We recently partnered with BuzzStream to help produce the 2025 Link Building Trends Report — a comprehensive survey of 300+ SEOs and link building professionals.
In the analysis below, we focus on the data points that matter most to in-house teams and brands trying to scale impact, prove ROI, and refine strategy. These takeaways reflect what your peers are struggling with — and where the biggest opportunities lie.
For a full breakdown of survey responses, visual charts, and methodology, read the original BuzzStream analysis here »
Strategic Insights from the 2025 Link Building Survey
The 2025 Link Building Trends Report uncovered clear signals about what’s holding link building efforts back — and where opportunity lies. Below, we share verified findings that point to common pain points and growing needs across in-house SEO teams and agencies alike.
💡 Insight #1: Most Teams Struggle to Prove ROI
Only 40% of respondents said their link building reports effectively show value. That means the majority are executing campaigns without a reliable way to demonstrate return on investment — a critical gap when it comes to justifying budget and prioritization.
🔍 Without clear ROI reporting, it’s harder to earn buy-in and sustain momentum.
💡 Insight #2: Strategy Is a Bottleneck
66% of link builders said they struggle to identify effective backlink tactics. For in-house teams especially, this often means wasting cycles on trial-and-error, or not knowing where to begin at all.
🔧 A strong strategy — built from data and competitive context — is still out of reach for many SEOs.
💡 Insight #3: Perceived Success Rates Are Low
Just 29% of respondents consider their link building efforts successful. Combined with the strategy gap, this shows many teams are executing in isolation — without frameworks to measure performance or recalibrate tactics when results don’t come.
🚨 This signals a need for better systems: for analysis, measurement, and strategic recalibration.
💡 Insight #4: Link Building Remains Largely In-House — But That May Be Shifting
While 61% manage link building entirely in-house, there’s nuance here. In-house doesn’t always mean equipped. Many teams are resource-constrained, experimenting without guidance, or struggling to scale link acquisition with consistency.
🧠 Outsourcing isn’t about offloading — it’s about augmenting internal teams with systems, experience, and execution.
💡 Insight #5: AI Citations Are a Future Priority, Not a Present Capability
Only 11% of respondents said they have a repeatable process for earning citations in AI-generated content. For something with such future visibility potential, this is an area where specialized tooling and workflows will likely emerge.
🤖 AI-savvy link acquisition is emerging as a new frontier — and most aren’t ready yet.
Frequently Asked Questions About the 2025 Link Building Survey
Why do so many link building efforts fail to show ROI?
Survey data shows that only 40% of respondents feel their reports effectively show link building value. Without consistent tracking, attribution, or forecasting models, it’s hard to connect link acquisition to business outcomes.
What’s the biggest challenge in building effective backlinks?
66% of survey participants said identifying effective link building tactics is their top challenge — underscoring the need for stronger strategy frameworks and data-driven planning.
Should brands manage link building in-house or outsource it?
61% currently handle link building entirely in-house, but many of those same teams struggle with strategy, execution, and reporting. For some, augmenting internal resources with specialized partners can improve scale and outcomes.
How can link building success be measured more effectively?
Success often hinges on having the right KPIs — such as share of voice, referral traffic, and organic visibility lift — and aligning them with link goals. Building a reporting model tied to ROI helps maintain executive support.
Are SEOs preparing for AI-generated citations?
Not really — only 11% of survey respondents said they have a repeatable process for earning citations in AI-generated content. This area is emerging, and many teams lack the tools or frameworks to target it effectively.
What kinds of pages are SEOs prioritizing for backlinks?
68% of respondents focus on earning links to blog content, while only 41% prioritize product or commercial pages. This reflects a strategy trend toward link-worthy assets over conversion-focused pages — but both play a role in SEO.
Below is the original content promoting the survey. The survey is now closed.
🕒 Note: The following section remains for historical reference. The survey is now closed, but the results are summarized above.
