What Is Link Popularity In SEO And Why Does It Matter?

If you’ve ever wondered how some websites consistently rank at the top of Google, one major factor is link popularity in SEO. Simply put, it’s about how many other websites are linking to yours—and more importantly, how credible those links are. 

In this guide, we’ll break down what link popularity means, why it matters for your online visibility, and how you can build it the right way. 

Whether you run a blog, business site, or e-commerce store in Singapore, understanding link popularity in SEO is key to getting found online and staying ahead of your competitors. Let’s dive in.

Link Popularity Definition

Right, let’s get straight to it. You’ve likely heard the term “link popularity” thrown around, but what does it actually mean for your business here in Singapore?

Imagine you’re looking for the best chicken rice at a hawker centre. You’d probably trust a recommendation from a friend who’s a well-known foodie far more than a hundred flyers from a stall you’ve never heard of. Link popularity works in a very similar way for your website.

At its core, link popularity is a measure of both the quantity and, more importantly, the quality of other websites linking back to yours. It’s how search engines like Google gauge your website’s importance, credibility, and authority based on the “recommendations” it gets from others across the internet.

It’s Not Just A Numbers Game: Backlink Count vs. Popularity

This is the most critical distinction to understand. A simple backlink count is just the total number of links pointing to your site. In the early days of the internet, this was all that mattered. More links meant higher rankings, which led to people getting thousands of low-quality, spammy links to cheat the system.

Google is far cleverer now. It understands that having one single, powerful link from a major news site like The Straits Times is infinitely more valuable than a thousand links from irrelevant, low-quality blogs.

Therefore, link popularity isn’t about having the most links; it’s about earning the best links.

Introducing Link Authority: Where The Real Power Lies

This brings us to the concept of link authority (also known as “link equity”). Think back to our foodie friend—their recommendation has authority. In the SEO world, when a powerful, trusted, and relevant website links to you, it passes some of its authority on to your site.

A website’s authority is built on many factors, including its own age, the quality of its content, and its own backlink profile. When you earn a link from a high-authority domain, it’s a powerful signal to Google that your website is also a trusted resource. This is the “quality” part of the link popularity equation.

So, What Is Link Popularity In A Nutshell?

To put it all together, link popularity is not a single metric. It’s a holistic assessment of your entire backlink profile, which includes:

• The number of backlinks you have.
• The authority of the websites those links come from.
• The relevance of those websites to your industry.
• The diversity of the websites linking to you (getting 10 links from 10 different sites is better than 10 links from one site).

In the broader SEO landscape, building your link popularity is one of the most fundamental ways to prove your value to Google. It tells search engines that your business is a legitimate and respected player in its field, worthy of being shown to people in Singapore who are actively searching for your products or services.

5 Core Benefits Of High Link Popularity

So, we’ve established that building your link popularity is about earning trust and authority. 

But what does that actually do for your business? Why should you invest your time and effort into this? The truth is, the benefits go far beyond just a technical SEO score. A strong link profile is one of the most powerful assets for driving tangible online growth.

Here are the five most significant advantages you can gain.

1. Boosts Search Engine Rankings

Backlinks are one of Google’s top ranking signals. When reputable websites link to yours, search engines see it as a vote of confidence—as if they’re saying, “This content is trustworthy and worth reading.”

Think of each quality backlink as a recommendation. If your site receives more credible recommendations than your competitors, you’re more likely to climb higher in the search results. 

This is especially important in competitive industries like finance, education, or home services, where ranking on the first page can make or break your visibility.

Link popularity doesn’t just influence one page either—it has a ripple effect across your entire domain. A single well-placed link can strengthen your overall SEO authority, making it easier for all your content to rank better over time.

2. Increases Website Authority And Trust

Link popularity directly contributes to your domain’s perceived authority—both from Google’s point of view and from your visitors’. When your site is linked to by well-established, reputable sources (like industry blogs, news outlets, or local directories), it sends a clear message: your content can be trusted.

This trust factor is crucial for building long-term credibility, especially for Singapore-based SMEs trying to stand out in niche or saturated markets. Users are more likely to engage with a business if they see it referenced on platforms they already know and respect.

From an SEO perspective, this increased domain authority means Google will be more inclined to crawl, rank, and promote your content in search results.

