Tier 2 Link Building

You’ve built great backlinks — but what if they’re only working at half power?

Enter tier 2 link building: a strategy where you boost the pages that link to you, creating a chain of amplified authority.

Tempting? Yes.

Risky? Absolutely.

Google warns it’s “just spam” if done wrong — yet some SEO pros quietly use it to outpace their competitors.

In this guide, we’ll break down how tier 2 backlinks work, why they spark debate, and whether they’re the edge your SEO strategy needs — or a gamble not worth taking.

Ready to pull back the curtain? Let’s dive in.

What are tier 2 backlinks?

Tier 2 link building is a link building strategy where you build backlinks to your existing backlinks, rather than directly to your website.

In other words, you build a second layer of links — often described as a “pyramid” — that point to the pages which themselves link to your site. The goal is to reinforce those first-layer (Tier 1) backlinks so they carry more authority and pass more PageRank to your site. Tiered link structures typically have Tier 1 links (high-quality links pointing to your site), supported by Tier 2 links (pointing to the Tier 1 pages), and sometimes even Tier 3 links (pointing to Tier 2), each tier boosting the one above it.

While the concept can be effective for amplifying link signals, it is considered a grey-hat (if not black-hat) technique by many experts and violates Google’s guidelines on link schemes.

Essentially, you are artificially manipulating the link ecosystem, which Google may view as spam. As Google’s John Mueller bluntly put it when asked about creating links on networks of sites (like free Web 2.0 blogs),

“all of those examples... are really terrible ways of promoting your website”

“just going to be considered as spam”.

In fact, Google’s algorithms (e.g. Penguin) have targeted tiered linking tactics for years, imposing severe penalties on sites caught using them. With that caveat in mind, it’s worth exploring how tier 2 link building works, why some SEO professionals use it, and how it compares to tier 1 and tier 3 link building.

Tier 1 vs. tier 2 vs. tier 3 backlinks

To understand tier 2 link building in context, let's clarify the three “tiers” commonly discussed in a tiered linking strategy:

Tier 1 backlinks

These are the direct links to your website – the ones you typically work hardest to acquire. Tier 1 links usually come from high-authority, relevant sites (think reputable blogs, news outlets, industry resources).

They have the most immediate impact on your rankings. A solid tier 1 link profile might include guest posts on respected sites, editorial mentions, or natural links earned through high-quality content. Because these point straight at your site, quality and relevance are paramount for Tier 1.

Tier 2 backlinks

These are links pointing to your Tier 1 pages, not to your main site. The purpose of Tier 2 is to strengthen and “power up” those Tier 1 backlinks by sending additional link equity to them. Since Tier 2 links don’t directly touch your site, SEO practitioners sometimes use slightly lower-authority or more scalable link sources here.

However, they still aim to keep them reasonably high-quality and topically relevant, so that the strategy remains effective (and avoids drawing negative attention).

In practice, Tier 2 links are secondary in importance and quality compared to Tier 1, but they are far more numerous. You might trade off a bit of quality for quantity at this layer – for example, using niche blog posts, Web 2.0 sites, forum posts, or social sites that are easier to get links from.

The idea is to balance quality and quantity: you can accept slightly lower authority than Tier 1 as long as you significantly increase the number of backlinks feeding into each Tier 1 page. Tier 2 links essentially act as a support system to amplify the impact of your first-tier links.

Tier 3 backlinks

These are links pointing to your Tier 2 pages (and possibly beyond). Not everyone uses a Tier 3, but in a classic “link pyramid,” Tier 3 links are the base layer. They tend to be lower-quality, high-volume links — for example, mass-created blog comments, profile links, or other automated link blasts.

The sole purpose of Tier 3 is to bulk up the link juice flowing into Tier 2. Tier 3 links are often nofollow or very low authority, and many SEO professionals avoid going this deep unless they’re doing churn-and-burn style campaigns. As you go down to Tier 3, quality decreases and the risk of search engine penalties increases if it’s not managed carefully.

In fact, Tier 3 is usually considered high-risk and is firmly in black-hat SEO territory. It’s generally only employed by those willing to gamble with penalties, or for properties where risk is acceptable (e.g. throwaway sites or experiments).

It’s important to note that this “pyramid” isn’t some magical new type of link – it’s simply an architectural approach to link building.

Every link in every tier is still a normal backlink on some website. The difference lies in where you point them and how Google evaluates that pattern. A tiered strategy tries to funnel PageRank to your site in a roundabout way, while also masking the fact that you (the site owner) are behind it. As one SEO commentary describes, tiered link building builds link equity from a broad range of sources more discreetly, avoiding the scrutiny that might come with being the direct recipient of many links at once.

In theory, if done carefully, the main site at the top of the pyramid sees a big boost in authority, yet most of the “sketchy” link activity is two steps removed from it (down in Tier 3 or 2).

We’ll discuss later whether this really fools Google or not.

