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| Link Building Strategies in 2026 (The Complete Guide) |
Links are still one of the strongest ways the web says a page deserves attention. What has changed is how you earn them. Mass guest posts, bulk directory submissions, and copy-paste outreach now bring more risk than reward, while original data, useful tools, and real relationships keep winning links year after year.
The best link building strategies in 2026 share one rule. Give people a real reason to link to you, and make that reason easy to find. In practice, that means seven moves.
- Publish original data, tools, and guides that other writers want to cite.
- Use digital PR to put your research and expertise in front of journalists and editors.
- Contribute expert quotes and carefully chosen guest content on relevant sites.
- Fix broken links and reclaim brand mentions that do not link to you yet.
- Study competitor links to find gaps you can fill with a better page.
- Build local and partnership links from real relationships.
- Skip paid link schemes, automated tools, and link swaps at scale.
This guide shows you how each strategy works, what it costs, where it goes wrong, and how to start. You will also learn how Google treats links today, how AI search changes the picture, which tactics to avoid, how to measure results, and how to run a simple 90-day plan.
What Link Building Really Means in 2026
Link building is the practice of earning links from other websites to your own pages. Each link works like a recommendation. When a trusted site points to your page, both readers and search engines get a hint that the page is worth visiting. Google's own spam policies still state that Google uses links as a factor when judging how relevant a page is, so the basic idea has not changed in more than two decades.
What has changed is the standard. In 2026, a link that looks arranged or paid for can be ignored, and a pattern of them can hurt you. A link that a real editor placed because your page helped their readers is the one that lasts.
Earned, Built, and Bought Links
It helps to sort links into three groups. Earned links appear on their own because someone found your page useful. Built links come from outreach, such as an expert quote, a guest article, or a partner mention. Bought links involve payment or a trade of goods or services. A healthy plan leans on earned and built links. Paid placements are allowed on the web, but they need to be labeled so they do not pass ranking credit.
What a Good Link Looks Like
Not every link is worth your time. Before you chase one, check it against this short list.
- Relevant. The linking page covers a topic close to yours.
- Editorial. A human chose to include it for the reader's benefit.
- Contextual. It sits inside the body of the content rather than in a footer or sidebar.
- Trusted. The site has a real audience, real authors, and a clean reputation.
- Durable. The page is likely to stay live, and the link is unlikely to be removed.
Internal links, the ones between your own pages, matter too, but this guide focuses on external links from other sites. If search is new to you, a beginner course such as Introduction to Google SEO can give you the foundations before you start reaching out to anyone.
Do Backlinks Still Matter in 2026?
Yes, but they are no longer the only story. Large studies keep finding that pages and sites with stronger link profiles tend to rank higher, while newer research shows that brand mentions play a growing role in AI search. Here is what the main studies say, and how to read them without overreacting.
What the Research Shows
| Study | What it found | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Backlinko analysis of 11.8 million Google results | The top result had about 3.8 times more backlinks than results in positions two to ten. | Shows a strong relationship, not proof that links alone cause rankings. |
| WebFX 2026 study of 1,462 domains in 15 industries | Page one domains had a median of 907 referring domains, from 76 in apparel to 3,027 in finance and insurance. | Domain level data. Use it to gauge how competitive your niche is, not as a target. |
| Ahrefs study of 75,000 brands | Branded web mentions correlated with AI Overview visibility at 0.664, while backlinks correlated at 0.218. | Brand presence matters, but Ahrefs itself notes that correlation is not causation. |
| BuzzStream 2026 digital PR research | About 75 percent of practitioners said digital PR is more challenging in 2026 than in 2025. | Competition for press attention is rising, so stories must be stronger. |
Notice the pattern. Every study shows a relationship, and none of them proves that links alone cause rankings. Strong brands, strong content, and strong links usually travel together. That is why a link building plan should never replace a content plan.
Why Links Still Help
- Google still uses links to judge relevance and trust.
- New pages with good links tend to be discovered and indexed faster.
- A good placement can send real visitors, not only ranking signals.
- Links from respected sites make your brand easier to find and recognize.
Where Links Fall Short
- Links cannot rescue thin, outdated, or inaccurate content.
- Results are slow, and one campaign can take weeks to show any effect.
