Real World Link Building Strategies For ECommerce

Whether you own the site, work at an agency, freelance or are just helping out, going into link building for a lot of ECommerce sites can be very daunting.

You could be dealing with seasonal changes, huge competitors like Amazon, Walmart, eBay or any number of other billion dollar corporations that seemingly have all the link power and ranking capabilities in the world. As well as a litany of Shopify clones all selling the same crap…

And while your competitors are out here begging mommy bloggers for a backlink to their keto diabetic dog friendly bowl product page, you need to be playing a completely different game!

One that isn’t just about backlinks, but building an ROI-based, long term campaign that will yield results for many years to come, as well as generate a steadily growing capital (from the organic traffic and revenue growth your links and SEO provide) as quickly as possible.

So let’s burn the fluff, toss out the generic “create great content” nonsense, and dive into real, battle tested tactics for building links that build rankings, revenue, and brand equity in 2025.

Why Link Building for eCommerce Is Brutal (But Worth It)

Here’s the truth most people don’t want to hear: Most niches are boring, site owners and bloggers don’t want to work for free and

• Product pages are transactional, not informational, and most people aren’t searching for “Feider FRT-75BS125 Compact Rear-Collect Ride-On Mower with Manual Drive & Briggs Engine” (Yes, that’s a real product)

• That isn’t to say you shouldn’t optimize your product pages, but you often don’t NEED to build links to them

• There’s often little reason for anyone to “naturally” link to your category for “black leather wallets”, which is the page you need to actually rank

• Most content created by eCommerce brands is irrelevant to their core topic or worst, regurgitated from news sites thru syndication feeds (providing 0 SEO value)

But… if can you pull it off?

It’s a cheat code.

Because Google still treats links as the backbone of trust and authority which are the biggest algorithmic signals.

So yeah, it’s harder. But that’s also your edge, because most people quit, get lazy or don’t run a full picture campaign.

Lay the Foundations First (Do NOT Skip This)

Before you blast out 300 outreach emails or try to buy a DR70 link off a random BHW thread, do this:

1. Audit Your Site for Link Targets

You need a linking strategy, not just a list of “get links anywhere you can”.

Ask yourself:

• Which pages do I actually want to rank?

• Which of those pages already have decent links?

• Which ones are converting?

💣 Pro tip: Most of your links should point to your homepage, content pages and blog posts.

Concentrate building authority to:

• Category pages (money pages)

• Resource hubs / guides (linkable assets)

• Comparison posts (affiliate-style)

• Brand story / about pages (great for PR-driven links)

2. Clean Your Internal Link Profile

Before chasing external links, fix your internal flow.

• Are key pages orphaned?

• Are you linking too aggressively with exact match anchors?

• Do 404 pages still have internal links pointing to them?

Use Screaming Frog (or alternative) + Ahrefs + GSC to clean it up.

3. Build Your Entity Stacking

This is the part where most eCommerce stores fail before they’ve even sent a single outreach email, they’re not link worthy in Google’s eyes because their entity signals are non-existent or a complete mess.

You can’t expect to rank product or category pages (or attract links to them) if your brand doesn’t exist as a known entity in Google’s knowledge graph. And no, slapping your NAP (Name, Address & Phone Number) in the footer isn’t enough.

You need to flood the web with consistent, structured mentions of your brand across platforms Google uses for entity recognition. That means:

• Google Business Profile, TrustPilot, Reddit etc

• Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X etc

• Crunchbase, Product Hunt, AngelList (if relevant)

• About.me, Gravatar, Medium, Slideshare, YouTube, anything that builds a digital fingerprint

Fill these profiles with consistent branding, logos, bios, links to your homepage and category pages, and use Schema markup on your actual site (Org, LocalBusiness, Product, Breadcrumb, etc.).

The goal is to show Google, “We’re a real brand with consistent data across the web that proves we exist and are trustworthy to customers.”

💣 Pro Tip: Link all these profiles back to each other in a loop. That’s the “stack” in entity stacking. Interlink your profiles, then embed them on your site subtly (in bios, blog footers, etc.). You’re creating a tightly-knit trust signal cluster Google can follow and reward.

Once this entity foundation is built, every link you build passes more weight. Your brand gets indexed faster. Your content ranks easier. And your backlink profile won’t trigger red flags every time you fire off a guest post.

And if you want an even more detailed breakdown, you can watch my video on it below:

How to Pick The Right Links (Before Wasting Time & Money)

In the eCommerce world, the type of link you build matters more than just the fact that you got one. A link from a DR90 travel site pointing to your protein powder collection is less valuable than a DR40 niche fitness blog that your customers actually read.

Here’s the core question you need to ask:

“Will this link send relevance, trust, and SEO equity to a commercially valuable page on my site, without looking forced?”

If the answer’s no? Skip it.
You’re not building links for some agency case study. You’re building links to rank product and category pages, aka, where the money is.