3. Drives Qualified Referral Traffic

Here’s something many people overlook: backlinks don’t just help with rankings—they can actually bring in direct traffic from other websites.

When someone clicks on a link to your site from a related blog, directory, or partner site, they’re already interested in what you offer. That means referral traffic from quality backlinks tends to be more engaged and more likely to convert—whether that’s filling out a form, booking a consultation, or making a purchase.

Unlike paid ads, these referral visits don’t cost you anything—and the benefits last much longer. A good backlink can drive consistent traffic for months or even years after it’s published.

4. Enhances Brand Visibility And Recognition

Getting featured on well-known websites, local publications, or niche blogs increases your brand’s exposure beyond just search engines. When your business appears in more places online, more people see your name—and over time, this builds brand recognition and credibility.

Let’s say your Singapore business gets linked in a popular local lifestyle blog or on a government resources page. Not only do you gain an SEO boost, but you’re also tapping into new audiences who may not have discovered you otherwise.

Even if someone doesn’t click the link right away, seeing your brand mentioned across different platforms helps build trust. This kind of brand visibility can influence future purchase decisions, word-of-mouth referrals, and even media coverage.

5. Accelerates Content Discovery And Indexing

Every time a reputable site links to one of your pages, it increases the chances that Google’s bots (a.k.a. crawlers) will follow that link and discover your content. This is especially valuable if your site is new or you’ve just published fresh content that needs to be indexed quickly.

Without backlinks, search engines might take longer to find and rank your pages. But with even a few high-quality links, your content becomes more “visible” in the eyes of Google, making it easier for your target audience to find you.

In the fast-paced digital space, especially in markets like Singapore where competition is tight, speed matters. The quicker your content is indexed, the faster it can start ranking—and working for your business.

What Makes A “Good” Backlink?

Not all backlinks are created equal. While it might be tempting to chase sheer numbers, the real power of backlinks lies in their quality—not just quantity. In fact, having a handful of well-placed, high-quality backlinks is often far more effective than collecting hundreds of random, low-value links.

So, what separates a good backlink from a bad or mediocre one? Below, we break down three of the most important characteristics to help you recognise a backlink that will actually make a difference to your SEO performance.

Relevance

Let’s say you run a bakery in Singapore. A backlink from a food blog or local lifestyle site would make perfect sense, wouldn’t it? But if you were linked on a website about car repairs or cryptocurrency, it wouldn’t seem quite right—and Google agrees.

Backlinks from topically relevant websites carry much more SEO weight. Why? Because relevance signals contextual trust. If other websites in your niche (or related industries) are linking to your content, it suggests that your site is genuinely contributing to that subject area.

Google uses relevance as a filter to determine how useful a backlink really is. Even if the linking domain has a high authority, if the topic is completely unrelated, that link may offer limited SEO benefit—or worse, confuse your site’s topical focus.

Quick tip:

Before trying to get a backlink, ask yourself: “Would this site’s audience find my content useful?” If the answer’s no, it’s probably not worth pursuing.

Authority Of The Linking Domain

Imagine getting a recommendation from a trusted expert in your industry versus a random stranger. Naturally, you’d value the expert’s opinion more—and search engines do the same with backlinks.

Links from high-authority domains—such as news outlets, government websites, well-known publications, and industry leaders—are considered highly valuable. 

These sites have already built up trust and credibility in the eyes of Google, and when they link to you, some of that credibility is passed on to your site. This is often referred to as “link equity” or “link juice”.

So how do you know if a site has high authority?

You can check using SEO tools like:

• Ahrefs (Domain Rating)
• Moz (Domain Authority)
• SEMrush (Authority Score)

Generally, the higher the score, the more valuable the backlink. But don’t focus solely on numbers—context and trustworthiness matter just as much.

In the Singapore market, getting backlinks from reputable local sources—like The Straits Times, local universities, or government portals—can have a significant impact on your site’s perceived authority and search performance.

Backlink Placement (Page Position)

Where your backlink appears on the page also affects how much value it passes to your site. Not all links are treated equally—placement matters.

Backlinks placed within the main body of a page, especially in the first few paragraphs or alongside relevant content, tend to carry the most SEO weight. These are called contextual backlinks, and Google sees them as more natural and trustworthy.