- It is hard to prove which single link moved a ranking.
- Competition keeps rising, especially for press coverage.
Treat links as the result of being worth citing, not as a task you can tick off a checklist.
How Google Treats Links Today
Before you build a single link, you need to know where the line sits. Google publishes it clearly in its spam policies, and crossing it can erase the value of your work.
What Counts as Link Spam
Google defines link spam as creating links to or from a site mainly to manipulate search rankings. Notice the words to or from. Selling links from your own site is covered just as much as buying links to it. The common examples in Google's guidance include the following.
- Buying or selling links for ranking purposes, including trading goods or services for links.
- Excessive link exchanges, the classic "link to me and I'll link to you" deal, and partner pages built only for cross-linking.
- Using automated programs or services to create links to your site.
- Large-scale article or guest post campaigns whose main goal is to push keyword-rich links.
- Requiring a link as part of a contract, terms of service, or similar arrangement.
Google also accepts that buying and selling links is a normal part of web advertising and sponsorship. The rule is simple. If money or goods are involved, label the link.
SpamBrain and Spam Updates
Google fights link spam with SpamBrain, an AI-based spam prevention system. When Google rolled out its December 2022 link spam update, it said the system could spot both sites that buy links and sites that exist to sell them, and could neutralize unnatural links rather than punish every site involved. Google's documentation on spam updates adds an important warning. After a link spam update, changing your behavior may not bring an improvement, because the ranking benefit those links once gave you is simply gone.
As for 2026, Search Engine Roundtable reported that Google said its March 2026 spam update did not target link spam, and coverage of later spam updates this year has described the same pattern. That is not a green light. SpamBrain keeps running between announced updates, so a risky link profile can lose value at any time.
Labeling Paid and Affiliate Links
Google asks site owners to qualify certain outbound links with a rel attribute. Use sponsored for paid placements and affiliate links, ugc for links inside user-generated content such as comments and forum posts, and nofollow when you do not want to vouch for the page you link to. Google says nofollow is still an acceptable way to flag paid links, though sponsored is preferred. This guide follows the same rule. Every course link in it carries nofollow and sponsored attributes and opens in a new tab.
Link Building in the Age of AI Search
More searches now start with an AI-generated answer, whether in Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, or Perplexity. That raises a fair question. If people read the answer instead of clicking, do links still matter?
The evidence says links matter in two ways. First, links still help pages rank, and ranking still feeds AI answers. An Ahrefs analysis of 1.9 million AI Overview citations from July 2025 found that about 76 percent came from pages ranking in the top ten results, although later research suggests that this overlap moves over time. Second, AI systems appear to lean on how often and where a brand is mentioned. In the Ahrefs study of 75,000 brands, branded web mentions correlated with AI Overview visibility at 0.664, compared with 0.218 for backlinks. Ahrefs points out that correlation is not causation, since well-known brands tend to be mentioned everywhere.
What This Means for Your Strategy
- Keep earning links, because they still support rankings and discovery.
- Aim for mentions on trusted third-party sites, even when the mention has no link.
- Use your brand name, product names, and author names consistently so systems can connect the dots.
- Put real people behind your content with clear bios and credentials.
- Publish original data and clear explanations that are easy to quote.
Pros and Cons of an AI-Aware Approach
The upside is real. You strengthen your brand beyond one search engine, mentions on trusted sites help even when the link is nofollow, and the work supports your wider reputation. The downside is that AI visibility is hard to measure, the research is young and mostly based on correlation, and citation patterns differ from one AI tool to the next. Treat the numbers as a direction, not a guarantee.
Brand building is a skill of its own. A course such as Brand Management, which covers aligning business, brand, and behavior, can help you think about how people recognize and remember what you publish.
Linkable Assets That Attract Links Naturally
The most reliable link building strategy starts before any outreach. You build something other people want to cite. This is called a linkable asset. Without one, outreach is just asking for favors.
What Makes an Asset Linkable
An asset earns links when it saves someone time, proves a point, or gives them a fact they cannot find elsewhere. A writer working on a story needs a number to quote. A blogger needs a tool to recommend. A teacher needs a clear template. If your page answers that need better than anything else, links follow.
Asset Types That Attract Links
- Original research, such as a survey of your customers or an analysis of public data.