Before you pick a link, ask yourself what you’re actually promoting.

Here’s how to stack link targets in eCommerce:

1. Category Pages – Your real money-makers. Usually ignored by SEOs.
   Example: /collections/mens-leather-wallets

2. Supporting Content – Guides, comparison pages, or resource hubs.
   Example: “How to Choose the Right Wallet Style for Everyday Use”

3. Brand Pages / PR Pages – About us, CSR initiatives, innovation pages.
   Great for link bait and authority.

4. Product Pages – Only if it’s evergreen and internally link-heavy.
   Seasonal or disposable products? Forget it.

💣 Pro Tip: Build links to content → then use internal linking to push juice to product/category pages.

Every site you pitch should be judged ruthlessly.

Here’s what to look for before you commit time, budget or content to a link placement:

• Topical Relevance: Is their audience even remotely aligned with yours?

• Actual Traffic: DR means nothing if the site’s dead. Use Ahrefs or Similarweb.

• Indexability: Is the post they’ll place your link in even indexed?

• Link Type: Dofollow, contextual, and ideally surrounded by related content

• Outbound Link Profile: If they’re linking to 15 other brands, you’re in a link farm.

Here’s a quick summary that should make it easier to remember:

Now it’s time to actually build some links! But there are certain strategies that have evolved over time to work best for EComm sites.

Link Building Strategies That Actually Work for ECommerce

I started my career building up my family businesses ECommerce sites, and one of the ways I outranked multi-billion dollar corporations nearly 15 years ago was learning link building as quickly as I could.

These are 8 strategies built up over nearly 17 years of studying SERPs, Google’s algorithm and what works best (right now) for brands at any level, starting with one of my favourite ways to get cheap reciprocal links at scale:

The “Product Ego Bait” Strategy

Everyone loves to be featured, especially when you’re giving them praise. Use that!

Build roundups like:

• “10 Influencers Killing It in the Sustainable Fashion Space”

• “7 Tools We Use to Ship Faster Than Amazon”

• “The 5 Best Foodie Instagram Accounts Every Vegan Brand Should Follow”

Then… reach out and let them know they’re featured! You’d be surprised at how many of these folks check DMs, especially if you can get influencers in the 2k – 200k range.

👉 Many will link to you. 👉 Some will share. 👉 A few will even ask to collaborate and affiliate.

You can automate 80% of this process with ChatGPT deep research + Sheet formulas these days!

Guest Posting with Commercial Intent

Yes, guest posting still works, if you do it like a strategist, not a spammer.

Focus on analyzing and vetting sites first – We don’t care that much about metrics, you should be truffle hunting to finding the perfect match of relevancy, authority and quality.

Here’s how you do it right:

• Write value first content that fits the niche but sneak in links to category pages via internal links from your tutorials, guides, blog posts and content resources.

• Target sites with real traffic in your niche, not just DR.

• Pitch angles like:

  • “How We Went from 50 to 5,000 Orders in 6 Months”

  • “Why [Niche] Is Broken and How We’re Fixing It”

  • “Tools Every [X Audience] Needs in 2025”

But honestly, if you are working in that industry then no one knows it best like the people living it day in, day out. So if you are the owner, you’ve got the advantage, if you aren’t, get 15 mins with them!

Steal Your Competitors Links

You want the easiest way to shortcut your link building campaign?

Let your competitors do the hard work for you.

If someone’s already linked to a competing store, there’s a high probability they’ll link to you — especially if:

• You’ve got better branding

• Your UX doesn’t look like it was built on GeoCities

• You give them something actually worth linking to

Here’s how to do it like a sniper, not a spam cannon:

Fire up Ahrefs → enter a competitor domain (one with decent visibility in your niche).
Head to the Backlinks report.
Filter by:

• Dofollow links

• DR40+ (you can go lower if it’s a hyper-niche site)

• Referring domains only (we don’t care about every page, just the source)

• Contextual content links (filter out nav, sidebar and footer noise)

Now, export those domains and analyze why they linked.
Is it a product roundup?
A buying guide?
A niche blog that reviewed something?
Did they get added to a “best X brands” list?

Here’s the play:

Reverse engineer the link context. Then pitch something better.

If they linked to your competitor because of a roundup or guide – send yours and offer a stronger CTA or visual.
If it’s an affiliate blog – pitch your own affiliate program.
If it’s an old post – offer to update or replace a broken link with your fresher, faster-loading, or better-designed version.

This is classic skyscraper technique, but with a commercial twist.

💣 Pro Tip: Filter for broken links too. If they linked to a dead product or outdated category, that’s your in. Offer them a clean replacement that helps their content stay useful.

You’re not begging, you’re offering value and preserving the integrity of their content. Editors love that.

And remember: this isn’t just about stealing links.
This is about stealing visibility, authority, and traffic share from your direct competitors.
While they’re off wasting budget on PR campaigns that land 3 links a quarter, you’re swooping in on hundreds of contextual links they already won, and flipping them to your brand.

