Link building for e-commerce is uniquely challenging. Product pages rarely attract organic backlinks, and generic link building tactics often do not fit online stores. These seven tactics are specifically designed for e-commerce businesses — proven approaches that earn quality links to boost your store’s domain authority and product page rankings.
1. Create Linkable Content Assets
Product pages do not earn links. Content does. Build assets on your store’s blog that attract links naturally:
Buying Guides
- Comprehensive guides that help customers make purchase decisions
- “How to Choose the Right [Product Category]” guides rank for informational keywords and earn links from other sites
- Include comparison tables, sizing guides, and feature breakdowns
- Internal link from guides to relevant product pages
Original Research and Data
- Analyze your own sales data for industry trends (“We analyzed 10,000 orders to find…”)
- Run customer surveys and publish the results
- Create industry reports with original data points
- Journalists and bloggers cite original data — earning you backlinks
Free Tools and Calculators
- Build tools relevant to your product category (sizing calculators, cost estimators, comparison tools)
- Tools earn links passively as people reference and share them
- They also drive traffic and position your brand as helpful
2. Product-Led Digital PR
Use your products as the hook for media coverage:
- Product launches: Send press releases and product samples to relevant journalists and bloggers
- Seasonal angles: Pitch gift guides and seasonal roundups to publications (“Best Gifts for Runners” for a running shoe store)
- Trend commentary: Offer expert quotes on industry trends to journalists
- Unique products: Unusual or innovative products can earn media coverage organically
Each media mention typically includes a link back to your store or the specific product.
3. Unlinked Brand Mention Reclamation
If your brand or products are mentioned online without a link, ask for one:
- Use Ahrefs Content Explorer or Google Alerts to find brand mentions
- Identify mentions that do not include a link to your site
- Contact the site owner with a friendly request to add a link
- Conversion rates are high because they already know your brand
This is one of the easiest link building tactics with the highest success rate.
4. Supplier and Manufacturer Partnerships
Leverage your existing business relationships for links:
- Authorized retailer pages: Ask suppliers to list you as an authorized retailer with a link
- Case studies: Offer to be a case study for your suppliers’ or partners’ websites
- Co-marketing: Run joint promotions that both parties link to
- Testimonials: Provide testimonials for tools and services you use — many companies link to the reviewer’s site
5. Broken Link Building
Find broken links on resource pages and offer your content as a replacement:
- Search for resource pages in your niche: “[your niche] + resources” or “[your niche] + useful links”
- Check for broken outbound links using Check My Links or Ahrefs
- If you have content that could replace the dead link, reach out to the site owner
- Create the replacement content first if it does not exist yet
Resource pages in niche communities often link to buying guides, comparison content, and educational resources that e-commerce stores can create.
6. Influencer and Blogger Product Reviews
Send products to relevant bloggers and influencers for review:
- Target bloggers with active websites (not just social media accounts) for maximum link value
- Focus on niche bloggers with engaged audiences rather than mega-influencers
- Provide a great product experience — honest positive reviews are more valuable than paid placements
- Review posts typically link to the product page and your homepage
Finding the Right Bloggers
- Search “[product category] review blog” and note active bloggers
- Use Ahrefs to check their domain authority — target DA 30+
- Verify they have real organic traffic (not just social referrals)
- Read their existing reviews to assess quality and audience fit
7. Community and Forum Participation
Build links and brand mentions through genuine community participation:
- Reddit: Contribute helpful answers in niche subreddits. When genuinely relevant, reference your content (not product pages)
- Niche forums: Join forums where your target customers discuss their needs
- Quora: Answer questions related to your product category with genuine expertise
- Facebook groups: Participate in relevant groups as a helpful expert
The goal is building reputation and authority, not dropping links. Genuine participation leads to organic mentions and links over time.
E-Commerce Link Building Mistakes to Avoid
- Buying links: Paid links without proper nofollow/sponsored attributes risk Google penalties
- Mass directory submissions: Low-quality directories provide no SEO value
- Reciprocal link exchanges: “You link to me, I link to you” at scale triggers spam detection
- Irrelevant links: Links from unrelated sites provide minimal SEO benefit
- Linking only to product pages: Build links to informational content and let internal links pass authority to product pages
Measuring Link Building ROI
- Referring domains: Track growth in unique linking domains (Ahrefs or SEMrush)
- Domain authority/rating: Monitor your DA/DR trend over time
- Organic traffic to linked pages: Track traffic improvements for pages that earn links
- Product page rankings: Monitor category and product page positions as domain authority grows
- Revenue from organic: The ultimate measure — track revenue attributed to organic search