- Free tools and calculators that solve a small, specific problem.
- Definitive guides and glossaries that become the page people point to.
- Templates, checklists, and swipe files that readers can use right away.
- Clear charts and visuals that others can embed with credit.
- Case studies with real numbers that you have permission to share.
Pros of Linkable Assets
- A good asset keeps earning links long after launch.
- One asset can feed PR, outreach, social posts, and email.
- It builds topical authority around your main subject.
- It makes every pitch easier because you have something concrete to offer.
Cons of Linkable Assets
- It takes time and budget before you see any return.
- There is no guarantee that anyone will link to it.
- Statistics go stale, so assets need regular updates.
- Successful ideas get copied quickly.
How to Build One in Five Steps
Planning assets around real audience needs is core content strategy. A course such as The Strategy of Content Marketing can help you connect content to business goals, and Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content looks at why some ideas spread further than others.
A page earns links when it saves someone else time or gives them a fact they cannot get anywhere else.
Digital PR and Original Data
Digital PR means earning coverage from news sites, trade publications, and industry blogs by giving them a story worth telling. The link is a side effect of the coverage, not the goal. That mindset shift is why digital PR has become one of the most talked-about link building strategies of 2026.
It is also getting harder. BuzzStream's 2026 digital PR research found that about three quarters of practitioners believe the work is more challenging than it was a year earlier. Journalists receive a flood of pitches, and generic ones disappear fast. The pitches that survive bring something the writer cannot easily get alone, usually data, a sharp expert opinion, or a story with a clear local or human angle.
How a Digital PR Campaign Works
Story Angles That Tend to Work
- Original survey results with a clear sample size and method.
- Analysis of public data that nobody has pulled together before.
- Expert commentary on a news event, sent while the story is still fresh.
- A local angle on a national trend.
- Evidence that busts a common myth in your industry.
Never invent numbers or stretch a small sample into a big claim. Say how many people answered, who they were, and when you asked. Journalists check, and one bad statistic can close doors for years.
Pros and Cons of Digital PR
On the plus side, you can earn links from highly trusted publications, you get brand mentions that help in AI search too, and a good story can bring real referral traffic. On the downside, campaigns cost time and money, results are never guaranteed, and the effect on rankings is hard to isolate.
Once a story lands, share it where journalists and creators already spend time. A course like Introduction to Social Media Marketing can help you plan how to promote coverage without sounding like an ad.
Expert Contributions and Guest Content
Sharing what you know on other people's platforms is one of the oldest ways to earn a link, and it still works when you do it for the audience. The goal is to be useful where relevant readers already are, not to push a keyword-rich link onto any site that accepts submissions.
Ways to Contribute
- Give expert quotes to journalists and bloggers who are working on a related story.
- Write a guest article for a respected site in your field when you have something fresh to say.
- Appear on podcasts, webinars, and live events where hosts publish show notes with links.
- Co-author a study or report with a partner who has their own audience.
- Offer a short, well-sourced contribution to a roundup when the topic fits your expertise.
How to Judge a Site Before You Pitch
- It publishes content that real people read, with comments, shares, or a clear audience.
- It has named authors and an editor who reviews submissions.
- It covers topics close to yours rather than anything and everything.
- It does not advertise paid guest posts or "write for us" pages stuffed with SEO keywords.
Pros and Cons
Expert contributions give you control over the message, build personal authority, and can place your name in front of an engaged audience. The drawbacks are the time each piece takes and the risk of drifting into low-quality placements. Google's spam policies call out large-scale article campaigns that push keyword-rich anchor links, so keep volume low and quality high.
If you pay for a guest post, or trade a product or service for a mention, the link should carry a sponsored or nofollow attribute. Skipping that step is exactly what Google's spam policies describe as buying or selling links for ranking purposes.
Real credentials make editors say yes. Write your author bio around what you have actually done, and show it on your own site too. If you want to understand how search engines judge experience and trust, this deeper explainer helps.
Broken Links and Link Reclamation
Some of the easiest links are the ones you almost already have. Reclamation work finds links and mentions that exist or used to exist and brings them back to the right page on your site. Reply rates are usually better here because the writer already knows your name.
