Link Building for E-commerce Stores: 10 Practical Tactics

Online stores have a link building problem. Product and category pages are commercial, and few people link to a page whose main purpose is to sell. Yet those are the pages that need to rank.

The answer is to earn links in ways that fit how people naturally reference stores, and then pass that value to your products with good internal linking. Here are ten tactics that work for e-commerce sites of any size, whether you run your own store or a brand site that also sells on marketplaces.

1. Get listed by your suppliers and brands

If you stock branded products, many brands have a "where to buy" or "authorised retailers" page. If you manufacture, your raw material suppliers or packaging partners may feature customers. Email your contacts and ask. These are relevant, editorial links from established domains, and they rarely require more than a polite request.

2. Reclaim unlinked brand and product mentions

Bloggers, forums and news sites often mention a store or product without linking. Search for your brand name and your best-known product names in quotes. When you find a mention without a link, thank the author and ask whether they could link to the product page so their readers can find it.

3. Publish buying guides that deserve links

A buying guide such as "how to choose a pressure cooker" or "running shoe size guide" is useful to anyone researching the topic, not only your customers. Make it genuinely neutral and helpful. Then link from the guide to your relevant category pages. Bloggers and forums link to good guides far more readily than to product pages.

4. Create size charts, care guides and tools

Practical resources earn links quietly over years:

• Size conversion charts (India, UK, US, EU)
• Fabric or material care guides
• Calculators, such as paint or tile quantity estimators
• Compatibility charts for parts and accessories

5. Work with reviewers and creators the right way

Sending products to bloggers and YouTubers for honest reviews is a legitimate way to get exposure. Google's guidance is clear on one point: when a link comes from a gifted or paid product arrangement, it should be marked rel="sponsored" or nofollow, and the creator should disclose the relationship. Do the outreach for audience reach and credibility, not for followed links.

Hi [Name], I enjoy your reviews of [category], especially your [specific video or post]. We make [product], and I would be happy to send one for you to try, with no obligation to cover it. If you do review it, please disclose that it was a free sample. Thanks, [Name]

6. Turn your data into stories

Stores see buying patterns nobody else sees: which products sell more in monsoon, which cities order more of a category, how gifting changes around festivals. Publish anonymised, aggregated trends on your blog and pitch the interesting findings to journalists and bloggers. Never share personal customer data, and never invent numbers.

7. Fix broken links to your old product URLs

Products get discontinued and URLs change, and every removed page that had backlinks loses them. Check which external links point to 404 pages on your store using Google Search Console or a free backlink checker. Redirect each dead URL to the closest equivalent product or category with a 301 redirect.

8. Earn local and community links

Even online stores have a home city. Local news, business associations, college events and community initiatives all create natural reasons for a link. A genuine partnership, such as supporting a local cause with products, often leads to coverage and links. If a sponsorship includes a link, it should be marked sponsored.

9. Get featured in gift guides and roundups

Bloggers and publications publish gift guides around Diwali, Raksha Bandhan, Christmas and other occasions. Find last year's guides in your niche, note who wrote them, and pitch relevant products a few weeks before the season with clear photos, prices and a product link. Keep it editorial: no payment for inclusion unless it is clearly labelled.

10. Use discovery links for new collections

When you launch a new store or domain, crawlers need to find it. A quick scan with Backlink Generator submits your URL to public lookup pages that mention your domain. Most of these links are nofollow discovery mentions, so they help crawling rather than rankings, and they are no substitute for the tactics above. Paid plans add up to 1 lakh+ sources and unlimited runs; see pricing.

Do not forget internal links

External links usually land on your homepage, guides and resources. Internal links carry that value to the pages that sell:

• Link from buying guides to relevant categories
• Link from categories to best-selling products
• Use descriptive anchors such as "cotton kurtas for men" rather than "click here"
• Keep important categories within a few clicks of the homepage

Our guide to internal links vs backlinks explains how the two work together.

What to avoid

• Buying links on "high DA" sites through link sellers
• Coupon and deal sites used purely for links
• Paying reviewers for followed links without disclosure
• Mass directory and profile submissions

FAQ

Should I build links to product pages or category pages?

Mostly to guides, resources and your homepage, because those earn links naturally. Then pass value to categories and products through strong internal linking. Category pages usually benefit most.

Do marketplace listings give my store backlinks?

Marketplace product listings generally do not link to your own website. They help sales and brand awareness, but plan your link building around your own domain.

How long does e-commerce link building take?

It is ongoing. Supplier links and reclaimed mentions can come quickly; guides, data stories and press take months to build momentum.