If you have an affiliate website, your main goal is likely to make money.

You write product reviews, share guides, and hope people click your affiliate links.

But there is a big problem that many new site owners face. You can write the best review in the world, but if no one sees it, you will not make any sales. This is where search engines like Google come in.

To get traffic, you need to show up on the first page of search results.

But how does Google know which sites to trust? The answer is link building. Think of a backlink as a vote. When other relevant websites link to your site, they are telling Google, “This is a good site.” The more quality backlinks you have, the higher you rank.

When you rank higher, you get more organic traffic. And more traffic means more people clicking your links and buying products.

At VH-info, we have helped many SaaS and affiliate businesses grow. We know that getting links is hard work. It takes time and a smart plan.

In this guide, we will break down exactly how affiliate marketing backlinks work and how you can get them to grow your affiliate revenue. We want to be your guide in this process, showing you the best practices to succeed.

What Are Affiliate Marketing Backlinks?

First, we need to be clear about what we are talking about. In the world of digital marketing, terms can get confusing.

There are two types of links you need to know:

• Affiliate Links: These are the links you put in your content. When a user clicks them and buys something on Amazon or another store, you get a commission. These point away from your site.
• Affiliate Marketing Backlinks: These are links from other websites that point to your site.

When we talk about affiliate marketing backlinks, we are talking about getting other blog posts or websites to link to your landing page or review articles.

For example, imagine you have a blog post about the “Best Coffee Makers.” If a popular coffee news site links to your article as a resource, that is a backlink. This link tells search engines that your content is valuable. Many people think affiliate marketing is just about picking an affiliate program and pasting links. But without quality links pointing to your site, your target audience will never find you.

Your backlink profile—which is the collection of all links pointing to you—is one of the biggest factors in your success.

Why Affiliate Marketing Backlinks Are Important For Your Site’s Success?

You might wonder, “Can I just write great content and wait?” The short answer is usually no. Marketing efforts without link building are very slow. Here is why backlinks are so important for your affiliate site.

Boosting Domain Authority and Trust Flow

Domain Authority (DA) is a score that predicts how well a website will rank. While Google does not use DA directly, it is a good way for us to measure the strength of a site. When authoritative sites link to you, they pass some of their authority to you.

Think of it like a recommendation. If a famous chef says your restaurant is good, people trust you immediately. If quality sites link to your affiliate website, Google trusts you more. This trust helps every piece of content on your site rank better, not just the one that got the link.

At VH-info, we focus on getting links from sites that have real authority, not just high numbers.

Increasing Organic Traffic to Money Pages

Your “money pages” are the pages where you have affiliate links. These are usually product reviews or “Best X for Y” lists. These pages are very competitive. Everyone wants to rank for “Best Laptop for Students” because it makes money.

To beat the competition, you need relevant backlinks. When you build links to these pages, you move up in google search.

The higher you are, the more potential customers click on your site. This is organic traffic—visitors who come for free from search engines. This is much better than paying for ads because once you rank, the traffic keeps coming.

The Correlation Between Backlinks and Affiliate Revenue

There is a direct link between the number of quality backlinks a page has and how much money it makes.

Here is the simple math:

• More quality links = Higher search rankings.
• Higher rankings = More visitors.
• More visitors = More clicks on your affiliate links.
• More clicks = Higher conversion rates and more money.

If you ignore link building, you are leaving money on the table. Even if you have the best content, a competitor with worse content but better links will likely beat you. That is why a link-building strategy is key to your affiliate marketing strategy.

Proven Strategies to Acquire Powerful Affiliate Marketing Backlinks

Now that you know why you need them, how do you get them? You cannot just ask anyone for a link. You need a plan. Here are the best practices and link-building tactics that we use and recommend at VH-info.

The Skyscraper Technique: Creating Superior Content

The Skyscraper Technique is a famous method. The idea is simple: find content that already has a lot of links, and make something better.

Here is how you do it:

• Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to find a popular article in your niche with many backlinks.
• Read it and see what is missing. Is it old? Does it have bad images? Is it hard to read?
• Create a piece of content on your own website that is much better. Make it longer, add new data, use better pictures, and make it easier to read.
• Reach out to the people who linked to the old article. Tell them, “Hey, I saw you linked to this guide. I made a new one that is more up-to-date. It might be helpful for your readers.“

This works because people want to link to the best resources. If you provide helpful content, they are happy to link to you.

Guest Posting on Relevant Niche Blogs

Guest posting is one of the most reliable ways to get links. This means writing an article for someone else’s website. In exchange, they let you put a link back to your site.