Why do SEO professionals use tier 2 link building?

Given the risks, why do some SEO professionals still use tier 2 link building? There are a few potential benefits and strategic uses that make tier 2 linking attractive in certain scenarios:

Amplifying link equity to your site

The primary benefit of tier 2 backlinks is that they boost the authority and PageRank of your Tier 1 links, so those Tier 1 links pass more value to your site. This is often called “powering up” your backlinks. It’s rooted in the basics of Google’s PageRank algorithm: a page only has so much link equity (or “juice”) to pass, which it splits among its outgoing links. If the page linking to you also links out to many other sites, the share of PageRank you get from that page is smaller.

According to Google’s original PageRank formula, an outbound link’s strength is diluted when a page has lots of other outbound links.

Tier 2 link building tackles that issue by making the linking page itself stronger. By pointing additional links at the page that links to you, you can increase that page’s own PageRank.

As a result, it has more “juice” to distribute, and your site gets a bigger slice of that pie.

In essence, you’re not just relying on the authority of the site that gave you the backlink – you’re proactively adding authority to that site/page via tier 2 links. This can be especially useful if your Tier 1 link resides on a page that isn’t highly authoritative on its own (for example, a guest post on a mid-tier blog, or a forum thread). Rather than hoping that page accumulates links naturally, you can actively build a few links to it to bump it up.

Increasing indexation and content visibility

Another reason SEO pros use tier 2 links is to help with indexing and visibility of their Tier 1 content. Google’s crawlers discover new pages primarily by following links from pages they already know. So if you created a backlink on an external site (say you dropped a link on a new blog post or a forum), there’s a chance Google hasn’t seen that page yet – especially if the site is not frequently crawled or highly authoritative. By building some tier 2 links to that new backlink page, you create pathways for Googlebot to find it faster and ensure it gets indexed.

For example, sharing the URL of your guest post on social media or a bookmarking site creates an entry point for search engines to discover that guest post (and thus discover the link to your site).

Tier 2 linking can also boost the rankings of the pages that link to you, which can indirectly benefit you.

If your Tier 1 backlink is on a page that starts ranking higher in Google (thanks to the tier 2 links you built to it), that page will likely get more organic traffic and visibility. In turn, more people may click the link from that page to your site, increasing your referral traffic. These user visits can be valuable in themselves, but they may also send positive signals to Google. The increased engagement (users finding your page via that Tier 1 link) could be interpreted by Google’s algorithm as a sign that your content is valuable, potentially helping your own rankings over time.

For instance, imagine you have a valuable backlink from a niche blog article, but that article currently sits on page 5 of Google and gets little traffic.

If you build a couple of strong tier 2 links to that article, you might push it up to page 2 or 1 for its keywords. Now more people are reading it, some of them click your link, and suddenly your site is getting targeted referral visitors.

Those visitors spend time on your site and engage with your content, which can further signal relevance to Google.

This content visibility loop is a nuanced benefit of tier 2 link building – you’re not only funneling link authority, but also human traffic and engagement via your Tier 1 link.

For example, an SEO practitioner might notice that after pointing a few tier 2 blog links and social shares at a guest post (Tier 1), the guest post’s own ranking improved and it started sending a steady stream of referral visitors to the main site.

Getting more out of hard-won links

Building high-quality Tier 1 backlinks often requires significant effort, time, or money – think of the outreach, content creation, or even fees if you’re using a service. Tier 2 link building is seen as a way to maximize the ROI of those hard-won links.

Instead of stopping at one backlink and hoping it delivers results, you can supercharge it with additional links to make sure it pulls its weight.

From a cost perspective, tier 2 links are generally cheaper and easier to acquire.

For example, earning a link on a big authoritative site might be expensive or labor-intensive, but creating a few Web 2.0 blog posts or social posts to link to that authoritative page is relatively low cost. You’re leveraging cheaper links to squeeze more value out of expensive links. One agency blog notes that tier 2 backlink building is an

“economical option to boost the authority of your website,”

allowing you to get results without spending heavily on more and more top-tier link acquisitions. By focusing on existing opportunities (links you already have), you can avoid the diminishing returns of chasing only new Tier 1 links, especially if budget is limited.

This is particularly useful for smaller or newer sites that might have landed a few good backlinks but can’t easily get dozens more. Rather than hitting a wall, they can build tier 2 links to amplify what they’ve got. It’s a way of scaling link impact without linearly scaling cost. As Stan Ventures puts it, tier 2 link building offers a high Return on Investment by leveraging existing link opportunities.

Another ROI angle: tier 2 strategies can help diversify your backlink profile, which some argue makes your overall link profile appear more natural. Real sites tend to accumulate a mix of different link types. If all your links are pristine DR90 editorial links, that actually could look fishy. By adding some Tier 2 activity (which often involves mid-tier or even low-tier sites), you introduce more variety. One viewpoint is that this

“natural and balanced”

In practice, diversification via tier 2 might include a broader range of domains, link attributes (dofollow/nofollow), and content types linking in to your Tier 1. It spreads your presence across the web, albeit indirectly.

