Ecommerce Backlinks: Which Pages to Link and Where to Get Links

In an online store, backlinks pay off most when they point to category pages, buying guides and a few star products, not to every product. You can earn these links from suppliers, partner brands, reviews, niche press and your own research. Links given in exchange for products or money need rel="sponsored".

Quick summary

• Category pages and buying guides concentrate search demand and are the best link targets. Individual products rarely attract links on their own.
• Internal links pass authority from the category down to the products. That is why external links do not need to reach every product.
• The safest sources are suppliers, manufacturers, complementary brands, niche press and content built on your own data.
• Products sent for free in exchange for a review with a link, and affiliate links, must be qualified with rel="sponsored" or nofollow.
• Seasonality sets the calendar: links need to be live months before Black Friday or Mother's Day.

How to read this post

If you own a store and are just getting started, read the sections on which pages to link and the 90-day plan: they are enough to take action. If you already do ecommerce SEO, jump to the cases of parameters, variants and discontinued products, and to the risk table.

Which pages of an online store should get backlinks?

The pages that deserve links most are category pages, buying guides and the few products that define the brand. A standalone product has little editorial reason to be cited. A category or a guide does.

Page type	Worth linking?	Why	Watch out
Category pages	Yes, the priority	They gather commercial searches ("running shoes", "moka pot")	Link the clean URL, without filters
Buying guides and comparisons	Yes	They have an editorial reason to exist and attract natural links	They need criteria and original content
Star or exclusive products	Yes, in moderation	A private-label or exclusive product can be cited in reviews	If it is discontinued, redirect it
Ordinary products	Rarely	There is no editorial reason for a link	Let internal links do the work
Home page	Yes, for the brand	Brand mentions and partnerships point to it naturally	Do not concentrate all links here
Filter and internal search pages	No	They create duplicate URLs	Keep them out of the index or canonicalized

In plain English: think of the store as a shopping mall. External links are signs on the main road pointing to the main entrances (categories and guides). Inside the mall, the corridors (internal links) lead the customer to each shop (product). You do not need a sign for every shop.

For SEO professionals: Google's documentation on URL structure for ecommerce sites recommends a self-referencing canonical on indexable pages and, for product variants, pointing the canonical to the main product URL. Ask that the external link point to that canonical URL, without color, size or tracking parameters. Links to parameterized URLs split the signal across duplicate versions.

To organize the internal links that receive this authority, see the internal linking guide and SEO for ecommerce.

Where can you get backlinks for an online store?

The best sources are the ones that already have a relationship with the store: whoever makes, supplies, uses or reviews what you sell. Each source calls for a different approach and carries a different kind of risk.

Source	How to ask	Effort	Note
Manufacturers and suppliers	Ask to be listed under "where to buy" or "authorized retailers"	Low	A legitimate commercial link, but check that the page is indexable
Complementary brands	Content partnerships (a coffee store and a coffee filter store)	Medium	Avoid mass link swaps
Review blogs and channels	Send the product and leave the opinion free	Medium	A free product in exchange for a link requires rel="sponsored"
Press and niche blogs	Offer data, trends or an expert	High	Brings brand awareness and editorial links
Original research and data	Publish what only the store knows (best-selling baskets by region, for example)	High	Needs a clear methodology
Industry events, fairs and associations	Ask for an exhibitor or member listing	Medium	Good for B2B and niche brands
Paid backlinks	Buying publications on relevant sites	Low	Reduce risk with context, pacing and varied anchors

On reviews and free products, Google's rule is clear: its spam policies list as a violation sending a product to someone in exchange for an article with a link when the goal is ranking. The accepted path is to qualify the link, as the page on how to qualify outbound links explains. The same goes for affiliate links.

Marketplaces tend to be a sales channel, not a link source: in general, they do not allow you to point to your own site. Treat them that way and invest your links in your own store.

For SEO professionals: whoever writes reviews should follow what Google asks for in high-quality product reviews: show real use, compare alternatives, link to several sellers and disclose affiliate links. A review that only repeats the manufacturer's description attracts few links and little trust.

To decide between the ways of buying and earning links, compare guest posts and paid backlinks.

How does seasonality change the link calendar?

If your sales are seasonal, links need to land months before the peak. The reason is practical: Google has to discover the link and reevaluate the page, and you still need time to measure. Google does not publish a timeframe for this, so work with plenty of margin.

An organizing rule that works: use one permanent URL for each date (for example, /black-friday) and update the content every year, instead of creating /black-friday-2026 and /black-friday-2027. The links you have accumulated keep counting. Link to the permanent page off-season too.

1. Months before: publish or update the seasonal page and the main category; start asking suppliers and partners for links.
2. Weeks before: reinforce with press and buying guides (gift lists, comparisons).
3. During the peak: do not buy new links for the peak itself; track performance and fix what breaks.
4. After the peak: keep the URL live with next year's content and measure the effect of the links.

To understand realistic timelines, read how long backlinks take to deliver results.

What should you do with discontinued products?