Turn Unlinked Mentions into Links
Set up alerts for your brand name, product names, and the names of your founders or authors. When a site mentions you without linking, send a friendly note that thanks the writer and suggests the most helpful page to link to. Keep it short and never demand a change. Even if no link is added, the mention still builds your brand presence.
Broken Link Building
Pages on your topic often link to resources that no longer exist. If you have a page that truly replaces the missing one, you can tell the site owner and suggest your page as a fix. This helps them as much as it helps you.
Recover Lost Links
Links disappear all the time. A widely cited Ahrefs study found that roughly two thirds of links built over a nine-year span had died. Some vanish because the other site changed, but many vanish because of your own changes. Moved pages, deleted URLs, and sloppy redirects after a redesign can quietly throw away years of earned links. Check your pages that used to have links, and make sure old URLs return a proper permanent redirect to the closest new page. Our technical guide walks through those basics.
Pros and Cons
Reclamation is cheap, fast, and low risk, and it improves your site while you do it. The downside is that it has a ceiling. You can only reclaim as many links as you already deserve, so it should sit beside other strategies, not replace them.
Subject line Quick fix for a broken link on your [topic] guide
Hi [Name],
I was reading your guide to [topic] and noticed that the link to [resource] no longer works. We recently published [your page title], which covers the same ground with updated information. It might be a useful replacement for your readers.
Either way, thanks for putting together such a helpful page.
[Your name]
Competitor Gaps and Resource Pages
Your competitors have already done some of your research. If a writer linked to two or three sites like yours, they might link to you too, but only when you give them a reason.
Run a Link Gap Analysis
Resource Pages and Roundups
Many sites keep pages that collect useful tools, guides, and reading lists. If your page really belongs on one, a short note to the owner is reasonable. If it does not belong, do not send the email. A better page does not mean a longer page. It means clearer information, newer data, or a tool that solves the problem faster.
Pros and Cons
Gap analysis gives you a ready list of realistic targets, and it shows you what topics link-worthy sites already care about. The risk is copying competitors instead of finding your own angle, and the reply rate can be low if your pitch does not add anything new. One survey reported in 2026 statistics roundups puts the average outreach response rate at roughly 8.5 percent, so plan for most emails to go unanswered.
Local, Community, and Partnership Links
Not every good link comes from a newsroom. Plenty come from the places where your business already takes part in real life, such as trade groups, local events, and partner companies. These links are often easy to explain, because there is a real relationship behind them.
Where to Look
- Local chambers of commerce, industry associations, and professional bodies.
- Events you host, speak at, or sponsor, with the sponsorship link labeled properly.
- Suppliers, customers, and partners who can mention a real working relationship.
- Local news sites and community blogs that cover business stories.
- Charities and community groups you support, where a genuine thank-you page makes sense.
If your business serves a specific area, pair this work with local search basics such as accurate business listings and consistent contact details. Our local guide covers that side in detail.
Pros and Cons
Local and partnership links are relevant, trustworthy, and usually safe. They also strengthen real-world reputation. The limits are scale and authority, since a handful of local links will not move a national keyword by themselves. Be careful with partner pages too. Google's policy names partner pages created only for cross-linking as link spam, so only list partners you genuinely work with.
Link Building Strategies Compared
The table below puts the main strategies side by side. The ratings are editorial judgments based on typical campaigns, not measured benchmarks, so adjust them for your own niche and budget.
| Strategy | Effort | Cost | Speed | Risk | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linkable assets | High | Medium to high | Slow | Low | Sites with an audience and original ideas |
| Digital PR | High | High | Medium | Low | Brands with data or expert voices |
| Expert contributions and guest content | Medium | Low to medium | Medium | Medium if done at scale | Consultants, founders, and specialists |
| Link reclamation | Low | Low | Fast | Low | Sites with existing mentions or old URLs |
| Competitor gap outreach | Medium | Low to medium | Medium | Low | Crowded niches with clear leaders |
| Local and partnership links | Low to medium | Low | Medium | Low | Local and service businesses |
| Paid or automated link schemes | Low | Medium | Fast at first | High | Nobody. Avoid these. |
How to Run Outreach That Gets Replies
Even the best asset needs a human introduction. Outreach is where most campaigns quietly fail, mostly because the emails read like templates written for nobody. A good message is short, specific, and respectful of the reader's time.
