Quick answer: Ecommerce link building is harder than link building for a service business, because few people want to link to a product page. The tactics that work best are the ones that give someone a real reason to link: manufacturer and supplier listings, unlinked brand mentions, genuinely useful buying guides, data or tools, product reviews from independent writers, and digital PR around stories your store can tell. Earn links to strong content and category pages, then pass that authority to products with good internal linking.
Why stores find link building hard
Most product pages look alike. They have a photo, a price, a description and an add to cart button. A blogger or journalist has little reason to link to one, and if they do, the product may be out of stock a month later.
Stores also compete with marketplaces and big brands that collect links simply by being well known. A smaller store cannot outspend them, so it has to be more useful and more creative.
The good news is that the basic principles of link building still apply. Relevant, editorial links from real sites matter more than volume. A handful of good links to the right pages can move rankings for category terms that drive sales.
Decide which pages should earn links
Before outreach, decide where links should point.
Category pages often target the most valuable search terms (“men’s trail running shoes” rather than one shoe model). They are stable, so links keep their value. Our guide to category page SEO covers how to make them worth linking to.
Guides and resources attract links more naturally than any product page. A sizing guide, a care guide or a comparison of materials can earn links from forums, bloggers and even competitors’ customers.
The homepage collects most brand mentions and partner links.
Product pages benefit indirectly. Link from guides and categories to the products that matter, and authority flows down through your internal links.
Tactics that work for online stores
Manufacturer and supplier links
If you sell other brands’ products, many manufacturers keep a “where to buy” or stockist page. Ask to be listed with a link. These links are relevant, easy to request and often overlooked. The same goes for wholesalers, distributors and associations you belong to.
If you make your own products, offer your suppliers a short testimonial or case write-up for their site in exchange for a credit. Keep it factual and genuine.
Unlinked brand mentions
Search for your store name, your product names and your founders’ names. You will often find articles, round-ups and forum posts that mention you without a link. A short, friendly note asking the writer to add a link has a high success rate, because they already chose to mention you.
Useful buying guides
Write the guide you wish existed for your product category. For example: how to choose a mattress firmness, a comparison of coffee grinder types, or a chart of fabric weights. Make it complete, include original photos and diagrams, and keep sales messaging light. Then reach out to sites that already link to weaker versions of similar guides.
Data and simple tools
Stores sit on interesting data: which colors sell best in each season, which sizes run out first, what people search for on your site. Aggregated and anonymized, that can make a story for trade press or local news. Small tools work too, such as a size calculator, a gift finder or a cost calculator. Tools earn links for years if they stay accurate.
Product reviews and gifting
Send products to independent reviewers, bloggers and YouTubers who cover your niche. Be clear that you are not paying for a positive review. Google’s guidelines say links from sponsored or gifted content should be marked as such, usually with a nofollow attribute, so treat this mainly as a way to build awareness and brand mentions. The coverage still helps people find you and often leads to natural links from others.
Digital PR and expert comments
Journalists need sources. Services like HARO connect reporters with experts who can answer questions quickly. A store owner who knows a product category well can be that expert. Our guide to HARO link building explains how to pitch without wasting time.
You can also build stories around your business: a sustainability change, a local partnership, a charity drive or a product launch with a real angle. Keep it honest and newsworthy.
Broken and outdated links
Find pages in your niche that link to products, guides or stores that no longer exist. If you have a good replacement, let the site owner know. This is slow, careful work, but it produces relevant links. See our guide to broken link building for the process.
Local links for stores with a physical presence
If you have a shop, a warehouse or a pickup point, local links are within reach: chambers of commerce, local business directories, event sponsorships, community groups and local press.
Tactics to avoid
Some approaches are tempting for stores and carry real risk.
- Buying links. Paid links that pass PageRank break Google’s guidelines. Penalties can wipe out category rankings that took years to build.
- Discount codes for links. Offering a coupon in exchange for a followed link on a coupon or student site is a form of paid linking.
- Private blog networks. Networks of sites built to link to you are easy for Google to spot.
- Mass guest posting with keyword anchors. A few relevant guest posts are fine. Dozens of thin posts with exact match anchors are not.
- Widget and footer links on client sites. If you build tools or themes, keep credit links nofollow or branded.
When you do earn links, let the linking site choose natural wording. Over-optimized anchor text is a common reason store link profiles look unnatural.
Making links count with internal linking
Earning links to guides and categories only helps product pages if your site connects them well.
- Link from guides to the relevant category and a few key products using descriptive text.
- Make sure categories link to subcategories and top products in plain HTML, not only through filters or scripts.
- Keep discontinued product URLs alive with a note and links to alternatives, or redirect them to the closest category, rather than letting them return errors.
- Avoid burying important categories deep in the navigation.
Measuring progress
Track a short list of things each month: new referring domains, which pages they point to, rankings for your main category terms, and organic revenue or conversions from those categories. Use Search Console’s links report and a backlink tool to see new links. Remember that rankings respond slowly. Judge a link building effort over several months, not several weeks.
A starter plan for the next 90 days
- List manufacturers, suppliers and associations and request stockist or member links.
- Find and contact unlinked mentions of your brand.
- Pick one category and publish a genuinely useful guide for it.
- Pitch that guide to sites that already cover the topic.
- Answer journalist requests in your niche each week.
- Tighten internal links from guides to categories and products.
- Review results and choose the next category.
FAQ
Should I build links to product pages directly?
Rarely. Products change and go out of stock. Build links to categories and guides, then link internally to products.
Are links from product reviews worth it?
They are worth it for awareness and sales, but links in gifted reviews should be nofollow and the post should disclose the gift. Natural links often follow.
How many links does an online store need?
There is no fixed number. It depends on your niche and competitors. Look at the referring domains of the stores ranking for your main terms to set a realistic target.
Can a small store compete with big brands?
For broad terms it is hard. For specific categories, long tail searches and local terms, a store with useful content and well chosen links can compete well.
Build links your customers would also value
The best ecommerce link building looks a lot like good marketing: useful content, real relationships and stories worth sharing. Start with easy wins like supplier links and mentions, then invest in one strong guide at a time. If you want help connecting link building with a store that converts the traffic it earns, see Turn visitors into customers.
