Link building is the part of SEO that most agencies in Jordan either skip entirely or do badly. They skip it because it is hard work — building genuine, high-quality backlinks requires outreach, relationships, and content worth linking to. They do it badly by buying cheap links from spam sites that eventually trigger a Google penalty.
I have been building links for clients across Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE since 2018 as an SEO specialist in Amman. The MENA region has a unique link building landscape — the pool of high-authority Arabic websites is different from the English web, the outreach culture is different, and the tactics that work in the US or Europe do not always translate directly. Here is what actually works.
Why Backlinks Matter
Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to yours. Google treats each backlink as a vote of confidence — a signal that another website considers your content valuable enough to reference.
Not all votes are equal. A link from a high-authority news site or industry publication carries far more weight than a link from a random blog with 10 visitors per month. Ten quality backlinks from relevant, trusted sources outperform 500 links from low-quality directories.
Backlinks remain one of Google's strongest ranking factors. A website with excellent content and zero backlinks will struggle to outrank a competitor with good content and strong backlinks. Both matter — but links are often the deciding factor for competitive keywords.
What Works in the MENA Region
Digital PR
Getting your business, your expertise, or your content featured in online publications, news sites, and industry platforms. This is the highest-quality link building method and the one I prioritise.
For businesses in Jordan, this means reaching out to local and regional media, contributing expert commentary to industry articles, and creating newsworthy content that journalists and bloggers want to reference.
A dental clinic that publishes original research on dental health trends in Jordan creates something reporters can cite. A digital marketing agency that releases an annual report on e-commerce trends in the Gulf creates a resource that industry publications will link to.
The key is creating value first, then promoting it — not asking for links without offering anything worth linking to.
Content-Based Link Building
Creating content so genuinely useful that other websites link to it naturally. This is slower than outreach but builds the most sustainable backlink profile over time.
Comprehensive guides, original data, industry reports, free tools, and in-depth tutorials attract links because they serve as reference material. Every time someone writes about a topic you have covered comprehensively, they may link to your guide as a source.
Industry Partnerships
Partnering with complementary businesses for co-created content, joint webinars, or collaborative resources. A web development agency linking to a digital marketing expert's guide on landing page optimisation. A business consultancy linking to an e-commerce agency's report on online retail in Jordan.
These partnerships create natural, contextually relevant links that Google values highly — and they benefit both businesses through shared audiences.
Guest Contributions
Writing expert articles for established publications in your industry. Not mass-produced guest posts on random blogs — targeted contributions to respected platforms where your expertise adds genuine value. For the MENA market, this includes regional business publications, industry-specific platforms, and Arabic-language media.
Local and Industry Directories
Submitting your business to relevant, high-quality directories. Chambers of commerce, industry associations, professional bodies, and curated local business directories. I emphasise relevant — a targeted list of 20–30 quality directories is far more valuable than submitting to 500 irrelevant, low-quality ones.
What Does Not Work (And Will Hurt You)
Buying Links
Purchasing links from websites that sell them openly. These sites typically sell links to hundreds of other businesses, creating a pattern that Google's algorithms detect easily. Bought links may show short-term results, but Google catches up — and the penalty can devastate your rankings for months.
I refuse to buy links for clients. Every link I build is earned through content quality, outreach, and relationships.
Private Blog Networks (PBNs)
Networks of fake websites created solely to link to client sites. Google has been identifying and penalising PBNs aggressively for years. Any agency that uses PBNs is taking a serious risk with your website's long-term search visibility.
Link Exchanges
"I will link to you if you link to me." Google explicitly identifies reciprocal link schemes as a violation of their guidelines. Organic, editorial links happen naturally. Arranged exchanges are detectable and discounted.
Link Building for Arabic Websites
- Arabic digital PR. Targeting Arabic-language news sites, blogs, and industry platforms. Outreach in Arabic, content in Arabic, publications serving Arabic-speaking audiences.
- Regional platforms. Business directories, association websites, and industry platforms specific to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf.
- Cross-language links. English-language publications covering the MENA market may link to Arabic resources when relevant. A bilingual website benefits from both Arabic and English link building.
- Creating Arabic resources that do not exist yet. In many industries, comprehensive Arabic-language guides on specific topics simply do not exist. Creating the first — and best — Arabic resource on a topic positions your site as the default reference that everyone links to.
How to Evaluate Your Backlink Profile
- Relevance. Are the linking sites related to your industry or location? A link from a tech blog to a tech company is relevant. A link from a recipe site to a law firm is suspicious.
- Authority. What is the Domain Rating or Domain Authority of the linking sites? Tools like Ahrefs and Moz provide these metrics. Links from high-authority sites are worth significantly more.
- Diversity. Are your links coming from many different domains, or is one domain linking to you 50 times? Diverse sources signal genuine authority.
- Anchor text. Is the clickable text of your backlinks natural and varied? If 80% of your backlinks use the exact same anchor text, it looks manipulative. Natural anchor text varies — your brand name, your URL, descriptive phrases, and generic terms.
For the full guide on all aspects of SEO — including on-page, technical, and local — read my Complete SEO Guide for Businesses in Jordan.
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