In competitive niches I’ve worked in, we found that layering some tier 2 links on top of our best backlinks helped us eke out an advantage. Instead of paying for another pricey guest post, we’d spend a fraction of that cost on a handful of niche forum mentions and social shares to bolster an existing link – and saw a measurable lift in rankings.

Competing in difficult niches

In fiercely competitive SEO niches (legal, insurance, casino, etc.), every bit of link equity counts.

Your competitors might all have hundreds of strong backlinks. Tier 2 link building can be used as an equalizer or a way to push beyond the baseline. If everyone is building Tier 1 links, the site that also boosts those links with Tier 2 might inch ahead. As one guide notes, even a small boost can make a big difference in tight races, and tiered link building can give you the edge to beat competitors and rank higher.

Moreover, in some spam-heavy niches, tiered linking is almost par for the course (especially in gray-hat circles). SEO professionals sometimes feel forced to use it just to keep up, because everyone else is doing it (not unlike an arms race). This doesn’t make it safe, but it explains the prevalence.

If tiered link building is making a comeback amidst Google’s updates; while opinions vary, it’s clear that interest in tiered strategies remains among those looking for extra ways to boost rankings.

Finally, tier 2 can serve as a defensive strategy in some cases.

For example, if you have a few powerful links that are underperforming (maybe they’re on pages not SEO-optimized or not ranking themselves), adding tier 2 links can jolt them into productivity. It’s like waking up dormant link equity.

This can protect your investment in those links and ensure they don’t go to waste. If a high-quality site linked to you but buried the link on an old archive page, tier 2 links to that archive page can revive it (one agency dubs this the “Link Link” play – building a link to your link to make it appear more timely and relevant again).

In summary, SEO pros use tier 2 link building to amplify and accelerate the impact of their existing backlinks. The benefits include more PageRank flow to your site, faster indexation of your links, higher ROI on link building spend, a more diverse link profile, and a possible competitive edge. All of these come with the major caveat that you must execute tier 2 carefully to avoid the pitfalls we’ll discuss shortly. Before that, let’s look at common tier 2 link building tactics and how they are implemented in practice.

Tier 2 link building strategies and examples

How do you actually build tier 2 links? Many tactics overlap with normal link building – the difference is where you point the links. Instead of linking to your main site, you’ll be linking to pages that themselves link to your site (your Tier 1 pages). Here are some of the most popular tier 2 link building strategies, with explanations and examples of how SEO professionals use them:

Guest posts that boost your first-tier links

Guest blogging is usually a Tier 1 tactic (you write an article for another site and include a backlink to your site). But you can also use guest posts as tier 2 links – by writing an article on one site that links to a different article you’ve published as a guest on another site.

In other words, you might contribute content to Site B, not to link to your own site, but to link to a piece you wrote on Site A which contains your primary backlink. This way, the Site A post gets extra link juice from Site B.

For example, suppose you have a guest post on a high-quality blog that links to your site (Tier 1). To tier-2 it, you could write another guest post on a smaller but relevant blog where you don’t link to your site at all, but instead link to that first guest post. By doing so, you help that first guest post rank higher and gain authority, indirectly benefiting your site. Search Engine Journal suggests this tactic explicitly:

“Link out to your older guest articles, to create a ‘tiered’ link structure (and ‘pump’ the links that you already have).”

In practice, you’d include a reference or a quote in the new guest article that cites your previous guest article (with a hyperlink to it).

Best practices: When guest posting as a tier 2 strategy, keep the content quality high. Treat it like any guest post – it should provide value on its own. Make sure the two sites are topically related so the link makes sense contextually.

Also, disclose or be mindful if the sites have any policies about linking out. You don’t want to come off as manipulative to the site owners.

Ideally, the Tier 2 guest post itself can attract some backlinks or shares, creating a mini-chain of value.

Web 2.0 blogs and content platforms

Web 2.0 link building refers to using free blogging platforms and user-generated content sites (think Medium, WordPress.com, Tumblr, Blogger, Quora blogs, etc.) to create content that includes your links. These platforms are often used as tier 2 link sources because they’re easy to get links from (anyone can sign up and post). For tier 2 purposes, you would create a blog post on a Web 2.0 site that links to one of your Tier 1 backlinks.

For example, you might write a Medium article that talks about a topic related to your niche and naturally includes a link to your other article (the one that links to you). Or you could create a short Tumblr post that links to the forum thread where someone mentioned your site. The content doesn’t have to be too extensive – even a few paragraphs summarizing or commenting on the Tier 1 content can work.

However, Web 2.0 links come with a big warning. Google representatives have explicitly called out large-scale Web 2.0 link building as a spam tactic. John Mueller has said that creating links on a bunch of free-for-all sites (like “profile” pages, micro-blogs, etc.) is

“a really bad idea”

that won’t help rankings. These sites have been heavily abused by spammers, so while the platforms themselves (Medium, etc.) may be authoritative, Google can easily discount or ignore obvious SEO-driven posts there.