Manufacturer / Supplier Link Roundups

Most ECom stores resell or white label products.

So this is what you do:

• Reach out to the brands you sell

• Ask to be added to their “Where to Buy” or “Stockists” page

It’s really as easy as that! And most people completely skip it, but I’ve gotten some insanely high DR, one-way links over and over again for brands.

Coupon Code & Voucher Sites (But Not the Junky Ones)

Don’t ignore these, some of them have serious DR, traffic and can play well into your entity stacking strategy we talked about earlier.

US Examples:

• RetailMeNot

• CouponFollow

• TechBargains

• and niche specific ones

Make sure the links are on indexable pages.

Even nofollow ones have CTR and brand benefit value if they drive traffic.

Brand Mentions → Backlinks (Reclamation at Scale)

People WILL mention your brand without linking, and your old links will die off for any number of reasons.

Use:

• Ahrefs Alerts

• BrandMentions.com

• Google Alerts

When they do, outreach. It’s 10x easier than cold guest post pitching.

“Hey, thanks for the shout, would you mind linking to us so your readers can find the product directly?”

No fluff. Just logic.

And if you are losing link equity, then check out my guide on link reclamation.

Community & Local Link Plays

Still wildly underused. Try this:

• Sponsor a local event or niche community

• Create scholarship or grant programs for students in your vertical

• Offer product donations to charities or nonprofits (especially niche-aligned ones)

You’re not doing this for karma points. You’re doing it for .edu, .org and local news links.

Affiliate Programs = Free Links On Auto-Pilot

This one’s criminally underused by eCommerce SEOs who still think of affiliates like they’re some scammy 2012 CPA campaign.

Think about it:

Every affiliate who signs up wants to promote your product.
They’re incentivised to drive traffic.
And in order to do that, they need to link to you.

That means:

• Blog posts with contextual links

• Review videos with links in the description

• Tutorials with CTAs to your collections

• Comparison articles against your competitors (with you as the winner, of course)

And guess what?

You don’t have to pay anything upfront.
They link to you for the chance of earning — and in return, you get free SEO value and brand mentions across the web.

Now imagine scaling this.

Set up an affiliate onboarding funnel that includes:

• A “How to Promote Us” guide (with anchor suggestions + content ideas)

• Banners, product mockups, keyword ideas

• Top-converting landing pages to link to

💣 Pro Tip: Offer a bonus or tiered commission for affiliates who drive SEO content (not just PPC). That small bonus can land you hundreds of contextually-placed backlinks from relevant, content-rich blogs.

And don’t sleep on the long tail effect! A single affiliate link from a niche blog today can become a top-ranking article tomorrow, and all the authority that comes with it is yours.

If you build a strong enough program, affiliates become your content team, your outreach team, and your SEO army, without a salary.

Scaling the Machine: How to Do This at Volume

You want to scale this? Here’s a stupidly simple game plan that no one can get wrong:

Automate Prospecting

• Use Ahrefs + Google Sheets + GPT to scrape link targets

• Build prospect lists by niche + keyword footprint

• Assign intent tiers (e.g. high-value media vs mid-tier blogs vs web 2.0s)

Use Personalised Templates, Not Mass Spam

Every template should have:

• One specific compliment

• A clear CTA

• 30-second max read time

No one cares about your 5-paragraph life story.

Track Everything

Use Airtable or Notion:

• Site

• DR

• Contact

• Link target

• Status

• Result

Build it once. Use it forever.

Conclusion: Where Google is Going & Futureproofing Your Profits

Google isn’t getting dumber.
It’s getting pickier.

Every update is moving toward authority, authenticity, and entity validation.
That means your link building strategy needs to move away from spammy plug-and-play tactics and towards intent-driven, brand-aligned campaigns that are built to last.

If you’re building links in eCommerce in 2025 the same way people were in 2015, you’re not just behind, you’re setting your site up to flatline the second Google sneezes.

But here’s the silver lining:

Most of your competition is still running on checklists they downloaded from some forum thread in 2019. They’re chasing metrics, buying guest posts off Fiverr, and wondering why they’re stuck on page 2 with 400 “dofollow” links pointing to a blog post nobody reads.

You? You’ve got the blueprint:

• Lay the foundations first – fix your internal structure, build entity authority, and prep your site to actually receive and benefit from backlinks.

• Be strategic about what pages get links. Don’t spray and pray – aim for ROI-heavy pages like categories and evergreen content assets.

• Execute tactics that scale and compound – from affiliate-driven links and competitor sniping to ego baiting and roundups that attract links without needing to cold beg for them.

And most importantly:
Track everything. Refine ruthlessly. Scale what works. Burn what doesn’t.

Because the brands that treat SEO like an investment, not a hack, are the ones that dominate. They rank higher, convert better, and grow faster.

Now go build some links!