Backlinks can have different levels of impact on your site’s SEO. Some give a big boost, while others provide steady benefits over time. 

Tiered link building is a strategy that helps increase the value of all your backlinks. By creating layers of links that support your main site, you can strengthen your SEO from multiple angles. Even smaller links can play a key role in lifting your rankings. 

In this article, we’ll explore how tiered link-building works and how it can help improve your search rankings.

Curious to learn more? Let’s get started!

What is Tiered Link Building?

Source: ghostmarketing

Tiered link building is a strategy where links are built in different layers to strengthen the impact of your main website’s backlinks.

You start by getting links that point directly to your website—these are called Tier 1 links. Then, you build more links—Tier 2—that point to those Tier 1 links.

This creates a backlink structure where every layer supports the other, improving the effectiveness of your links. The tiered link building strategy boosts your website’s authority and contributes to its improved rank in search engines.

Let’s say you have a blog about fitness. You get a link (Tier 1) from a well-known health blog that talks about your workout plans. To give this link more power, you build tier 2 links (like social media shares, smaller fitness blogs, or posts in forums) that point to the health blog’s article. This is how tier 2 link building strengthens the original link. The result is a stronger link to your site, improving your SEO link pyramid and helping your site rank higher over time.

Types of  Tiered Link Building

In tiered link building, there are different levels, or “tiers,” that help create a stronger backlink structure. Each tier has a specific role in boosting the power of your primary backlinks. Let’s break down the types of links you’ll build in this strategy.

1) Tier 1 Links

Tier 1 links are the most significant links in a tiered backlink structure. These links point directly to your website and come from high-quality, trusted, and authoritative sources.

Because Tier 1 links point directly to your site, they have the highest value in your search rankings. These links signal trust and authority to the search engines, making them an important part of the tiered link building strategy.

Examples of Tier 1 Links

• A link to your website from a respected industry blog or media outlet.
• A guest post on a high-authority website that includes a backlink to your site.
• Editorial links from reputable websites that mention your business in a natural way.

This is an example of a Tier 1 backlink (https://www.webdew.com/blog/types-of-backlinks) that we created directly for our domain, OutreachMonks.com.

How to Build Tier 1 Links Effectively

• Guest Posting: Publish well-researched guest posts on high-authority websites in your niche. Include a natural link back to your website in that blog.
• Outreach to High-Authority Sites: Reach out to authority sites in your niche offering relevant content or collaboration opportunities. This is one of the best and effective way to secure Tier 1 links.
• Press Features: Respond to journalists through platforms like HARO to earn backlinks from news websites. Being quoted or mentioned in articles can help you secure powerful Tier 1 backlinks.
• Content Marketing: Create high-value content like guides, infographics, or case studies that others want to link to. Promoting this content through outreach helps attract best tier 2 backlinks and even higher-tier links.

Let Experts Help You Build Tier 1 Backlinks

Building strong Tier 1 backlinks, like guest posts on popular blogs, can take time and effort. If you want it done faster, you can let experts like Outreach Monks do it. We specialize in getting guest posts on high-quality sites that are relevant to your business, giving you the best links to improve your SEO.

Leave the hard work to us and focus on growing your business. Check out our case studies to see how we’ve helped other businesses through guest posting.

1) Tier 2 Links

Tier 2 links are links that point to your Tier 1 backlinks. They don’t link directly to your website but are still important. These links help strengthen the Tier 1 links and increase their SEO value. Building these second-layer links supports the first layer, helping pass more authority to your site indirectly.

Examples of Tier 2 Links

• A blog post linking to a guest post you’ve written (which is your Tier 1 link).
• Social media posts or shares that link back to an article featuring your website.
• Smaller blogs or directories linking to your Tier 1 backlinks.

In this example, we have also built a Tier 2 link that points to our Tier 1 backlink (for the page: https://www.webdew.com/blog/types-of-backlinks).

How to Build Tier 2 Links Effectively

• Social Media Sharing: Share your Tier 1 links on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to spread the word and get traffic.
• Comment on Blogs: Leave thoughtful comments on blog posts that are relevant to your Tier 1 links. Make sure you include a helpful link where appropriate.
• Outreach to Niche Blogs: Connect with smaller blogs in your industry and ask if they’d be interested in linking to content that contains your Tier 1 link.
• Participate in Forums: Share your Tier 1 backlinks on relevant forums where people look for helpful information.