That said, some SEOs still use Web 2.0s for tier 2, but they do so carefully. The key is to make the content appear genuine and useful:

• Make the blog look semi-legitimate (add a few posts, fill out the profile, don’t make it solely about linking to your stuff).

• Ensure the article is unique and provides real information, not just a spun link farm.

• Limit the number of such sites you use, and don’t interlink them (to avoid creating an identifiable network).

If done well, a Medium article or a LinkedIn article can actually rank in Google and drive real visitors to your Tier 1 page, as well as pass some link authority.

In fact, content syndication (reposting or repurposing your Tier 1 content on platforms like Medium and LinkedIn) can serve as a tier 2 strategy to broaden reach. Just use canonical tags where appropriate to avoid duplicate content issues, and always link back to the original Tier 1 pages.

Example: Let’s say you got a mention on a niche site’s blog (Tier 1 link to you). You might then write a Medium story discussing that niche topic and include a paragraph like:

“Recently, [Site A] covered this topic in-depth and even referenced our work. Their article [title of Site A article] offers some great insights.”

Here you hyperlink the title of the Site A article (which contains your backlink). Now you have a Medium link pointing at that Site A article – a tier 2 link in place.

Social media and content sharing links

Social media platforms provide another avenue for tier 2 linking, albeit usually with nofollow links. Sites like Twitter (X), Facebook, LinkedIn, and others allow you to post or share content with links. While these links typically don’t pass direct PageRank (they’re marked rel="nofollow" or similar), they still help in a few ways:

• They generate traffic and visibility. Sharing a Tier 1 link (e.g. your guest post or press mention) on social media can drive users to that page, boosting its engagement metrics and potentially prompting others to link to it as well.

• They aid indexing. Google does crawl social sites to some extent, and a nofollow link can still lead the crawler to discover a page (Google may choose not to count the link for ranking, but it knows the page exists).

• They contribute to a natural link profile. Real brands get talked about on social media. Even if those are nofollow, seeing a bunch of social links to a page along with a few dofollow links can look more organic.

For tier 2, you might do things like:

• Tweet out the article that contains your backlink, possibly with some hashtags for reach.

• Share the article on your company’s Facebook or LinkedIn page.

• Post the link in relevant LinkedIn Groups or on communities like Reddit (if allowed and contextually appropriate).

• Use Pinterest or other bookmarking sites to save the link.

In fact, social bookmarking services (e.g. Reddit, Mix, Pocket, Flipboard, Pinterest) can be considered part of this social tier 2 tactic. They often provide a profile or post where you can drop a link to your Tier 1 content. These too are usually nofollow, but can generate traffic or at least signal that your Tier 1 page is being actively shared.

One thing to note: Google does not count most social links for PageRank, but it doesn’t mean they have zero SEO impact. Indirect effects (like traffic and ensuing behavior signals) can matter. And there’s some evidence Google might use very prominent social links as hints – though generally, they treat them differently from editorial website links.

Example

Suppose your site was mentioned in an industry news article (Tier 1). You can do a mini “press tour” by sharing that news article on your social channels, posting it to /r/SEO (if it’s SEO-related) or a relevant subreddit, and adding it to your next email newsletter. None of these are traditional backlinks to your site, but they amplify the Tier 1 page’s visibility. Maybe a few people see your Reddit post and link the news article from their own blogs, essentially creating additional tier 2 links that you didn’t even have to build manually.

This kind of social seeding can cascade.

Search Engine Journal also notes that even though social links are nofollow,

“they come in handy to boost content exposure and drive traffic to Tier 1 links.”

So include them as part of a holistic tier 2 plan for the exposure benefit.

Online directories and business listings

Web directories might sound very 2005, but they still exist and can play a role in tier 2.

If your Tier 1 backlink is related to a business, event, or content piece that could be listed somewhere, a directory listing can serve as a tier 2 link.

For instance, imagine you did a guest post on “Top 10 Tips for X.” You could submit that guest post URL to a niche directory or resource list that compiles articles on X. Or if your Tier 1 link is a profile about your company (say, a Crunchbase entry or a SaaS directory profile that links to you), you might build Tier 2 links to that profile by listing it on other aggregator sites.

Local business directories (Yelp, YellowPages, niche-specific directories) usually link to your website (Tier 1 to your site), but some also allow adding links to press mentions or other URLs in descriptions.

However, a more straightforward tier 2 approach is:

• Submit the page that links to you to general directories or bookmarking sites.

  For example, add the URL of your Tier 1 guest post to StumbleUpon/Mix, or to a content curation site.

• Use industry-specific directories: e.g., if you got a link on “HealthTech Weekly,” perhaps there’s a “Top HealthTech Articles” directory or a content syndication site where you can list that article.