In contrast:

• Links hidden in the footer or sidebar are often overlooked or discounted by search engines.
• Links buried in long lists with no explanation or context can appear spammy.
• Links in comments or user-generated content usually carry little to no SEO value.

From a reader’s perspective, links placed in meaningful content also feel more organic—like a genuine recommendation rather than a forced placement. And that’s exactly what search engines look for.

Pro tip:
If you’re guest posting or collaborating with partners, always aim to get your backlink placed within the core content, ideally with a relevant anchor text.

Anchor Text Optimisation

Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink—usually highlighted in blue and underlined. While it might seem like a minor detail, anchor text plays a big role in how Google understands the context of your backlink and, by extension, your content.

Search engines use anchor text as a clue. If multiple websites link to your page using a specific phrase (e.g., “affordable wedding photography in Singapore”), Google starts associating your site with that topic. But here’s the catch—overdoing it can backfire.

In the past, SEOs stuffed anchor text with exact-match keywords to game the algorithm. Today, that’s a fast track to a penalty. Google now prefers a natural, diverse anchor text profile that mimics how people link organically.

A healthy anchor profile includes:

• Branded anchors (e.g., BestSEO or BestSEO Singapore)
• Naked URLs (e.g., https://www.bestseo.sg)
• Generic phrases (e.g., click here, this article)
• Partial-match keywords (e.g., SEO strategies for SMEs)
• Exact-match keywords, sparingly and only when natural

The key takeaway? Mix it up. Don’t try to force your keyword into every link. Aim for variety, and prioritise relevance and readability over keyword stuffing. Google’s smarter than ever—it knows the difference between natural and manipulative linking.

Dofollow Vs. Nofollow

One of the most common questions we get is: What’s the difference between dofollow and nofollow links—and does it really matter? Short answer: yes, but context is everything.

By default, most links are dofollow. This means that search engines will crawl the link, pass on SEO value (a.k.a. “link juice”), and consider it a vote of confidence in the linked content. These are the types of links you want to earn from reputable, relevant sites.

On the other hand, a nofollow link contains a simple attribute in the code (rel=”nofollow”) that tells search engines: “Don’t follow this link or pass SEO value.” These links were originally created to combat spam, especially in user-generated content like blog comments or forums.

So, are nofollow links useless? Not at all.

While nofollow links might not directly influence rankings, they can:

• Drive valuable referral traffic
• Increase brand visibility
• Contribute to a natural backlink profile (too many dofollow links can look suspicious)

In Singapore, many high-profile publications and directories (like forums, directories, or news sites) use nofollow links by default. That doesn’t mean you should ignore them—a balanced mix of dofollow and nofollow links signals to Google that your backlink profile is organic and trustworthy.

Traffic And Engagement Of The Linking Page

Here’s a truth many overlook: a backlink isn’t just about SEO signals—it’s also about real people.

When a backlink comes from a page that gets regular visitors, comments, shares, or dwell time, it has more value than one sitting on a forgotten blog with no traffic. That’s because engaged pages are seen as fresh, relevant, and trusted—and Google rewards that.

In fact, even if two pages have similar domain authority, the one that’s actively getting traffic will likely send more SEO value (and potential customers) your way. A link from a popular lifestyle site in Singapore, for example, can do wonders for your exposure and lead flow.

So how can you gauge engagement?

• Look at monthly page visits using tools like SimilarWeb or Ahrefs
• Check for comments, shares, or mentions
• Consider the site’s activity and publishing frequency

Ultimately, links from active, respected pages offer a double win: they help your rankings and they bring real, targeted traffic to your site.

Unique Referring Domains

When it comes to link popularity in SEO, many people assume that more backlinks automatically mean better results. But what matters even more than quantity is diversity—specifically, the number of unique referring domains pointing to your site.

Let’s break it down:
A referring domain is the website where your backlink comes from. So if 20 backlinks all come from the same site, that’s one referring domain. But if you have 20 backlinks from 20 different sites, that’s 20 referring domains—and that’s far more powerful in the eyes of Google.

Search engines view backlinks from a wide range of domains as a sign that your content is credible, valuable, and widely trusted across the web. It suggests that multiple sources independently found your content worth referencing—not just one site repeatedly linking to you.

Here’s why unique referring domains matter:

• They help establish broad authority in your niche.
• They reduce the risk of over-optimisation or appearing manipulative.
• They diversify your link profile, making it more resilient to algorithm updates.

