building simply means using the same methods to get backlinks that you might use to get press.
If you would like to be a source, sign up to HelpaReporter.com, and they’ll tell you when they need someone with your skills for an interview.
Also, consider classic PR moves like press releases. Bloggers and journalists hoover up information, so if anything has happened – you have a new integration, client, product, feature – make it easy to find. Then you’re likely to be linked to in an article that covers the subject.
Where most people get press releases wrong is overuse of anchor text links. That’s one of the factors most likely to trigger a Penguin penalty. Instead, use your press release to field a variety of anchors linking to your site.
Additionally, press releases can still be added to directories and databases, making them an even better SEO tool.
Even when you do get mentioned, though, there’s no actual guarantee that the people referencing you will give you a link. Sometimes things slip through the net. When that happens, it can be worthwhile to reach out and remind them that you’d like to be linked to.
You can track mentions in Ahrefs. Go to Alerts > Mentions > Add Alert > Search Query > Daily > Add.