Quality matters here. Old-school spam directories can do more harm than good. Stick to directories that are niche-relevant and, ideally, human-curated or at least not completely spam-ridden. Always check that the directory is indexed by Google and has some credibility (you can check its Domain Authority or similar metric; a directory with DA 0 and a bunch of casino links is a big nope).

Example: A startup featured in a news article on TechCrunch (which links to the startup’s site) might create a Tier 2 link by ensuring that TechCrunch article is listed on the startup’s Crunchbase profile (Crunchbase lets you add press links). Here, Crunchbase is effectively a directory/link resource linking to the TechCrunch article (Tier 2), which in turn links to the startup’s site (Tier 1). This adds one more pathway and a bit more authority to that TechCrunch page.

Press releases and news amplification

Press releases themselves can be considered Tier 1 (if they link directly to your site), but there’s a nuanced way to use them for tier 2.

If your site gets a high-value backlink from a news publication or a notable mention, you can write and distribute a press release announcing that news, and in the press release, link to the article that mentioned you. The idea is to further publicize the fact that, say,

“Example.com was featured in TechCrunch.”

Your press release might be picked up by various press release syndication websites and maybe even journalists, creating multiple tier 2 links pointing to the TechCrunch article (which has your backlink).

This approach does two things: it drives more eyeballs to the news piece (possibly resulting in more shares or organic links to it) and it creates a layer of links on news sites or press sites that indirectly funnel authority. Many press release links will be nofollow, but the exposure and branding can be valuable.

Press releases should only be used when there’s something genuinely newsworthy to share. In this case, your “news” could be the accolade or feature itself.

For example,

“Company X Recognized as a Top 10 Innovator by [Publication].”

In the release, you mention “[Publication] recently published their Top 10 list, which can be read here,” with “here” linking to the publication’s article (Tier 1 page).

This tactic essentially piggybacks on your media coverage to build even more coverage. One SEO agency gave an example: if a top industry site listed their company among the top agencies and linked to them, they would create a press release about it and link to that listing page in the release. The press release gets syndicated to dozens of sites, putting that listing URL in many places (even if those are low-quality places, it ensures the listing gets indexed and possibly ranked).

Caution: Don’t overdo press releases for SEO. Google long ago devalued most press release links because of abuse. Use this sparingly and only for real news.

Also, prefer high-quality press release distribution channels (or direct outreach to journalists) rather than cheap PR spam services.

Forums, Q&A sites, and community discussions

Forums and question-and-answer sites (like Reddit, Stack Exchange, Quora, niche forums, etc.) can provide opportunities to drop a link to your Tier 1 content in a way that adds value. The key is to only mention your link where it’s contextually relevant and helpful.

For instance, if someone on a forum is asking about a topic and you have a guest post (Tier 1) that perfectly answers it, you can respond with a summary and link to that guest post for more detail. This gives you a tier 2 link from the forum to your guest post.

Quora is a popular choice: you might answer a question and cite an article (the one that links to you) as a source. Reddit can be trickier (they’re quick to sniff out self-promotion), but if you find a relevant discussion, you might share the Tier 1 link as an example or additional reading. Niche forums (industry-specific communities) often allow linking in posts or signatures, but make sure to follow their rules and norms.

When using forums for tier 2:

• Be transparent if appropriate.

  If you have some affiliation with the content, sometimes it’s best to disclose (“I contributed to this article…” or “my company was featured here…”).

• Focus on value. Provide an actual answer or commentary, and include the link as a helpful reference, not just “here’s a link, bye.”

• Mind the nofollow. Many forums add nofollow to user-posted links, but as discussed, nofollow links can still aid discovery and a natural link profile. Some smaller forums might still allow dofollow links – but those are often the spammy ones, so tread carefully.

Example: Say you wrote a comprehensive guide on Site A (Tier 1 link to you). On a related Stack Exchange thread, someone asks a question that your guide covers. In your answer, you might write: “This is a complex topic, but [Site A’s guide on the subject] does a great job explaining it step by step,” with a link to the guide. Now Stack Exchange (Tier 2) points to the guide on Site A (Tier 1), which points to you. You’ve helped the person asking and created a useful link in the process.

One more angle: Answering questions about your press or guest posts.

If your Tier 1 content itself is getting discussed (maybe someone posts “Did you see this article on Site A about X?”), joining that conversation and possibly linking back to the article or related info can ensure those discussions link back to the authoritative source (which benefits your link). Just avoid sock-puppet behavior (don’t pretend to be an impartial third party praising your own content).

Reciprocal linking and partnerships (used sparingly)

Link exchanges (you link to me, I link to you) are generally a Tier 1 concern (they directly involve your site). But a milder form of exchange can apply in tier 2 contexts.

For instance, you might have a partner website in a related niche, and you agree to each publish a piece of content that links to the other’s guest post or media mention. This way, you’re not directly exchanging links to each other’s money sites (which Google would easily spot), but you are helping bolster each other’s external content.