To do this right:

• Find relevant websites in your niche. If you sell dog food, look for pet blogs.
• Reach out to the owner and pitch a few blog post ideas.
• Write high-quality content for them. Do not just write junk.
• Include a link to your site naturally within the text or in the author bio.

Guest posting takes a lot of time. You have to find sites, email them, write the post, and follow up. This is where an agency like VH-info can save you hours of work. We have relationships with many site owners and handle the outreach and writing for you.

Creating “Link Bait” Statistics and Data Studies

Writers love data. If you can provide new facts or numbers, other blogs will link to you as the source. This is called “link bait” because it attracts links naturally.

You can:

• Run a survey of your target audience.
• Analyze data from your affiliate network.
• Create an infographic that explains a complex topic simply.

For example, if you are in the fitness niche, you could survey 100 people about their gym habits. Publish the results in a post. Other writers will cite your study and give you affiliate backlinks. This is a great way to get links from very authoritative sites like news outlets.

Using Broken Link Building Opportunities

The web is full of broken links. These are links that point to pages that no longer exist (you might see a 404 error). This is bad for user experience and SEO. Broken link building helps you and the site owner:

• Find a relevant site that has a broken link.
• Check what the broken link used to point to (use the Wayback Machine).
• Create a similar or better resource on your site.
• Email the site owner. Say, “I found a broken link on your page. It’s bad for your readers. I have an article that covers the same topic if you want to replace it.“

This is very effective because you are helping them fix a problem on their site.

Getting Featured on “Best of” Resource Pages

Many sites have “Resource” pages or “Best of” lists. For example, a marketing blog might have a page called “Best SEO Tools.”

If you have a tool or a great guide, you can ask to be added to this list.

• Search for “Keyword + resources” or “Keyword + useful links” in Google search.
• Look at the list. Is your content a good fit?
• Reach out and suggest your content as a valuable addition.

Make sure your content is actually valuable content. Site owners only want to link to quality resources that help their readers.

Using HARO (Connectively) For High-Authority Media Links

HARO stands for “Help A Reporter Out” (now called Connectively). It is a platform where journalists ask for expert quotes for their stories. If you sign up, you get emails with questions from reporters.

If you answer their question well, they might quote you in their article and give you a backlink. These links often come from huge sites like Forbes or The New York Times. These are very high quality links that boost your domain authority fast.

It takes practice to write good pitches for HARO, but the results are worth it.

How to Evaluate the Quality of Affiliate Marketing Backlinks?

Not all links are good. Some can actually hurt your site. You need to focus on quality backlinks, not just quantity.

Here is how to check if a link is good.

Relevance to Your Niche

Relevance is key. If you have an affiliate site about gardening, a link from a car mechanic site does not make sense.

Google might think you are trying to trick the system. You want relevant backlinks from sites that are in your industry or a related one. If you write about software, links from tech blogs, marketing sites, or business news are great.

Always ask, “Does this link make sense for a real human reader?”

Checking Domain Authority (DA) and Domain Rating (DR)

You should use tools like Moz (for DA) or Ahrefs (for DR) to check the strength of a site. These scores go from 0 to 100.

• 0-20: New or low-quality sites.
• 21-50: Average sites, good for diversification.
• 50-80: Strong, authoritative sites.
• 80+: Very powerful sites (like Wikipedia or major news).

You want a mix, but try to get links from sites with a DA/DR of 30 or higher. A link from a high DA site passes more “link juice” to your site.

Identifying and Avoiding Toxic Links (Spam Analysis)

Some links are “toxic.” These come from spammy sites, gambling sites, or sites that sell links publicly.

To find these:

• Look at the site. Does it look real?
• Does it have quality content?
• Does it link to illegal or weird stuff?

If a site looks like spam, avoid it. Having too many bad links can lead to a penalty from Google. You can use Google Search Console to see who links to you. If you see very bad links, you might need to “disavow” them (tell Google to ignore them).

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Building Affiliate Marketing Backlinks

Building links can be tricky. Here are mistakes that many beginners make. Avoiding these will keep your affiliate marketing strategy safe.

Over-Optimizing Anchor Text (Money Anchors)

Anchor text is the clickable text in a link. For example, if the link says “click here,” the anchor text is “click here.”

A “money anchor” is when the text is exactly the keyword you want to rank for, like “best coffee maker.”

If 100 websites all link to you with the exact words “best coffee maker,” Google will get suspicious. It looks unnatural.