1) Tier 3 Links

Tier 3 links are the third layer in tiered link building. These links don’t point to your website or even your Tier 1 backlinks. Instead, they link to your Tier 2 links. Their job is to add support to the whole link structure and help pass more authority up the chain. Even though they are farther from your website, they still help strengthen the overall SEO impact.

Examples of Tier 3 Links

• Links from smaller forums or directories that point to your Tier 2 links.
• Social bookmarks or profile links from sites like Reddit or Pinterest that lead to your Tier 2 links.
• Automated backlinks from tools (though these should be used with care).

How to Build Tier 3 Links Effectively

• Social Bookmarking: Use platforms like Reddit or Pinterest to create links to your Tier 2 links.
• Forum Participation: Share links leading to your Tier 2 links in relevant forums.
• Free Directories: Submit your Tier 2 links to free directories or listings. These can still add value, even if they’re lower quality.
• Automated Tools (with Caution): Some people use automated tools for Tier 3 links, but it’s important not to overdo it to avoid spammy links.

What Are The Benefits of Tired Link Building?

Tiered link building is one of the best strategies with minimal risks but great impacts on your ranking. Building multiple layers of backlinks becomes more effective in improving the authority of your main links, thus enhancing your overall performance in SEO. Here are a few key benefits of tiered link building:

1. Strengthens Your Main Links

Tiered link building makes your main backlinks stronger. By creating layers of links that point to your top-tier links, you help boost their power. This can make a big difference in how well those links help your site rank higher in search engines.

2. Build a Natural Link Profile

Using multiple tiers creates a natural-looking link profile. When search engines see a variety of links pointing to your site, from different sources and types, it looks more organic. This reduces the chance of getting penalized.

3. Reduces Risk to Your Main Site

Tiered link building helps lower the risk of penalties. Instead of pointing low-quality links directly to your site, you point them to Tier 2 or Tier 3 links. If search engines flag those links, your main website remains safe.

4. Helps Search Engines Find Your Content

Tiered links make it easier for search engines to find and index your content. Multiple layers of links create a trail for crawlers that may even make your pages likely to be found and ranked.

What Are The Risks Present in Tiered Links?

Here, we’ll discuss the key risks involved in using tiered link building that you should be aware of before implementing this strategy.

1. Google Penalties for Low-Quality Links

In tier 2 link building and tier 3 links, the quality often drops. Many of these links come from low-quality or spammy websites. If Google spots too many bad links pointing to your Tier 1 backlinks, it can penalize both the site building those links and the site being linked to. This can cause a drop in your search rankings and harm your SEO​

2. Algorithm Changes

Google is always updating its algorithm to catch manipulative link-building tactics. A tiered link building strategy that worked well last year might not work as well after an update. This can make tiered link building less reliable over time​

3. High Cost and Resource Demand

Tiered link building takes a lot of time and resources. You’re building links to support other links, which can get expensive and time-consuming. Tracking and managing tier 2 link acquisition can be especially tough for smaller teams.​

Other Strategies You Can Go For!

If tiered link building isn’t for you, or if you want to try other approaches, here are a few effective strategies to build strong backlinks:

1. Guest Posting

Write valuable content for blogs in your niche, and in return, get a link back to your site. This helps build Tier 1 backlinks and can expand your audience. Make sure to choose blogs that are trusted and relevant to your industry.

2. Broken Link Building

Find broken links on websites and offer your content as a replacement. This benefits the website owner and gives you a backlink. Tools like Ahrefs can help find broken links. Focus on offering useful content that fits the topic of the broken link.

3. Create Linkable Assets

Create content like a guide, infographic, or video that people may want to link to. Your content will naturally gain backlinks when it is unique and really helpful to users.

4. Use HARO (Help A Reporter Out)

Sign up for HARO, answer journalists’ questions, and provide expertise in quests. You will get quality backlinks from great sites like Forbes and Business Insider. This is a quicker way to build Tier 1 links while building up your credibility.

Conclusion

Tiered link building is a powerful strategy when done thoughtfully and with care. While it requires time and effort, the returns can be very high on improving the authority and SEO of your website. However, guest blogging and other linkable asset creation should be balanced accordingly. 

At the end of the day, success in SEO comes from a well-rounded approach. Keep experimenting, learning, and adapting your strategy to find what works best for your site and your goals. As always, focus on quality over quantity, and you’ll see long-term growth.

FAQs on Tiered Link Building