Another example: If two companies are mentioned on a top 10 list (external article), they might each link to that article from their blogs (“We’re honored to be listed here...”). This isn’t a direct quid-pro-quo, but a mutual benefit scenario: multiple companies drive links and traffic to the award article, which boosts everyone.

Important: Any form of coordinated linking can edge into “link scheme” territory if you’re not careful. Google’s guidelines are against excessive link exchanges. Exchanging tier 2 links is somewhat less blatant than exchanging homepage links, but if it’s systematic, it could still be a footprint. Use this tactic very sparingly – it’s often better as an organic occurrence (natural partnerships, roundups, etc., where multiple parties happen to link to the same resource).

If you do engage in a bit of reciprocal tier 2 linking, keep it relevant and modest.

For example, you and a colleague in a related company might guest post on each other’s sites (each linking to something of the other’s). As long as those guest posts are legit and the linking is germane, it can slide under the radar. Just avoid a pattern like a closed loop of sites all endlessly linking to each other’s tier 1 content – that starts to look like a private network.

Other creative tier 2 techniques

SEO is full of creativity, so there are more ways people build tier 2 links:

• Content syndication networks: Re-publishing your Tier 1 content on platforms like Medium (as mentioned), or using services like Outbrain/Taboola to drive traffic to Tier 1 pages (not a link in the HTML sense, but a user traffic pipeline).

• Private Blog Networks (PBNs): Essentially creating your own network of websites to serve as tier 2 (or tier 1) links. PBNs are high-risk and beyond our scope here, but they are a form of tiered linking (your PBN sites link to your main site = tier 1, and you might inter-link the PBN sites = tier 2/3). Most SEO professionals avoid PBNs unless they’re deliberately doing black-hat SEO.

• Sponsored content or ads: Paying for an advertorial or a sponsored post that doesn’t link to you but links to a page that links to you. This is a bit convoluted, and you’d have to nofollow those sponsored links to comply with guidelines, but some might do it for the traffic and indirect boost.

Internal tier 2 linking: An interesting twist – if your Tier 1 backlink is on a site where you have influence, you could build internal links within that site to the page that links to you.

For instance, if you have two guest posts on the same blog, each could internally link to the other. This isn’t “external” link building, but it’s a similar idea applied within one domain to strengthen the specific page that has your link.

As you can see, tier 2 link building often mirrors regular link building tactics. The content and context should be just as legitimate – the only difference is your target URL. Instead of targeting your product page or homepage, you’re targeting that blog post or that forum thread that has your backlink.

Now that we’ve covered tactics, how do you execute this efficiently? SEO tools can help: you can use Ahrefs or Semrush to find pages that link to you, and then identify which of those might benefit from tier 2 links (for example, pages with low Ahrefs UR or that aren’t indexed yet).

You might prioritize Tier 1 links that are on moderately authoritative sites but not getting traction. There are also tools that track indexation of backlinks, so you can focus tier 2 efforts on getting any unindexed ones picked up by Google.

Next, we’ll discuss the critical best practices and cautions to keep in mind. Tier 2 link building, if mishandled, can backfire badly. It walks a fine line with Google’s webmaster guidelines, so you need to approach it with a strategy that emphasizes quality and avoids obvious spam signals.

Google’s stance and the risk of penalties

Google’s view on any kind of link building intended to manipulate rankings is clear: it’s against their guidelines. That includes building links to your links. From Google’s perspective, if you’re making a link just for SEO benefit – whether it points to your site or to another site that then points to you – it’s essentially a link scheme. Google’s Webmaster Guidelines explicitly forbid

“any links intended to manipulate PageRank or a site’s ranking”

, and they don’t make an exception for indirect schemes.

The risk with tier 2 (and tier 3) link building is that you might trigger a penalty or algorithmic devaluation of your links:

• Google’s Penguin algorithm (first launched in 2012) was designed to catch unnatural linking patterns.

  If your tiered links create an unnatural pattern – for instance, your guest post suddenly attracts 50 exact-match forum links overnight – Google may discount those or even devalue the guest post’s link to you.

• Manual penalties can occur if Google’s webspam team notices a deliberate tiered scheme.

  For example, there have been cases where Google penalized entire blog networks or lots of interlinked sites once discovered.

Google has gotten smarter at identifying manufactured link schemes. Tiered linking leaves certain footprints if not carefully camouflaged (common ownership, similar content across tier 2 sites, sudden spikes of low-quality links to specific URLs, etc.). Some SEOs believe that Google mostly ignores these lower-tier links now (i.e., they simply don’t count them rather than penalize), but that still means wasted effort at best.

At worst, if your Tier 2 is egregious (think hundreds of spammy blog comments all pointing to one article that then links to you), Google might also distrust the Tier 1 article and by extension your site’s link.

