Backlinks Example: Real Cases and What Makes Them Work

What a backlink is

A backlink is a hyperlink on another website that points to a page on your site. Search engines treat it as a vote of confidence: another site decided your page was worth referencing. That is the whole idea, and it explains why not all backlinks are equal. A link from a publication your buyers trust, on a page about your topic, carries weight. A link from a directory that lists thousands of unrelated sites carries almost none. A link from a page that itself has no visitors and no links is worth little either.

Two numbers describe a backlink profile. Referring domains counts how many different websites link to you; total backlinks counts every link, including several from the same site. Referring domains is the number that matters most, because ten links from one site are closer to one vote than ten votes.

Example 1: the skyscraper technique

The best-documented backlink example comes from Brian Dean of Backlinko, who published the skyscraper technique in 2015. The method has three steps: find a page in your niche that has already earned many backlinks, create a version that is clearly better — deeper, fresher, better organised — and then email the sites linking to the original to tell them a better resource exists.

Dean's own case study reported that one campaign earned 17 links from about 160 emails, an 11% success rate, and that organic traffic roughly doubled in the two weeks after the campaign. Those numbers are from 2015, when the technique was new. Practitioners report that success rates have since fallen to around 1–3%, because every site owner now receives the same pitch weekly. The campaigns that still work are the ones where the new page adds something genuinely new — fresh data, original visuals, or expert input — rather than a slightly longer rewrite.

The lesson is not the email template. It is the order of operations: the asset comes first, the outreach second. A better page with no outreach earns nothing; outreach for a page that is not better earns nothing either.

Example 2: a free tool that earns links for years

HubSpot's Website Grader is the classic example of a linkable asset. It is a free tool that grades any website's performance, mobile-friendliness, SEO and security, and returns a report. Because it stays useful, other writers keep linking to it whenever they write about website audits or free marketing tools. Reports of its backlink profile put it at more than 10,000 referring domains.

The point is durability. A blog post earns most of its links in the weeks after publication. A free tool earns links for years, because every new article on the topic needs a tool to recommend. The same logic applies at smaller scale: a free template, calculator or checklist on your site can earn links long after a blog post stops being shared.

Example 3: topic clusters that attract links naturally

HubSpot also popularised the topic cluster model: a broad pillar page on a subject, supported by cluster pages on specific questions, all linked together. The cluster earns links because it becomes the obvious page to reference. A writer covering one aspect of the topic links to the pillar page; a writer covering the pillar subject links to the cluster pages.

The mechanism is different from outreach. Nobody is emailed. The links arrive because the cluster is the most complete resource on the subject, and completeness is what other writers need when they reference a topic. That is why the cluster model shows up in so many backlink case studies: it turns a site's own structure into a link-earning asset.

Example 4: the broken-link replacement

The broken-link method works the same way as the skyscraper, but starts from a dead page. Find a page in your niche that earned links and now returns a 404 error, recreate its content — or a better version of it — and tell the sites linking to the dead page that their link is broken and your page replaces it.

It works because you are solving the linking site's problem, not only yours. A broken link makes their page look neglected, so the site owner has a reason to act. The method needs a backlink tool to find dead pages with live links, and it works best on pages that were once popular enough to earn links in the first place. A dead page nobody linked to has nobody to email.

How to read a backlink example

When you see a case study claiming hundreds of links, check four things before copying the tactic.

• The date. A tactic from 2015 worked in 2015. Outreach response rates fall as more people use the same template.
• The asset. Was the page genuinely better, or just longer? Length without new information does not earn links.
• The attribution. Did the links come from the tactic, or from the site's existing audience and reputation? Large sites earn links for reasons small sites cannot copy.
• The link quality. A hundred links from directories and forums are worth less than five from publications in your field.

A backlink example is useful when it shows the mechanism — a better page, a useful tool, a complete cluster, a fixed broken link — not when it shows only a number.

Mistakes to avoid with backlinks

• Buying links. Google's spam policies treat buying or selling links that pass ranking credit as link spam. It risks rankings for the page and the site.
• Chasing link counts. Ten links from one domain count as one referring domain. One link from a trusted publication beats fifty from low-quality sites.
• Outreach before the asset exists. Emailing site owners about a page that is not better than what they already link to wastes the contact and the reputation.
• Ignoring internal links. Links between your own pages distribute authority to the pages that need it. A new guide with no internal links is invisible to your own site.
• Forgetting the anchor text. The clickable words of a link tell search engines what the linked page is about. Natural, varied anchor text from real references beats repeated exact-match anchors.
• Measuring links, not results. Track referring domains, rankings for target keywords, and organic traffic. A rising link count with flat rankings means the links are not helping.

Five backlink terms worth knowing

• Backlink: a link from another website to one of your pages.
• Referring domain: a distinct website that links to you, counted once however many links it sends.
• Anchor text: the clickable words of a link.
• Linkable asset: a page built to earn links, such as original research, a free tool or a definitive guide.
• Link spam: buying, selling or exchanging links to manipulate rankings, against Google's spam policies.

To build links for your own site, read the how to build backlinks guide and the link building outreach guide. The link velocity guide explains how fast new links should appear, and Adziq's SEO service page covers outreach work if you want it run for you.

Common questions

Sources

• Backlinko — the skyscraper technique
• HubSpot Website Grader
• Google spam policies — link spam
• How to build backlinks (Adziq)

Adziq sells marketing services and does not accept payment for placement in its articles. See our editorial policy.