Freshness And Link Velocity

Search engines, especially Google, love fresh signals—and that includes backlinks. Freshness refers to how recently you’ve acquired a backlink, while link velocity refers to the rate at which new backlinks are gained over time.

Why do these two concepts matter?

Because a steady stream of new backlinks tells Google that your site is still relevant, still active, and still worth paying attention to. In contrast, if all your links are from years ago and nothing new has come in since, it may suggest your content is outdated or losing popularity.

Here’s how it impacts your SEO:

• Fresh backlinks can reinvigorate existing pages, helping them climb back up the rankings.
• A consistent link velocity shows sustained interest, which supports long-term visibility.
• Sudden spikes in link growth can be a red flag—unless they happen naturally (e.g., from a viral article or big press mention).

The key is to aim for organic, consistent growth. In Singapore, you might achieve this by publishing new blog content regularly, joining local business directories, or collaborating with local influencers who may link to your site over time.

It’s not about explosive link-building—it’s about building momentum and maintaining it.

Indexability Of The Linking Page

If the page linking to your site isn’t indexed by Google, it won’t pass on any SEO value. In simple terms, a backlink only counts if Google can see it.

You might get a link from a high-authority blog, but if that blog post hasn’t been indexed (or worse, is blocked by robots.txt or has a noindex tag), Google won’t even know the link exists. That means no link equity, no improved rankings—nothing.

Why does this happen?

• The page is too new and hasn’t been crawled yet.
• It’s hidden behind a login or paywall.
• It’s set to “noindex” (either intentionally or by mistake).
• It’s on a low-quality site that Google chooses to ignore.

Before celebrating a new backlink, check if the linking page is indexed. You can do this by searching in Google using:

site:example.com/page-url

If it doesn’t show up, it’s likely not indexed.

Also, be wary of links placed on orphan pages (pages that aren’t linked to by any other pages on the same site). These are harder for search engines to find and may never be crawled at all.

So, make sure your backlinks live on indexed, accessible, and crawlable pages. That’s the only way they can truly benefit your SEO efforts.

Link Context (Surrounding Text & Topic)

When Google evaluates a backlink, it doesn’t just look at the link itself—it pays close attention to the context around it. This means the words and phrases surrounding the link (known as link context) play a big role in how much relevance and SEO value that backlink carries.

Let’s say your page is about “digital marketing tips for SMEs,” and someone links to it from a blog post that’s also discussing small business marketing. That’s a contextually relevant backlink—and it’s exactly what Google wants to see.

On the other hand, if you get a backlink from a site that writes about gardening or cooking, even if it’s a high-authority site, the context may not align—and that link won’t carry as much weight.

Here’s why link context matters:

• It helps Google understand what your page is about, based on the surrounding content.
• It adds semantic relevance, increasing the chances your page ranks for the right keywords.
• It reflects natural linking behaviour—people tend to link to content related to the topic they’re writing about.

Natural Link Profile (No Manipulation)

Search engines have come a long way in detecting unnatural linking patterns. Gone are the days when you could spam your site to the top of Google with low-quality links. Today, what matters is having a natural link profile—a mix of backlinks that grow organically over time, without manipulation.

A natural link profile includes:

• Links from a variety of relevant websites.
• A balanced mix of anchor texts (not just exact-match keywords).
• A blend of dofollow and nofollow links.
• A reasonable growth rate—not hundreds of links appearing overnight.

What raises red flags?

• Buying links from shady sites or link farms.
• Mass commenting on blogs or forums with links back to your site.
• Overusing keyword-rich anchor texts.
• Getting many links from the same domain in a short period.

If Google suspects you’re trying to game the system, it can trigger a manual penalty—and that’s a nightmare for any business trying to grow online.

So, what’s the best approach? Focus on earning links rather than building them. Create high-value content, collaborate with others in your niche, get featured in local news, and offer useful resources that people naturally want to link to.

Remember: it’s not about tricking Google—it’s about building real trust over time.

Editorially Placed (Not User-Generated)

Not all backlinks are created equal—and one of the biggest differences lies in who places the link. A backlink that’s editorially placed—meaning it’s intentionally added by the content creator or website owner—is far more valuable than one that’s user-generated.