John Mueller’s advice has consistently been to avoid link building in general if you can, because doing it wrong causes more harm than good.

“In general, I’d try to avoid that [link building],”

he said in one Webmaster Hangout, explaining that focusing on link building “will probably lead to more problems for your site than it helps”.

This reflects Google’s ideal world where great content earns links organically and any form of active link building is unnecessary.

Of course, the reality is that SEO does involve proactive link building, but John’s warning is especially pertinent for risky tactics like tiered linking.

Another Google search analyst, Gary Illyes, once quipped that

“links within content that you create or place”

(which would include things like Web 2.0 posts, forum signatures, etc.) are not going to carry much weight compared to truly editorial links. So even if you don’t get penalized, the reward might be limited. The most value likely comes from tier 2 links that themselves are natural or high-quality – which ironically are the hardest ones to build (they’re more likely to be earned).

In short, Google’s stance is: Don’t do it.

If you choose to do it, do it in a way that’s indistinguishable from natural web behavior. Which leads us to best practices for those who venture down this path.

Best practices for safer tier 2 linking

If you decide to implement tier 2 link building, consider these best practices to minimize risk and maximize effectiveness:

Keep quality a priority

Tier 2 does not mean garbage links. One big mistake is thinking “since it’s not pointing at my site, who cares if the tier 2 links are spammy?”

In fact, the quality of tier 2 links still indirectly reflects on your site’s link profile. Low-quality tier 2 links can harm the pages they point to (your Tier 1 pages) and thereby reduce the benefit you get. Always aim for links on sites that are at least topically relevant and have some authority. A handful of contextual links from real blogs or respected forums beat a blast of wiki spam links any day.

Remember, if a tier 2 link wouldn’t be something you’d want as a tier 1 (aside from maybe being slightly lower authority), it’s probably not worth doing.

Avoid over-optimizing anchors

This is a subtle but important point. When building tier 2 links, you might be tempted to use your target keywords as anchor text pointing to the Tier 1 page (since maybe the Tier 1 page’s link to you uses a generic anchor like “click here”).

However, using too many exact-match keywords in your tier 2 anchors can backfire. Google could see it as an attempt to manipulate relevance via that Tier 1 page.

In fact, over-optimized tier 2 anchors can hurt the Tier 1 page’s own rankings or credibility.

For example, if your guest post is titled “Best Running Shoes 2025” and you build 10 forum links with anchor “best running shoes” pointing to it, Google may discount or even penalize that guest post for spammy signals. Vary your anchor text naturally on tier 2 links – use branded anchors, URLs, “this article”, etc., more often than not. If there’s an opportunity to include a keyword, do it in a mixed, long-tail way (e.g. “great article on some of the best running shoes out there”).

Maintain relevance and context

Treat each tier 2 link as a recommendation. The content surrounding that link should be related to the subject of the Tier 1 page. Dropping links in completely irrelevant contexts is a red flag and will likely be ignored by Google or removed by moderators.

“Every backlink should align properly with the content in which it is placed,”

as one guide emphasizes. This is true for tier 2 as well – an irrelevant tier 2 link not only fails to pass much value, it also sticks out like a sore thumb.

If your Tier 1 link is about “email marketing strategies,” then build tier 2 links from content about marketing, business, communications, etc., not from a random recipe blog or a forum about pets.

Gradual link building

Don’t blast a ton of tier 2 links all at once. A sudden influx of links to your Tier 1 page can look unnatural.

Instead, build them gradually over time. Perhaps a few this week, a few the next, and so on. This mimics organic discovery – as if people are finding that Tier 1 content over time and linking to it. A

“slow and steady”

approach also lets you gauge impact without overshooting.

If you build 100 tier 2 links in one go and the Tier 1 page jumps in ranking, you won’t know which were quality vs. overkill (and you risk overshooting into penalty range). Build in batches, then observe.

Diversify platforms and link types

Just as we diversify Tier 1 links, do so for Tier 2. Use a mix of tactics from the list above rather than putting all tier 2 links on, say, 10 different Tumblr blogs. A footprint to avoid is having all tier 2 links coming from the same type of site or network.

Instead, you might have: 2 guest posts, 3 forum links, 5 social shares, 1 Medium article, etc., making up your tier 2. Some can be nofollow, some dofollow – a natural mix is good. If everything is a followed blog post link on a self-made blog, it’s suspicious.

• Separate your identities (when needed): If you’re creating Web 2.0 blogs or forum accounts, don’t use the exact same username, profile info, or writing style on all. Savvy spam algorithms and manual reviewers can trace footprints like common account details. Use different personas if appropriate, and don’t interlink your tier 2 sites together.

Monitor and adjust

Keep an eye on your Tier 1 pages that you’ve built tier 2 links to. Are they getting indexed and moving up in rankings? Check Google Search Console to see if the Tier 1 page’s impressions or clicks improve. Also watch your own site’s rankings for the target keywords. If things are improving, great.

