Introduction
Backlinks have always been a core pillar of SEO - but in 2025, not all created backlinks are equal.
In a world increasingly shaped by Generative Search (like Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and others), the game has shifted. It’s no longer about collecting the most links - it’s about earning the right links and the relevant backlinks.
Relevant backlinks - links from websites closely aligned with your industry, audience, and content - have become the most powerful trust signals you can build. These aren’t just “nice to have” for rankings. They:
- Help Google understand your expertise and topical authority
- Improve your chances of being cited in AI-generated answers
- Drive qualified traffic from audiences already interested in what you offer
- Strengthen your brand visibility within your niche
At LinkyJuice - a leading link building agency, we’ve built thousands of these high-impact, contextually aligned links for SaaS companies, AI startups (even YCombinator ones), Fortune 500s, eCommerce brands, and more - helping them rank faster, convert better, and even get cited by ChatGPT itself.
Let’s be blunt - in 2025, building anything other than relevant backlinks is a waste of time. Google is smarter, AI is contextual, and if your links aren’t tightly aligned with your niche, they simply won’t move the needle. There’s no shortcut, no loophole - relevance is no longer optional. It’s the only strategy left that works.
In this guide we'll show you what are the relevant backlinks, why they outperform generic even high-DR backlinks, how to build them in scale through white hat link building, and many other stuff.
What Are Niche Relevant Backlinks?
Links from the websites of your niche or field are considered niche relevant backlinks(also known as niche related or niche specific). It is no secret that relevant backlinks are better and more effective than non-relevant ones. They serve as recommendations from the field you’re working on by showing search engines that your website is respected and trusted in its niche.
Let’s be very clear: Google wants to see backlinks that are earned, not forced.
When a backlink appears unnaturally — say, from a blog or website that has nothing to do with your niche — it sends the wrong signal. Instead of boosting your credibility, it can do the opposite.
Every irrelevant backlink looks like manipulation.
🔴 That’s a red flag.
Backlinks that are “inserted just for the sake of it,” especially on websites that aren’t topically aligned with your industry, are now seen as shady link-building tactics. This is exactly what Google’s algorithm updates (like Penguin and helpful content system) are designed to penalize.
That’s why at LinkyJuice, we don’t just get backlinks. We secure relevant, organic, contextual placements that genuinely fit where they land.
Because that’s what moves the needle in 2025 and later 20256- and that’s what keeps your site safe long term.
If your website is a B2B SaaS product, a backlink from a SaaS-focused blog, software review site, or founder of a SaaS product podcast is relevant.
But a link from a general news aggregator, lifestyle blog, or unrelated industry site (even with high DR) adds little long-term value — and might even look manipulative.
How to Tell if a Backlink is Relevant
Not all backlinks are created equal. In fact, irrelevant links can do more harm than good in today’s SEO landscape. So how do you actually determine if a backlink is truly relevant and valuable?
Let’s break it down.
Topical Relevance of the Website You are Creating a Backlink From
For a backlink to be truly relevant, the entire website - not just the article - should reflect a strong connection to your niche. That means similar content themes, target audiences, and industry context.
For example, If you’re in UI/UX or graphic design, getting a backlink from a web design blog, branding agency, or product design platform makes sense - because it falls within the broader design ecosystem.
Ask yourself: Does this website cover the same topics or industry as mine?
Contextual Placement of the Backlink
Relevance isn’t just about who links to you - it’s about how and where they do it. Is it looking natural or not?
A truly relevant backlink should be embedded naturally within the main body of the content, surrounded by related keywords, ideas, or discussions. Google uses the semantic environment of the link to evaluate how valuable and contextually appropriate it is.
The backlink should be a valuable addition to the article, not an obvious insert. You need to think from the user’s perspective. When someone is reading an article and reaches a point where they might have a follow-up question, or need more detail - that’s the perfect moment to include a backlink.
Think of it like this:
- If the user is reading about “email outreach” and wonders what tools to use - link out to a tool comparison.
- If they’re reading about “organic pet food” and want to buy it - link to a store or product page.
- If a statistic or claim is made - link to the original data source.
- If there is a specific term you can link to the meaning of the term instead of explaining it with another paragraph
This makes the link genuinely helpful, and Google rewards that. In contrast, if you just insert a link for the sake of SEO—especially in an irrelevant or forced paragraph—Google may see that as manipulative and even penalize the page.
Pro Tip: Every link should serve a purpose. Ask yourself:
“If this link were removed, would the reader lose something valuable?”
If the answer is no, it doesn’t belong.
