Thought I'd follow up on this with a ChatGPT response, as no inputs were coming. It's well worth engaging with imo as it's a tactical basis that set's sites apart, especially in the AI age.
Here it is:
I thought Roger’s “establishing bona fides” point was worth expanding into some practical scenarios, because this is where link building in 2026 seems to be moving.
Not “please link to my article” outreach, but “here is why we are a credible source before you even look at the page.”
Some possible examples:
1. Local service business
A local roofing, plumbing, legal, accounting, medical or real estate business earns a local award, contributes a short safety/advice article to a trade association newsletter, and gets quoted once in local media.
That gives them an outreach line like:
“We were recently featured by [local paper] and contributed advice to [industry association] on this issue.”
That single sentence changes the feel of the email. It no longer looks like a random SEO link request.
2. B2B software or SaaS
A small SaaS company publishes anonymised industry data from its own users, turns it into a benchmark report, and gets one founder, analyst, or practitioner to comment on it.
The report then becomes linkable because it is not just another opinion post. It contains original data.
The outreach is not:
“Please link to our guide.”
It becomes:
“We analysed 3,000 user actions across X industry and found Y trend. Happy for you to cite the data.”
3. Ecommerce or specialist product site
Instead of writing generic “best product” pages, the company gets an engineer, installer, trainer, chef, mechanic, or other real-world expert to author or review the guide.
That expert’s credentials then become part of the page and the outreach.
For example:
“This guide was reviewed by a licensed installer with 15 years’ experience.”
That is a much stronger trust signal than an anonymous affiliate-style buying guide.
4. Trade association route
This is the one I found most interesting. Publish first where there may be no SEO value at all — an offline magazine, association bulletin, chamber of commerce newsletter, industry PDF, conference notes, etc.
You may not get a link from that first placement, but you earn the right to say:
“We’ve previously been published by [recognised industry body].”
That can then help unlock better online links later.
Most SEOs ignore offline or low-link-value publications because there is no immediate backlink. That may be precisely why the opportunity is underused.
5. Expert-led About page
If people are going to check who is behind the site before linking, then the About page becomes part of the link building campaign.
Not a fluffy “we are passionate about excellence” page, but a page that shows:
* real people
* credentials
* media mentions
* industry memberships
* author expertise
* speaking/podcast appearances
* publications
* awards
* photos where appropriate
In other words, the About page becomes proof that the outreach email is not exaggerating.
6. Small data study in a boring niche
A company in a dull industry may have the best opportunity of all.
For example, a storage company, insurance broker, building supplier, accounting firm, HR consultancy, industrial equipment supplier, logistics business, packaging company, or compliance specialist could publish:
* price trends
* availability trends
* seasonal demand
* customer behaviour
* regional comparisons
* common mistakes
* maintenance costs
* warranty issues
* before/after case studies
This gives bloggers, journalists, associations, and niche publishers something specific to cite.
The key seems to be that authority is not just something Google measures. It is something humans judge very quickly when deciding whether to trust, quote, cite, interview, or link to you.
Maybe the practical sequence is:
1. Build some proof first.
2. Put that proof clearly on the site.
3. Use one or two proof points in outreach.
4. Pitch something genuinely useful.
5. Ask for fewer links, but earn better ones.
The bigger point may be that link building now starts before the outreach campaign. The link is the result of reputation-building, not the beginning of it.
So what do you think of this ChatGPT response?