• Do: Use descriptive anchor text, brand names (like “VH-info”), or natural phrases (“read this guide”).
• Don’t: Use the same exact keyword every time.

Keep your anchor text diverse. Most of your links should just be your brand name or the URL.

Relying on PBNs (Private Blog Networks)

A PBN is a group of fake websites created just to link to other sites. They usually have low-quality content.

Years ago, this worked. Today, Google is very smart. It can easily spot PBNs. If you get caught using a PBN, your site could be removed from search results. Never use PBNs. Always build links from real, relevant sites owned by real people.

At VH-info, we strictly avoid PBNs and only secure placements on genuine sites.

Buying Cheap Links From Low-Quality Vendors

You might see offers on forums or Fiverr saying “100 Backlinks for $5.” Run away.

These are almost always spam links. They are often generated by bots on comments sections or forums. These links do not help your SEO and can actually hurt your search rankings. Quality links take effort to get. If it seems too cheap to be true, it is.

Investing in a real agency or doing the work yourself is the best way to stay safe.

Tracking and Monitoring Your Backlink Profile

Building links is an ongoing process. You need to keep an eye on your links to see what is working.

Best Tools For Backlink Analysis (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz)

To track your links, you need to use tools. The industry standards are Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz.

These SEO tool options allow you to:

• See all your new links.
• Check the DA/DR of linking sites.
• See the anchor text used.
• Spy on your competitors’ backlink profile.

You can also use Google Search Console for free. It shows you a list of links, but it does not give you metrics like DA or spam scores.

What to Do If You Lose A High-Value Backlink?

Sometimes, you will lose a link. Maybe the site owner updated the page and removed your link. This is called “link rot.”

If you lose a link from a high-quality site:

• Check if the page is still there.
• Email the site owner politely.
• Ask if there was a reason the link was removed. Sometimes it is an accident.
• If they deleted the whole page, suggest a new place on their site where your link would fit.

Recovering lost links is often easier than building new ones because you already had a relationship with the site.

FAQ’s:

Do Affiliate Links Count As Backlinks For SEO?

No, they do not.

Affiliate links usually have a “sponsored” or “nofollow” tag. This instructs Google not to consider them a vote of authority. Also, because you place them yourself on other platforms (like social media), they don’t carry the same weight as a natural backlink from another site owner.

How Many Affiliate Marketing Backlinks Do I Need to Rank?

There is no magic number. It depends on your competition. If the #1 site has 100 links, you might need 50 really good ones or 110 average ones. Focus on quality links rather than just a high number. One link from a huge site is worth more than 100 links from tiny blogs.

Is It Safe to Buy Backlinks For My Affiliate Site?

Buying links directly is against Google’s rules.

However, paying an agency like VH-info to do outreach, write content, and manage the process of guest posting is a standard industry practice. You are paying for the service and the content creation, which leads to a link. Avoid buying “link packages” or links from lists.

What is the Difference Between DoFollow and NoFollow Links?

• DoFollow: These links tell Google “count this vote.” They pass authority and help you rank.
• NoFollow: These tell Google “do not count this vote.” You want mostly DoFollow links, but a natural profile has some NoFollow links too.

Can I Build Backlinks Directly to My Affiliate Product Pages?

Yes, but it is hard.

Most people do not want to link to a sales page. It is easier to build links to a helpful guide or blog posts (informational content). Then, use internal links from your blog post to send that “link juice” to your product pages. This is a safer and more effective SEO strategy.

How Long Does It Take For Backlinks to Impact My Rankings?

It takes time. SEO is a long game. It might take 4 to 10 weeks (or even longer) to see the full effect of new links. Google needs time to crawl the web, find the link, and re-calculate your position in the search results. Be patient and keep building.

Conclusion

Building affiliate marketing backlinks is the engine that drives your website to the top. Without them, even the most amazing content will struggle to get seen. Remember, the goal is to build trust with search engines so they send you more traffic.

To succeed, focus on creating valuable content, building relationships with other site owners, and staying consistent. Avoid shortcuts like spammy links or PBNs. Instead, use strategies like guest posting, the Skyscraper technique, and broken link building. It is important to remember that this process takes a lot of time and effort. You have to write emails, create content, and track data constantly.

If you find this work overwhelming, or if you want to focus on writing reviews while someone else handles the technical side, VH-info is here to help. We are experts in SaaS and affiliate link building. We know how to get the high-quality, relevant links that move the needle.

Let us help you turn your affiliate website into a revenue-generating machine.

Start your link building strategy today. Every high-quality link you earn is a step closer to dominating your niche.