If you see a sudden drop or deindexing of the Tier 1 page, that’s a bad sign – you might need to pull back and even disavow some tier 2 links if you suspect they caused a penalty. It’s wise to not build tier 2 links to a page while your main site is under a heavy algorithmic test (like during a core update) – timing could confuse you about causation.

Don’t tier-2 your best Tier 1 links if not needed

A contrarian bit of advice from some experts – “If you have a good link, don’t degrade it by pushing it through tiers.” The idea is that a truly high-quality Tier 1 link (like a mention on NYTimes or an EDU resource) doesn’t need any tier 2 help and attempting to “boost” it with artificial links could actually make it look suspicious.

Use tier 2 more for mid-tier or low-tier backlinks that could use a boost, not for your crown jewels. Your best links should ideally gain organic backlinks on their own if they’re on prominent sites.

Lastly, maintain perspective: Content and on-site SEO still come first.

If your site or page isn’t ranking because of content relevance or technical issues, tiered links won’t save it. This is why many in the SEO community argue that time spent on complex tiered linking would often be better spent creating amazing content that earns more Tier 1 links naturally.

Community viewpoints: Is tier 2 link building worth it?

Opinion in the SEO community is divided. Let’s outline the spectrum of viewpoints:

Proponents of tiered linking

(usually in the grey hat camp) say that it still works and is a smart way to get an edge. They point out that not all tier 2 links are spam; when done with relevant content on decent sites, it’s essentially just networking your content.

For competitive niches or for pages that need a little push, tier 2 can be the difference-maker. Proponents also note that tiered linking can isolate risk. As one SEO agency described, building links to your links

“separates your risk from the link you’re building”

, allowing you to take more chances with aggressive tactics on tiers below without directly jeopardizing your main site. If a spammy tier 2 link gets penalized, theoretically it’s the Tier 1 page that might get hit (which is not ideal, but better than your site).

In practice, they aim to avoid penalties altogether but find comfort that their money site isn’t the one directly receiving risky links.

Skeptics and opponents

of tiered linking (often more white hat oriented) argue that it’s a waste of resources and potentially dangerous. They advocate focusing on quality Tier 1 links and content marketing. One oft-heard sentiment: if you have time to build out tier 2 links on forums and Web 2.0s, you could instead use that time to build another great piece of content or forge relationships for guest posts.

Some also believe Google’s algorithms have nullified a lot of tier 2 link value – the search engine might simply ignore obvious second-tier patterns.

As a result, you might be spending effort on links that don’t actually improve rankings. Opponents point to statements like John Mueller’s

“try to avoid link building”

and Rand Fishkin’s emphasis on link earning over old tactics to bolster the idea that the industry should move away from such schemes.

Middle-ground perspectives

There are SEOs who acknowledge tiered link building can help in specific cases but urge extreme caution. They might use it as a last resort for pages that can’t get traction otherwise, or in niches where competitors are clearly doing it and getting away with it.

The middle ground is essentially: “Yes, it can work, but you must do it in a high-quality way or the risk outweighs the reward.” This includes using mostly legitimate tier 2 links (guest posts, real blogs, etc.) rather than spam, and keeping volumes low. It’s also suggested to combine tier 2 with other strategies – for example, do outreach to try to get natural links to your Tier 1 content (essentially treating your Tier 1 content as something to promote on its own merits, which just so happens to help your SEO too).

A point of debate is whether tier 2 link building is still effective in 2025 given all the algorithm advancements. Some anecdotal case studies claim it is. Others have tested and found minimal gains.

It likely varies by industry and how it’s executed. If Google’s algorithms are weaker in your niche or your competitors are not very SEO-savvy, tier 2 links might give you a noticeable bump. If Google is strong and competitors are also doing sophisticated SEO, tier 2 might be just table stakes or might not move the needle much unless done at massive scale (which then increases penalty risk).

One thing to consider is time and complexity. Tiered campaigns add a lot of moving parts – you have to manage many more links, content pieces, and possibly accounts. It can be like running an SEO campaign for your backlinks. Some argue this energy is better spent elsewhere.

On the other hand, agencies that specialize in link building sometimes include tier 2 as part of their service (without always labeling it as such) – for example, an agency might automatically share and boost every guest post they secure for you, which is essentially tier 2.

In the end, whether it’s “worth it” depends on your risk tolerance, your niche, and your ability to execute it well. Newer SEOs are generally advised to steer clear of advanced tiered schemes because the nuance of doing it safely comes from experience (and even veterans get it wrong).

If you’re an SEO professional reading this, you should weigh the potential ranking gains against the possible repercussions. Always ask: Is there a more straightforward way to get the same benefit?

For example, if the goal is to get your guest post indexed, could you just request indexing via Search Console or build one social link (low risk) instead of 10 forum links? If the goal is to add authority to a page, could you maybe pitch another site to link to that page editorially (like “hey, you might find this article useful”) rather than populating a PBN?