Let’s look at the difference:

• Editorial Backlink: You write a helpful guide on B2B marketing in Singapore, and a journalist from a business publication includes your link as a trusted source in their article. That’s editorial. It shows endorsement and carries strong SEO value.
• User-Generated Backlink: You leave a link to your site in a blog comment, forum signature, or online directory where anyone can post. These links are easy to create, but they’re not necessarily earned, and Google knows that.

Why do editorial links matter more?

• They are selective and intentional, signalling quality.
• They usually appear in contextually relevant content.
• They show that your content has genuine value, enough to be referenced by others.

User-generated links aren’t completely useless—but they should form a tiny part of your backlink profile, not the foundation. Focus your efforts on getting links that are vetted, thoughtful, and genuinely earned.

How To Measure And Analyse Your Link Popularity

Knowledge is power, especially in SEO. Simply building links without tracking your progress is like driving from Jurong to Changi without a map—you might get there eventually, but it won’t be efficient. 

To take control of your SEO progress, you need to regularly measure and analyse your backlink profile. This allows you to see what’s working, spot potential issues, and find new opportunities.

Here’s how you can get started.

Choose Your SEO Tools

Before you dive into analysis, you’ll need the right set of tools. Fortunately, there are several platforms—ranging from beginner-friendly to advanced—that make backlink analysis both accessible and insightful.

Here are a few popular choices:

• Ahrefs – A favourite among professionals, Ahrefs offers detailed insights into your backlink profile. You can check new vs. lost links, referring domains, anchor text variations, and Domain Rating (DR). Its interface is intuitive, even for beginners.
• SEMrush – Known for its all-in-one digital marketing toolkit, SEMrush’s Backlink Audit Tool lets you monitor backlink growth, authority scores, toxic links, and more. Ideal for competitive research too.
• Moz Link Explorer – Moz is a trusted name in the SEO community. Its Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA) metrics give a quick snapshot of how strong your site and its backlinks are.
• Google Search Console – While not as feature-rich, it’s free and invaluable. It shows you which websites are linking to yours, what pages are getting linked, and your top linking texts.

Tip for Singapore SMEs: If you’re just getting started, Google Search Console is a great place to begin. As your SEO strategy matures, consider investing in a paid tool like Ahrefs or SEMrush for deeper insights.

Focus On The Right Metrics

Once you’ve chosen your tool, you’ll be presented with a lot of data. It can feel overwhelming, so it’s important to focus on the metrics that truly matter.

• Referring Domains: This is the number of unique websites linking to you. As we’ve covered, this is often more important than the total backlink count. Your goal should be to steadily increase this number over time.
• Domain Rating (DR) or Domain Authority (DA): This is a score from 0-100 created by Ahrefs (DR) and Moz (DA) to estimate a website’s overall authority based on its backlink profile. 

While it’s a third-party metric and not used by Google, it’s an excellent way to quickly gauge the “strength” of a website.

• Anchor Text: Your tool will show you a list of all the anchor texts used in your backlinks. You’re looking for a natural, diverse profile. If you see that 90% of your links use the exact same keyword, it’s a red flag that your profile might look manipulative.
• Spam Score or Toxicity Score: Many tools provide a metric to help you identify potentially harmful links. A high score here doesn’t automatically mean you have a penalty, but it’s a signal to investigate those links more closely to ensure they aren’t from low-quality or spammy websites.

The Analysis Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Ready to get started? Here is a simplified walkthrough of how to conduct a basic backlink analysis.

1. Establish Your Baseline: The first step is to run your own website’s domain through your chosen tool. Take note of your key metrics: number of referring domains, your Domain Rating/Authority, and your most linked-to pages. This is your starting point.
2. Analyse Your Competitors: Next, run the domains of your top 3-5 competitors through the same tool. Compare their metrics to yours. How many more referring domains do they have? What is their Domain Authority? This reveals the “link gap” and shows you how much ground you need to cover.
3. Find Their Best Links: Look at your competitors’ backlink reports and identify where their best links are coming from. Are they getting featured on specific industry blogs, news sites, or directories? This is a goldmine of potential link opportunities for your own business.
4. Audit Your Own Profile for Quality: Look through your own list of backlinks. Are they coming from relevant, authoritative sites? Or do you have links from low-quality, irrelevant websites? Be honest in your assessment. 

