Link building has a bad reputation because most of it is spam. Real authority comes from editorial links, mentions you earn because the content is genuinely worth referencing. Digital PR is the most reliable way to earn them at scale.
The process is repeatable: find a story your audience and journalists care about, usually original data, a strong opinion, or a useful free resource, then pitch it to relevant publications. Pair that with broken-link and resource-page outreach to capture links that already exist for topics you cover.
Keep the link profile natural, prioritize relevance over raw volume, and report on the rankings those links move. Done this way, link building compounds instead of putting your site at risk.