Principles of Good Outreach
- Be relevant. Only write to people whose recent work connects to what you are offering.
- Be specific. Name the exact page, paragraph, or story you are referring to.
- Lead with value. Say what the reader gets before you say what you want.
- Keep it short. Four to six sentences is plenty for a first email.
- Follow up once. One polite reminder is fine, and a third message is pressure.
- Accept a no. A friendly reply to a refusal often leads to a better chance next time.
Subject line New data on [topic] for your readers
Hi [Name],
I enjoyed your recent piece on [specific article]. We just finished a survey of [number] [type of people] about [topic], and one finding stood out. [One sentence with the key result].
I can send the full data and a chart you are welcome to use with credit. Would that be helpful for a future story?
Thanks for your time,
[Your name and role]
Good outreach is a form of email marketing, and the same habits apply, such as clear subject lines, plain language, and respect for the inbox. If you want a structured way to learn them, Think Outside the Inbox covers email marketing from the ground up.
The best outreach email reads like a note from a helpful colleague, not a request from a stranger.
Tracking Results and Tools
Link building without measurement is guesswork. The trick is to measure the things that tell the truth about progress, not the things that make a report look good.
Metrics Worth Tracking
- New referring domains. Count unique sites, not total links, since ten links from one site count as one voice.
- Relevance and quality. Note whether each new link comes from a site your audience would actually read.
- Referral traffic. A link that sends visitors is valuable no matter what its attribute says.
- Rankings and impressions. Watch the pages you targeted for movement over months, not days.
- Branded search and mentions. A rise in people searching for your name is a strong sign that awareness is growing.
- Cost per link. Divide your time and spend by the links you earned, then compare strategies.
Tools You Can Start With
| Tool | Cost | What it does well |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Free | Shows the sites that link to you and your most linked pages. |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Free | Provides a second view of your backlinks from another search engine. |
| Google Alerts | Free | Sends notices when your brand or product is mentioned online. |
| Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz | Paid | Offer large backlink databases and competitor link analysis. |
| A simple spreadsheet | Free | Tracks prospects, emails sent, replies, and links earned. |
You do not need every tool on day one. Start with the free options and add a paid platform only when you have a clear question that the free tools cannot answer. For more ideas on affordable software, see our roundup of free options.
Are Nofollow Links Worth It?
Often, yes. Google treats nofollow, sponsored, and ugc as hints, so they may pass little or no ranking credit. They can still send real visitors, put your name in front of new readers, and make your link profile look like a natural mix. Many large platforms mark outbound links nofollow by default, so a profile made only of followed links would actually look unusual.
How Long Does It Take?
Plan on weeks to months. A link has to be published, found, and processed before it can matter, and the effect depends on how competitive your topic is and how strong the link is. Reclamation can show quick wins, while research and PR campaigns usually need a few months. Judge each campaign over a full quarter before you decide whether it works.
Turning numbers into decisions is a skill. A course such as Marketing Analytics can help you read your reports with more confidence.
Risky Tactics to Avoid
Every year, new shortcuts promise fast results. Most of them are old tricks with new names. Google's spam policies and SpamBrain were built to find exactly these patterns, and the damage is rarely quick to repair. Remember that after a link spam update, changing course may not bring the lost value back.
Tactics That Put Your Site at Risk
- Buying links for ranking purposes. This includes sellers who promise a guaranteed authority score for a fixed price.
- Private blog networks. Groups of sites built mainly to pass links to each other or to a client.
- Excessive link exchanges. Large-scale link swaps and partner pages created only for cross-linking.
- Automated link creation. Software that posts links across forums, comments, profiles, or directories.
- Expired domain tricks. Reviving an old site only to pass its old authority to another site.
- Mass guest posting. Campaigns that place near-identical articles with keyword-rich anchor text.
- Fake credibility. Invented quotes, made-up statistics, or fake mentions created to win coverage or to influence AI answers.
If a vendor guarantees a number of links, a specific authority score, or a ranking, walk away. Nobody outside Google can guarantee how its systems will treat a link.
Five Questions Before You Accept Any Link
A Simple 90-Day Link Building Plan
You do not need a huge team to begin. This plan fits one person working a few hours a week, and you can scale it up later. Adjust the pace to your resources.