Anchor Text Consistency
The anchor text is the clickable part of the backlink—the words that are hyperlinked. While it may seem like a small detail, anchor text plays a major role in how search engines interpret the relevance of the backlink and the page it’s pointing to.
But here’s the key: relevance and naturalness matter more than exact-match SEO tricks.
Think like Google:
Google uses anchor text to understand what the linked page is about. If you over-optimize it (e.g., using the exact same keyword-rich phrase every time), Google may flag it as manipulative. That’s why it’s important to:
- Use varied anchor text, but keep it topically consistent.
- Avoid spammy or generic terms like “click here” or “visit this site.”
- Naturally integrate the link into the surrounding sentence.
Example:
If your page is about “UI Design Best Practices,” then relevant anchors could be:
- “guide to UI/UX design principles”
- “user interface design strategies”
- “this post on design usability”
They don’t have to match the page title exactly—in fact, it’s better if they don’t. They just need to make sense in context and relate topically to what the link is pointing to.
Now, here's a cool trick from Nathan Gotch on picking the right anchor text for your page.
- “LinkyJuice is a result oriented link building company, trusted by SaaS and S&P 500” (Anchor- LinkyJuice)
- “LinkyJuice is a result oriented link building company, trusted by SaaS and S&P 500” (Link building company)
Pro Tip: When building backlinks at scale, keep a healthy mix of:
- Partial-match anchors
- Branded anchors (like “LinkyJuice”)
- Descriptive anchors
- URL-based anchors (when natural)
Audience and User Intent
A backlink isn’t truly valuable unless it speaks to the right audience and matches the intent of the content it lives in. So try to understand the search intent of that particular place when you get backlink.
For Google, there are four primary SEO search intents: Informational, Navigational, Transactional, and Commercial Investigation — and aligning backlinks with the page’s intent is essential. Similarly, ChatGPT uses three core intent types - Asking, Doing, and Expressing - and your content (and backlinks) are more likely to be cited if they naturally support those intent types.
Even if the source website is relevant and the link is placed contextually, if the reader wouldn’t benefit from clicking it - or if they have no reason to - it’s wasted SEO equity.
Ask Yourself:
- Would someone reading this article naturally be interested in the linked page?
- Does the linked page solve a problem, answer a question, or continue the conversation in a meaningful way?
- Are both pieces of content targeting the same stage of intent (informational, navigational, transactional)?
If the answer is no, Google may also see the link as forced or manipulative — and that can lead to ranking penalties or ignored links.
Real Example:
Imagine someone is reading a blog post titled “How to Create an Engaging Email Newsletter.” In the middle of that post, there’s a backlink to a page about “eCommerce Link Building Packages.”
Even if both pages are from marketing-related sites, the intent mismatch makes the link feel off-topic and unnatural — reducing both its value and trustworthiness.
But if the link led to a page on “10 Best Newsletter Design Examples” or “Free Newsletter Templates”, it would enhance the reader experience, align with their current goal, and be much more likely to get clicked and rewarded.
Why Relevant Backlinks Matter More Than Ever in 2025
Back in the early days of SEO, any backlink was a good backlink - and sheer volume often translated to higher rankings. But those days are long gone.
In 2025, Google’s algorithm and AI systems like ChatGPT are far more sophisticated. They prioritize context, credibility, and user intent. This shift has made relevant backlinks not just important - but absolutely essential for any serious SEO strategy.
Besides that, as AI has been rising these days, non relevant and low quality content can be detected immediately via AIs. So it is very important to keep every thing very natural and the quality high!
Google’s Algorithm Prioritizes Relevance Over Quantity
Google has evolved to reward websites that demonstrate expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) — especially within a specific topical domain. Getting hundreds of backlinks from unrelated sources may now be neutral at best, or even harmful.
Relevant backlinks send a clear signal to Google that this website is trusted by others in the same field so we can trust them as well, haha.
If you get a backlink from an authoritative website, but the content is not relevant, that can be a red flag! Google doesn't like that type of stuff.
Topical Authority Has Become a Ranking Superpower
In 2025, building topical authority is one of the most effective ways to improve search visibility. Google wants to rank subject-matter experts, and it determines expertise by analyzing your content and the context of the links pointing to it.
If your site about “SaaS marketing” is being linked to by other marketing SaaS blogs, podcasts, or directories - that tells Google you’re a trusted player in the space.
But if your links are coming from general lifestyle blogs or totally off-topic sites… your authority takes a hit.
Generative Engines Like ChatGPT Are Picking Up Signals Too
AI tools (like ChatGPT and Claude) are now crawling and indexing content — and they often quote or cite sources that have strong backlinks, good domain authority, and niche alignment.