If you find potentially harmful links, you can use Google’s Disavow Tool to ask them to be ignored, though this should be done with caution and usually with expert guidance.

1. Identify Your “Link Magnets”: Look at which of your own pages have naturally attracted the most links. Is it a particular blog post, a detailed guide, or a case study? 

This tells you what kind of content resonates with your audience and earns links. Use this insight to guide your future content strategy—create more of what works!

6 Actionable Strategies To Build Your Link Popularity

Building link popularity in SEO doesn’t mean gaming the system. It’s about creating value, building relationships, and earning links the right way. 

Below are six practical strategies you can start using today to attract high-quality backlinks—without risking penalties from Google. These approaches are sustainable, proven, and ideal for SMEs looking to boost their online visibility.

1. Create “Linkable Assets”

The most sustainable way to get backlinks is to create something that people genuinely want to link to. A “linkable asset” is a piece of high-value content created with the specific purpose of attracting links from other websites. Instead of asking for links, you earn them because your content is just that good.

So, what does this look like in practice?

• Original Research & Data: Conduct a survey and publish the results as an industry report (e.g., “The 2025 Singapore SME Digital Marketing Trends Report”). Journalists, bloggers, and researchers love citing new data and will link back to you as the source.
• In-depth “Ultimate” Guides: Create the most comprehensive, detailed guide on a topic in your niche (e.g., “The Ultimate Guide to Navigating CPF for Self-Employed Individuals”). This becomes the definitive resource that others will reference.
• Free Tools & Calculators: Develop a simple, useful tool that solves a problem for your audience. A renovation firm could create a “Home Renovation Budget Calculator,” or a financial advisor could offer a “Retirement Savings Calculator.” People will link to useful tools.
• Compelling Infographics: Turn complex data or a step-by-step process into a beautifully designed, easy-to-understand infographic. These are highly shareable and often get linked to in blog posts.

2. Strategic Guest Blogging

Guest blogging is the practice of writing an article for another website in your industry. Forget the old, spammy version of this tactic; modern guest blogging is about providing genuine value and sharing your expertise. 

It’s a win-win: the host website gets excellent, free content for their audience, and you get a high-value, contextual backlink and exposure to new potential customers.

Here’s how to do it strategically:

1. Find the Right Blogs: Look for reputable blogs in your niche that accept guest contributions. You can use Google searches like “[your industry] Singapore” + “write for us” or “[your topic]” + “guest article”.
2. Vet Your Targets: Don’t just write for anyone. Check that the blog has a real, engaged audience and a good domain authority. The link should come from a quality source.
3. Pitch a Great Idea: Send a personalised email to the editor. Instead of just asking to write, propose 2-3 specific article ideas that you know would be a perfect fit for their readers.
4. Deliver Your Best Work: Write an outstanding, insightful article. Within the content, include one or two natural, contextual links back to a relevant resource on your own website.

3. The Broken Link Building Method

This is a clever and highly effective technique that provides immense value to other website owners. The process involves finding broken links (links that lead to a “404 Not Found” error) on other websites and then suggesting your own content as a replacement. 

You are essentially helping them fix their website, which makes them much more receptive to adding your link.

Here’s the simple, step-by-step process:

1. Find Relevant Pages: Look for authoritative pages in your niche that have lists of links, such as resource pages or detailed guides.
2. Check for Broken Links: Use a free browser extension like “Check My Links” to automatically scan the page for any dead links. They will usually be highlighted in red.
3. Find or Create a Replacement: Once you find a broken link, check what the original content was about. If you have a similar article or guide on your own website, it’s a perfect replacement. If not, you can create one.
4. Reach Out and Help: Send a polite email to the website owner. Start by introducing yourself, then let them know you found a broken link on their specific page. Finally, suggest your content as a suitable and working replacement.

4. Analyse Your Competitors’ Backlinks

Your competitors who are already ranking well have done a lot of the hard work for you. By reverse-engineering their backlink profile, you can discover a proven roadmap of link opportunities to target for your own business.