Month One, Foundations
- Audit your current links and mentions using Google Search Console and a mention alert.
- Fix broken pages and set up permanent redirects where old URLs have links.
- List your top three competitors and run a basic link gap check.
- Choose one linkable asset to build, such as a small survey, a tool, or a definitive guide.
- Brush up on search basics with a course like Google SEO Fundamentals if parts of the audit feel unclear.
Month Two, Outreach and PR
- Finish and publish your asset, with a short summary and a shareable chart.
- Build a list of twenty to thirty relevant writers, bloggers, and site owners.
- Send personal pitches in small batches and note every reply.
- Offer expert quotes on two or three live stories in your field.
Month Three, Reclamation and Review
- Reach out to sites that mention you without linking.
- Try a handful of broken link emails where you have a real replacement page.
- Explore local and partner mentions where a real relationship exists.
- Review results with simple metrics, then double down on the strategy that earned the best links per hour.
Conclusion
Link building in 2026 rewards patience and honesty. The approaches that work best look more like good marketing than technical tricks. You create something people want to cite, you tell the right people about it, you repair what is broken, and you keep your reputation clean. Links remain a meaningful signal, but they now sit inside a bigger picture that includes brand mentions, author credibility, and AI-driven search.
Start small. Pick one asset, one strategy, and one month. Measure what happens, keep what works, and drop what does not.
References and Further Reading
These sources support the facts in this guide, and they are worth bookmarking if you want to go deeper.
- Google Search Central, Spam policies for Google web search
- Google Search Central, Qualify your outbound links to Google
- Google Search Central, Spam updates and your site
- Google Search Central, Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
- Search Engine Roundtable, Google March 2026 spam update
- Backlinko, Search engine ranking study of 11.8 million Google results
- Ahrefs, Brand correlation study for AI Overview visibility
- Stacker and WebFX, 2026 backlink study by industry
- BuzzStream, Digital PR statistics and trends for 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best link building strategies in 2026?
The most dependable link building strategies in 2026 are creating linkable assets such as original research and free tools, digital PR, expert contributions and careful guest content, link reclamation, competitor gap outreach, and local or partnership links. All of them focus on earning links from relevant sites because your content genuinely helps their readers. None of them rely on paid or automated link schemes.
Do backlinks still matter for SEO in 2026?
Yes. Google's spam policies still say that Google uses links as a factor in judging relevance, and large studies keep finding that top ranking pages tend to have stronger link profiles. Links are not the only factor, though, and the research shows a relationship rather than proof of cause. Content quality, relevance, and brand strength still matter alongside links.
How many backlinks do I need to rank?
There is no fixed number. WebFX's 2026 study of 1,462 domains found that page one domains had a median of 907 referring domains, ranging from 76 in apparel to 3,027 in finance and insurance. Check the sites that rank for your own keywords to see what you are up against, then focus on earning links from relevant, trusted sites instead of chasing a total.
Is link building safe under Google's spam policies?
Yes, when links are earned or placed for the benefit of readers. Google defines link spam as links created mainly to manipulate rankings, such as buying or selling links for ranking purposes, excessive link exchanges, and automated link creation. Label paid and affiliate links with sponsored or nofollow attributes, and avoid large-scale schemes.
Are nofollow links worth getting?
Often yes. Google treats nofollow, sponsored, and ugc attributes as hints, so these links may pass little or no ranking credit. They can still send real visitors, introduce your brand to new readers, and make your link profile look natural.
How long does link building take to work?
Plan on weeks to months. A link has to be published, found, and processed, and the effect depends on how competitive your topic is and how strong the link is. Reclamation can show quick wins, while research and digital PR campaigns usually need a few months. Judge a campaign over a full quarter.
Does link building help visibility in AI search?
Indirectly. Links help pages rank, and ranking pages feed AI answers. An Ahrefs study of 75,000 brands also found that branded web mentions tracked AI Overview visibility more closely than backlinks did. These findings are correlations, so treat them as a direction rather than a guarantee.
Should I buy backlinks?
Not for ranking purposes. Google lists buying or selling links for ranking purposes as link spam, and its spam systems can neutralize unnatural links. Paid advertising and sponsorships are fine when the link carries a sponsored or nofollow label, but you should not expect them to lift your rankings.
