One way links: what they are and what a one way link building service includes

A one-way link is a link from another website to yours that your site does not return. How the link came about does not change that. A link you earned, a link you asked for and a link you ordered are all one-way links, as long as your site does not link back.

This page gives the definition in two glossaries' own words, and shows how a one-way link differs from a reciprocal link and how common returned links are. It then sets out the three routes to a one-way link, what a one way link building service includes and what ours costs, and how to check a link once it is live.

What are one way links?

A one-way link is a hyperlink from one website to another where nothing points back. Voluum's glossary defines the term by direction (Voluum sells affiliate tracking software; the entry is undated, read 4 October 2026): "A one-way link, in the context of web architecture and Search Engine Optimization (SEO), is a hyperlink from one website (the external or linking site) that points to a page on a different website (the target or linked-to site) without a corresponding hyperlink pointing back from the target site to the external site." The site doing the linking is the external site. The site being linked to is the target.

The plainer word for the same thing is backlink. Webflow University's glossary, from the learning site of a website builder, defines it: "A backlink, also referred to as an inbound link, is a hyperlink from one website to another website." A one-way link is a backlink with one more condition: nothing points back. One way backlinks is another name people use for the same links.

What a link like this does, in Webflow's words from the same entry: "When a website includes a backlink to your website, they endorse your content, using the link as a vote of confidence." Each one-way link from a site that has not linked to you before also adds one referring domain to your link profile.

What the term does not say is how the link was obtained. Both definitions above are about direction only. A one-way link can be earned, asked for or placed, and the name describes where the link points, not the route the link took to get there.

One way links vs reciprocal links

A one-way link points one way; a reciprocal link is returned. Ahrefs' glossary defines the returned kind: "A reciprocal link occurs when two websites link to each other." The same entry adds: "Link exchanges are intentional agreements between webmasters to link to each other’s sites." A reciprocal link is a returned link, and a link exchange is an agreement to return one.

Returned links are common. Ahrefs' study of reciprocal links, on a page updated 11 March 2020, reports: "26.4% of the 140,592 domains in our sample have no reciprocal links. 73.6% do." So most sites in that sample have some links in both directions, and "one-way" describes a single link, not a whole site.

A returned link is a different thing from a one-way link, not a worse one. For the returned kind, including how common reciprocal links are and how to find yours, see our guide to reciprocal linking.

How to get one way links: three routes

Every one-way link comes about in one of three ways: it is earned, asked for or placed. Together, these routes are what people mean by one way link building techniques. The route decides who does the work and who controls the page and the anchor text.

An earned link starts with something you publish that other sites choose to cite, such as original data or a free tool. You decide what to publish. The linking site decides the page it links from and the anchor text it uses, and the link arrives on that site's timetable, not yours.

An asked-for link starts with outreach: you contact a site owner and ask, for example where your brand is already mentioned without a link.

A placed link starts with an order. You choose the target page on your site and the anchor text before the link is placed. That is what a one way link building service sells.

What a one way link building service includes

A one way link building service places links to your pages on other people's websites. Ours includes the four products below. For Guest Posts, Curated Links and Visual Links, you supply the page to link to and the publisher's page links to you: the order form asks for a target URL, not for a link from your site.

What you supply depends on the product. For Guest Posts and Curated Links you give the target URL and the anchor text, and a Guest Post order also asks for the DA tier. For Visual Links you give the target URL and the alt text. The writing is part of the placement: a Guest Post is a 750+ word article written in-house, and a Curated Link goes into an article the publisher has already published.

Every order goes through the same checks. Before placement, we check the status code your target URL returns, so the link does not point at a dead page or a redirect chain. After publication, we check that the page is live, that the link sits in the body copy, that the anchor text and target URL match the order and that the page is indexable. Only then is the link reported to your dashboard. Every delivered link has 12-month replacement cover, and a first order can be refunded up to $550. The full standard is on our quality assurance page.

If you want to buy one way backlinks and are comparing one way link building services, two of our guides do the side-by-side work. Our guide to where to buy backlinks puts seven providers side by side, and our guide to link building packages compares bundle prices and link counts.

How to check a one way link once it is live

A delivered link is worth a short check before you call it done, and four checks cover it:

1. Open the page and find the link in the body copy.
2. Confirm the anchor text and the target URL are the ones you wanted.
3. Confirm the page can be indexed.
4. Confirm your own site does not link back to that page, if you want the link to stay one-way.

Google's Search Console has a Links report, and its help page says of the report: "It shows a sample of internal and external links to help you understand your site’s overall link profile." The report is a sample, so a new link may not be listed there. A link that passes the four checks above is in place even if the report does not list it, and the same four checks work for an earned or asked-for link as for a placed one.

Frequently asked questions

What is one way link building?

One way link building is getting links to your site from other sites without linking back. Every one-way link comes about in one of three ways: earned, asked for or placed.

What is a one way link building service?

A one way link building service places links to your pages on other people's websites. Ours includes Guest Posts, Curated Links, Visual Links and a Managed Service. For Guest Posts and Curated Links you supply the target URL and the anchor text, and for Visual Links the target URL and the alt text; the publisher's page links to you.

How much does a one way link cost?

The cost of a one-way link depends on the route. On our published prices, Curated Links cost $60 to $210 per link, Guest Posts cost $75 to $400 per post, Visual Links start from $60 per link and the Managed Service starts from $250 a month. Earned and asked-for links carry no placement fee; they take your own time to produce instead.

What is the difference between one way links and reciprocal links?

A one-way link points to your site and is not returned, while a reciprocal link is when two sites link to each other. Returned links are common: in Ahrefs' sample of 140,592 domains, on a page updated 11 March 2020, 73.6% had some reciprocal links. A returned link is a different thing, not a worse one.

How can I get one way links?

You can publish something other sites choose to cite, such as original data or a free tool; you can ask site owners who already mention your brand without a link; or you can order a placement and choose the target page and anchor text yourself. The three routes can run together.