If a product with backlinks is discontinued, redirect it with a 301 to the closest equivalent, such as its successor or the category. Google recommends permanent redirects when one URL moves to another. If there is no equivalent, it is better to return a 404 than to send everything to the home page.

That last part is common SEO practice, not a written Google rule. Search Console reports a "soft 404" when the content looks like an error page. Redirecting unrelated pages to the home page can look like that. When in doubt, ask yourself whether a visitor who clicked the old link would find the new destination useful.

What does a 90-day backlink plan for a store look like?

A good plan starts with the pages that already have demand and ends by measuring the effect. Follow these steps for a first cycle.

1. List the categories with impressions. In Search Console, pick those that appear between positions 8 and 25 for commercial queries.
2. Review the pages before linking. Check copy, filters, stock and structured data. A link to an empty category wastes money.
3. Define the mix. Spread the links across categories, guides and brand. See the example below.
4. Plan the anchors. Mix brand, URL and partial terms; reserve the exact keyword for a few links. The anchor text guide details each anchor type.
5. Gradual pace. Spread the links over the three months. The natural backlink profile guide shows how excess spikes draw attention.
6. Measure. Compare clicks, positions and sales of the linked pages with similar pages without links.

Hypothetical example: a specialty coffee store decides to earn 12 links in 90 days.

Target	Links	Likely source	Typical anchor
Category "moka pots"	3	Supplier, recipe blog, review	"moka pots" (1 link), brand (2)
Category "whole bean coffee"	3	Partner producer, niche press, paid placement	URL and brand
Guide "how to choose a coffee grinder"	3	Coffee blogs, original research	Guide title
Star product (exclusive blend)	1	Blogger review (rel="sponsored" if the product was sent)	Product name
Home page	2	Industry association, partner	Brand name

The numbers are only an illustrative split, not a universal recommendation. The right amount depends on the competition in each category. To calibrate it, see how many backlinks you need.

When does buying backlinks make sense for a store?

Buy links when the category page is already well built and close to ranking, and you do not have time to do outreach for each one. At Contentor, the Brazilian backlinks package costs $49 per link in the standard niche, with permanent links on DR 20+ sites, delivery in 7 to 14 business days and free replacement for 6 months. You provide the target page and the anchor; you do not choose the site. Because the placements are on Portuguese-language sites, they fit stores that sell to Brazilian or Portuguese-speaking customers.

A frank note: Google considers paid links meant to manipulate rankings a violation of its spam policies. Buying lowers the risk when it is gradual and contextual, but does not eliminate it. Before deciding, use the checklist before buying backlinks.

Which risks should an ecommerce site avoid?

Ecommerce risks come from scale and repetition: many products, many similar commercial anchors and partners who repeat the same link. The table summarizes what to monitor.

Risk	Warning sign	What to do
Repeated commercial anchor	Dozens of links with "buy cheap sneakers"	Swap in brand, URL and natural variations
Partner footer links	The same URL on every page of a site	Ask for a contextual link on a single page
Excessive link swapping	"Partners" pages that exist only to link to each other	Avoid: Google lists it as link spam
Review with free product and no rel	A "clean" link in a sponsored post	Ask for rel="sponsored"
Link to an out-of-stock product	The page returns an error or is empty	Redirect it or keep the page useful
Blog network (PBN)	A site with no audience and explicit link sales	Avoid it, see PBN risks

If you also want to be cited in AI answers, the category content matters as much as the link: see GEO for ecommerce.

Frequently asked questions

Do backlinks to individual products work?

They work for products that have an editorial reason to be cited, such as private-label items, exclusives or highly searched products. For most products, the return is higher when you link the category and let internal links distribute the authority. Test on one star product before spending on several.

Do I need nofollow on affiliate links?

Yes. Google asks that paid and affiliate links be marked with rel="sponsored" or nofollow, with sponsored the preferred one. This applies to whoever earns a commission and to whoever sends a product in exchange for a review. The link is still useful for traffic and brand, but it should not be counted as a ranking vote.

When should I start looking for links for Black Friday?

Months ahead. Google has to discover the links and reevaluate the page, and there is no published timeframe. Start with the categories and the campaign's permanent URL, and use the final weeks only for editorial reinforcement. Links bought the week of the event arrive too late to help.

Do marketplaces like Amazon give backlinks?

In general, not in a useful way: marketplaces usually block links to the seller's own store. Use them to sell and to build brand, and put your link building effort into your own site, where the authority stays with you.

How many links does a category need to rank higher?

It depends on who is above it. Look at the top 3 results and compare the domains linking to them with yours, as the guide to competitor backlink analysis shows. There is no fixed number, and no serious provider guarantees a position.

Next step

Pick a category with demand, improve the page and earn the first 3 links from suppliers and partners before thinking about volume. If the store also depends on being found by AI assistants, move on to GEO for ecommerce, where the same category content is prepared to be cited.

Read also:

• SEO for ecommerce
• How to buy high-quality backlinks
• Anchor text: the complete guide