Link building for beginners: a 90-day plan for UK businesses

Link building is the work of getting other websites to link to yours. For a UK business starting from zero, the best plan is not to chase as many links as possible. It is to pick one or two pages that matter to revenue, make them worth linking to, and earn a small number of relevant links every month for three months.

This is the plan I would give a team that has never done it before. It assumes one person with a few hours a week and a modest budget.

Before day 1: what you need in place

Links multiply what is already on your site. If the page they point to is thin, slow or confusing, they will not save it. Check three things first:

• The page answers the search. Read the top results for your main keyword and make sure your page covers what they cover, plus something they do not.
• Google can find it. Use Google Search Console to confirm the page is indexed.
• You can measure it. Note the current position, clicks and impressions of the page. Without a baseline you will not know if anything worked.

Google's SEO starter guide covers the basics in plain language and is worth an hour of your time.

Days 1–30: foundations and easy wins

Choose your target pages

Pick one money page (a service or category page) and one useful content page (a guide, a calculator, a piece of original data). The money page is what you want to rank. The content page is what people will want to link to.

Claim the links you already deserve

• Unlinked mentions. Search for your brand name in news and blogs. Where you are mentioned without a link, ask politely for one.
• Partners and suppliers. Many have «partners» or «clients» pages. Ask to be listed with a link.
• Trade bodies and associations you already belong to.
• Local press that has covered you before.

These links are relevant by definition and cost almost nothing.

Fix broken links to your own site

If other sites link to pages on your domain that now return errors, redirect those URLs to the closest live page. You recover links you had already earned.

Days 31–60: create something worth citing

Most links in the UK are earned through content that journalists and bloggers can use. Pick one:

Then pitch it. Keep emails short: one line on what you found, one line on why their readers care, and the link. Send fewer, better emails rather than hundreds of generic ones.

Add expert commentary

Journalists regularly look for quotes. Give one person in your company a clear area of expertise and have them answer requests in that area only. Over a few months this builds a trail of mentions in relevant titles.

Days 61–90: publish where your buyers read

By now you know which publications matter in your sector. This is the moment to publish on them directly, either through earned coverage or through clearly labelled sponsored content.

Paid placements are legitimate when they are transparent. Google asks for paid links to be marked as `sponsored` and treats undisclosed link buying as link spam. The value of a labelled article on a respected UK title is visibility, trust and a mention that AI tools can read, not a hidden ranking boost.

To choose outlets, filter by three things in this order: relevance to your topic, real readership in your market, and price. Our media catalogue lets you do this across UK and international publications and see the price before you commit.

How to measure the 90 days

Judge results at day 90, not day 10. Links take time to be discovered and processed.

Common beginner mistakes

• Buying packages of «50 high-DA links» with no outlet names. Volume without names usually hides link networks.
• Pointing every link at the home page. Spread links to the pages you want to rank.
• Using the same keyword-rich anchor text every time. Use your brand, the URL and natural phrases.
• Stopping after the first month. Link building works when it is steady.

If you would rather hand over the execution, our backlink service runs the outlet selection, writing and publishing for you, and you approve every article.

Frequently asked questions

How many links should a beginner aim for in 90 days?

There is no magic number. For a small UK business, ten to twenty relevant links over three months can make a visible difference. Relevance beats volume.

Is link building still worth it with AI search?

Yes. AI tools build answers from sources they trust. Being cited and linked by those sources is one of the clearest ways to show up.

Can I do link building without a budget?

Partly. Unlinked mentions, partners, local press and expert commentary cost time rather than money. Publishing on major titles usually requires either a strong story or a budget.

This article was written with artificial intelligence and checked by a second AI before publication. Backlinks Global editorial team.