TLDR: Take part in our 2025 State of Link Building Survey to help us uncover industry-wide insights that can help you refine your link-building and overall SEO strategy and demonstrate measurable results. This survey explores key challenges like justifying link-building ROI, taking advantage of emerging tools, and focusing on metrics that make the biggest impact. Your input will contribute to actionable benchmarks, trend analysis, and strategies for staying competitive. Shape the future of link building while gaining valuable knowledge to align your efforts with business objectives:
Your role as an SEO manager revolves around demonstrating measurable results. There is no shortage of challenges you might be facing on a given day — budget scrutiny, pressure to prove your ROI, fierce competition from rival brands — and link building often provides solutions to these obstacles, especially over the long term. Still, it’s not always easy to prove to a CMO that your link building efforts are having the impact you need them to, even if you are seeing positive movement in your target pages and overall website.
We hope what we learn from our 2025 State of Link Building Survey will provide some clarity that helps SEOs refine their strategies and justify their efforts with confidence. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey to help us — and you — learn more about the current trends, goals, and challenges SEOs face in link building as well as what SEOs hope the future holds for link building.
The Challenges of Justifying Link Building Efforts
Link building can feel like a double-edged sword for SEOs. On one hand, high-quality backlinks remain a cornerstone of search visibility and authority. On the other, quantifying their direct impact on KPIs like conversions, revenue, and market share isn’t cut and dry thanks to a few hurdles. Our survey captures these pain points while offering actionable insights to help you navigate them:
- Tying Results to Revenue: Convincing stakeholders that increased organic visibility translates to bottom-line growth.
- Facing Declining Performance: Addressing a noticeable dip in traffic or rankings as competitors gain ground.
- Getting Budget Approval: Securing resources for link building despite leadership’s demand for quick wins.
What We Designed the Survey to Reveal
Our survey is designed to uncover how industry leaders approach link building and measure success. These insights will help participants identify gaps in their current strategies and adopt practices that drive meaningful outcomes. Here’s what you can expect:
Our survey is designed to uncover how industry leaders approach link building and measure success. These insights will help participants identify gaps in their current strategies and adopt practices that drive meaningful outcomes. Here’s what you can expect:
1. Defining High-Impact Link Building
Many SEO teams focus on boosting overall domain authority, but the real winners prioritize high-impact, bottom-of-the-funnel sales and demo pages that directly influence revenue. Our survey is designed to shed light on how organizations determine which pages to target and the tactics they use to secure impactful backlinks.
2. Shifting Focus to Impact Metrics
Even though metrics like domain authority provide a baseline for measuring success, they usually don’t capture the broader business impact of link building. Successful teams also measure outcomes like increased conversions, revenue, and market share. This survey explores how to track these metrics and communicate them to leadership effectively.
3. Benchmarking and Experimentation
Our survey highlights the importance of benchmarking high-performing pages and using them as control groups to measure impact. It also emphasizes the need for continuous experimentation — from testing outreach tactics to leveraging AI tools — to stay ahead of your competitors.
4. Earning Trust with Stakeholders
Clear, actionable reporting is a critical component of success, but SEO managers often struggle to convey the value of link building in a way that resonates with executives. We want our survey results to unveil how top-performing SEO teams present their results in ways that earn the trust needed to secure ongoing investment. From concise dashboards to comprehensive reports, the survey highlights best practices for communicating success.
Sample question from the survey:
Why You Should Participate (Please DO!)
Link building is at a crossroads, with advancements in AI, shifting search algorithms, and increasing competition changing the landscape. By participating in this survey, you not only gain insights into industry benchmarks but also contribute to a collective effort to elevate the value of link building within the SEO community.
Plus, thanks to your participation, we’ll be able to share invaluable insights that can help you shape a successful link building strategy, including:
- Trends in Link Building: Understand how the best teams allocate their efforts and budgets.
- Challenges and Solutions: Discover common obstacles and the innovative solutions top teams use to overcome them.
- Emerging Technologies: Learn how AI and other tools are reshaping the link-building landscape.
Real-World Benchmarks: Compare your team’s performance against industry leaders and identify areas for growth.
Share Your Thoughts, Get New Insights
Participating in the 2025 State of Link Building Survey takes just a few minutes but provides long-term value. As an SEO manager working in a high-stakes environment, the insights you gain could be the difference between maintaining your competitive edge or falling behind. By joining this effort, you’ll also contribute to a broader understanding of what makes link building successful in today’s digital landscape.
We will be donating $10 for every survey taken to Doctors Without Borders. Donations are powered by Surveys for Good. No additional action is needed on your end other than completing the survey.
Join the ranks of forward-thinking SEOs shaping the future of link building!