Here’s how to do it with a tool like Ahrefs or Semrush:

1. Identify Your Competitors: Make a list of 3-5 of your top search competitors.
2. Enter Their Domain: Put their website URL into the tool’s site explorer and navigate to the “Backlinks” report.
3. Look for High-Quality Links: Sift through their links and look for patterns. Where are they getting links from? Are they guest posting on certain blogs? Are they listed in specific industry directories? Are they featured in expert round-ups?
4. Create a Target List: For each high-quality link you find, ask yourself, “How did they get this link, and can I get one too?” This process will provide you with a high-priority list of websites to reach out to for your own link building campaigns.

5. Claim Unlinked Brand Mentions

Often, other websites will mention your brand, your products, or even your name without actually linking to your website. These unlinked brand mentions are the lowest-hanging fruit in link building because the author is already aware of you and values your brand enough to mention it. All you need to do is give them a gentle nudge to add a link.

Here’s the process:

1. Find Your Mentions: Set up a free Google Alert for your brand name and the names of key people in your company. For more comprehensive results, you can use the “Alerts” feature in a paid tool like Ahrefs.
2. Check for a Link: When you get notified of a new mention, visit the page and see if the text is a clickable link to your website.
3. Make the Polite Request: If it’s not linked, find the contact information for the author or editor. Send them a friendly email thanking them for the mention. Then, politely ask if they would consider adding a link to make it easier for their readers to find you. Most of the time, they are happy to do so.

6. Build Relationships (Digital PR)

Ultimately, the most powerful, sustainable link building strategy is to build real relationships. Instead of thinking in terms of one-off link requests, focus on becoming a recognised and trusted authority in your field. When journalists, bloggers, and influencers in Singapore know and trust you, they will link to you naturally.

This is a long-term strategy, but the payoff is enormous. Here’s how to start:

• Engage on Social Media: Follow key people in your industry on platforms like LinkedIn. Don’t just be a silent observer—share their content, add thoughtful comments, and engage in conversations.
• Be a Source for Journalists: Sign up for a free service like Help a Reporter Out (HARO). You’ll receive daily emails with queries from journalists looking for expert quotes for their articles. Providing a helpful quote can earn you a high-authority backlink from a major news publication.
• Provide Value First: Build goodwill by being genuinely helpful. Share an interesting piece of data with a blogger, connect two of your contacts who could benefit from knowing each other, or offer a testimonial. Do this without asking for anything in return.

Conclusion About Link Popularity In SEO

So, after exploring the ins and outs of link popularity, the main takeaway for your business is clear: this isn’t just a technical SEO metric, but the very foundation of your website’s authority online. 

Building it isn’t about finding quick fixes or trying to game the system. It’s about methodically earning trust across the web, one high-quality, relevant backlink at a time. 

We understand. You’re on the web searching through hundreds of marketing-related websites because you’re hungry to grow your business. 

You now have the knowledge, but finding the time and dedicated expertise to execute these strategies effectively is another challenge altogether. This is where we can step in.

At BestSEO, we were founded on the premise that outbound marketing is costly and inefficient. Our mission is to help companies in Singapore achieve more inbound leads, sales, and revenue through ACTUAL CONVERSIONS than they can possibly handle. 

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Frequently Asked Questions About Link Popularity In SEO

How Is Link Popularity Different From Link Building?

Link popularity refers to how many and how valuable your backlinks are, while link building is the process of actively acquiring those links. One is the result; the other is the action.

Can Social Media Links Improve My Link Popularity In SEO?

While most social media links are nofollow, they can still drive engagement, brand mentions, and referral traffic—all of which can lead to natural backlinks from other websites.

Does Internal Linking Affect Link Popularity?

No—internal links help with site structure and crawlability, but link popularity is specifically about external websites linking back to your pages.

Are Directory Submissions Still Useful For Link Popularity?

Only if the directories are relevant, reputable, and well-moderated. Submitting to spammy or low-quality directories can harm your SEO rather than help it.

How Long Does It Take For Link Popularity To Impact Search Rankings?

There’s no fixed timeline, but most quality backlinks begin to show impact within a few weeks to a few months, depending on the domain authority and indexing speed.

Can Too Many Backlinks Hurt My Site?

Yes—if you acquire backlinks too quickly from irrelevant, low-quality, or spammy sources, it may trigger a penalty or devaluation from Google.

Is Link Popularity Still Important With Google’s Ai-Based Ranking Systems?

Absolutely. While Google’s algorithms are evolving, link popularity remains a key trust signal and ranking factor that complements content relevance and user experience.