Want to get cited by ChatGPT in answers?
✅ Start by earning links from sites already trusted and topically aligned.
These links help both search engines and LLMs determine your expertise.
In recent our studies with ChatGPT we could see that ChatGPT mostly gives citations to really well known media. If you can get backlinks from those places it will definitely get you huge value!
Proven Strategies to Get Niche Relevant Backlinks in 2025
Building high-quality, contextually aligned backlinks isn’t about volume - it’s about strategic execution. In 2025, the best backlink strategies are those that prioritize relevance, value, and user intent.
Let’s walk through the most effective methods:
Guest posting on Your Preferred Sites
Guest posting remains one of the best ways to get great backlinks, however, it only works when it's done in a very strategic way.
Guest posting gives you the availability to choose your on anchors, get them fit very naturally in your paragraphs and choose where to put them.THat'/
That's why you can get the most relevant ones with guest postings.
And yeah, keep an eye on the website itself as well - you don't need a guest post in any website.
Guest posting is more than just a backlink strategy - it’s a way to share your expertise with a new audience.
You’re investing time, energy, and credibility into writing that article, so make sure the website is worth it. Don’t waste your best content on low-quality blogs that have no authority or relevance to your industry.
For example, if you’re a project management SaaS, getting featured on a startup productivity blog makes sense. But getting published on a generic lifestyle blog? That’s a waste.
Create Linkable Assets
Think: original research, data reports, templates, industry benchmarks, or even free tools.
When you publish something that provides real utility to others in your field, you become link-worthy. People naturally cite you - no outreach or any effort is needed.
This is actually the best ways to get backlinks as journalists or content editors will insert your links on their own and that will be natural! Besides that, you
💡 Example: A cybersecurity startup could publish an annual “Top 100 Cyber Threats” report. That kind of data attracts backlinks from journalists, researchers, and other companies.
Manually Select High-Value Websites to Build Truly Niche Relevant Backlinks
Manually selecting webpages and reaching them out is still one of the best and effective ways to create relevant backlinks. When you manually handpick a page that already fits great with yours and alighns your topic - you're on a right track to get the most relevant one.
Once you get a reply, the conversation is already warmer because you’ve done the work upfront. You know exactly where your backlink can fit, how it can add value to their article, and why it makes sense for both sides.
This kind of precision makes your link placement feel natural - like it belongs there. No spammy blasts, no random links - just clean, contextually relevant partnerships that Google respects and rewards.
In fact, if you’re working with high-quality websites (which you should be), they won’t allow irrelevant links. They care about their editorial standards and user experience. That’s why doing the homework upfront - selecting the right site and the right page - isn’t just a best practice, it’s the only real way to succeed with relevant link building in 2025.
Get Featured on Webinars & Podcasts
This is one of the most underrated backlinking strategies in 2025.
Webinars, industry panels, and niche podcasts often link to their guest experts - from landing pages, speaker bios, or episode show notes.
🎤 If you’re featured on a niche AI podcast and they link to your article on “LLMs in Healthcare” — that’s a super-relevant, high-trust backlink.
Plus, these formats build brand equity and thought leadership beyond SEO.
Use Strategic Content Partnerships
Build long-term relationships with fellow experts, blogs, newsletters, or media companies in your industry.
Offer content swaps, co-marketing collaborations, or expert commentary - anything that brings value to both sides.
These partnerships often result in naturally embedded links in content that aligns perfectly with your niche.
However, this cannot be forced or unnatural. You need to rise through your expertise and genuine contributions, not through shady tactics.
The more you establish yourself as a credible player in your space, the more you’ll organically build a network of responsible professionals - and trust us, these experts don’t want to jeopardize their reputation by publishing irrelevant or manipulative links.
Relevance is not just a technical SEO factor - it’s a reflection of your authority, trustworthiness, and the integrity of your outreach.
Final Thoughts: The Future Belongs to Relevant Backlinks
In 2025 and beyond, there’s no shortcut: relevant backlinks are no longer just a ranking factor - they are the ranking factor.
Google’s algorithm has evolved to prioritize topical authority, contextual relevance, and natural placement. The days of spraying generic links across the web are over. If a link doesn’t add genuine value - both for users and for the content it lives in - it won’t just be ignored; it might actively hurt you.
Whether you’re using manual outreach, crafting linkable assets, or engaging in industry-specific partnerships, your focus must remain on one thing: relevance.
If you’re looking to scale this approach with precision, expertise, and results-driven execution, we at LinkyJuice specialize in building highly relevant, authority-backed backlinks that move the needle.
