So, what is resource page link building? In Joshua Hardwick’s words at Ahrefs, it is “where you get backlinks from webpages that curate and link out to useful industry resources.” The page owner has already decided that linking out is the point of the page. You are not asking them to change their editorial habits, only to consider one more entry. That is why the tactic has lasted, and why so many people run it badly.
The process has three steps: find relevant resource pages, vet them, and reach out with a suggestion. Most guides spend their effort on the first and third. The second is where the results are decided.
What is resource page link building used for, and how common is it?
Ahrefs cites Aira’s 2022 State of Link Building Report, which found that 24% of SEOs use resource page link building. That is a minority tactic, not a fringe one. It sits alongside broken link building as one of the few approaches where the target page already wants outbound links, which is why the two are often run together.
The received wisdom is that a resource page link is a small win: a list of links, so each one carries little weight. That undersells it and oversells it at the same time. A well-maintained page on a real site, read by people in your niche, is a fine link. A neglected page on a site with no audience is worth almost nothing, however many operators you used to find it. The value is in the page, not the tactic.
Step one: find resource pages with search operators
Resource pages tend to announce themselves in their titles and URLs, so search operators do most of the finding. Combine your topic with one of the patterns Ahrefs suggests:
intitle:resources inurl:resources.htmlintitle:resources inurl:links.htmlintitle:links inurl:resources.htmlinurl:.com/resourcesintitle:resources inurl:resources
Not every curated list is labelled “resources”. Ahrefs also suggests searching for phrases such as “further reading”, “more resources” and “favorite tools”, which turn up lists embedded at the end of articles. These are often better prospects than standalone pages, because they sit inside content people actually read.
Run each operator against two or three phrasings of your topic and paste every result into one sheet. Do not judge anything yet. Deduplicate by domain, and keep the exact URL of the list, not the homepage, because that is the page you will be pitching.
Step two: vet the list before you write a word
Vetting is where resource page link building succeeds or fails. Operators return a lot of pages that match the pattern and nothing else: abandoned lists, pages built to sell placements, and directories nobody visits. Ahrefs suggests filtering prospects to a Domain Rating of at least 10 and estimated organic traffic of at least 5,000, which it says cuts the list by about 70%.
| Stage | What Ahrefs recommends | What it protects you from |
|---|---|---|
| Find | Operators such as intitle:resources inurl:resources, plus “further reading” and “more resources” | Guessing at prospects |
| Vet | DR of 10 or more and traffic of 5,000 or more, cutting the list by about 70% | Pitching pages nobody reads |
| Reach out | Suggest your resource to the person who maintains the page | Generic, unanswerable pitches |
| Throughout | “Buying links is against Google’s guidelines.” | Paying for placements that carry risk |
Treat those thresholds as a floor, not a target. Traffic figures are third-party estimates and can be wrong in either direction, so open the page itself. Check whether the list has been updated recently, whether the existing links still work, and whether the entries are things a reader would want or things someone paid to add. A page full of unrelated commercial links is a link seller’s page, whatever its metrics say.
The same discipline applies to any prospect list. Our post on guest post targets with real traffic sets out the checks in more detail, and most of them transfer directly.
While you are on the page, note any dead links. A resource list with broken entries is a list whose owner may not know it is decaying, and pointing that out gives your email a reason to exist beyond your own request.
Step three: have something worth listing, then pitch it
The weakest part of most resource page campaigns is the resource. A product page, a thin blog post or a lead-capture landing page does not belong on a curated list, and the person who maintains it knows that. Look at what is already listed. If the page links to free tools, in-depth guides and reference material, your suggestion has to be one of those, and at least as good as what is there.
This is the question to ask honestly before outreach: if you maintained this page, would you add it? If the answer is no, improve the resource or pick a different page. Sending more emails will not fix a resource that does not fit.
Reach out to the person who maintains the page
The pitch itself can be short, because the context does the work. Name the page, name the section your resource fits, say in one sentence why it helps their readers, and include the link. If you found a dead link, lead with it; the fix is useful whether or not they add you. Our guide to link building outreach covers finding the right contact, writing the pitch and when to stop following up.
Do not offer payment, and be wary of any page owner who asks for it. As Ahrefs puts it, “Buying links is against Google’s guidelines.” A resource page that sells entries is no longer a curated list, and a link bought there carries the risk without the editorial value that made the tactic worth running.
Where resource page link building fits
Resource pages are one source among several, not a whole strategy. They suit content that is genuinely referenceable: tools, data, templates, thorough guides. They suit commercial pages poorly. If your site has nothing a curator would list, start by building that asset, then come back to this tactic. Our overview of how to get backlinks maps which tactics fit which kinds of page.
The limitation is the one every prospecting method shares. A DR and traffic filter tells you the site has some authority and some audience, not that the resource page itself is read. Many resource pages sit deep in a site with no internal links pointing at them. Metrics narrow the list; only opening each page tells you whether a link there is worth the effort of asking.
Frequently asked questions
What is resource page link building?
Getting backlinks from pages that curate and link out to useful industry resources, by finding them, vetting them and suggesting your own resource.
How do I find resource pages?
Use search operators such as intitle:resources inurl:resources with your topic, and phrases like “further reading” or “more resources”.
Which resource pages are worth pitching?
Ahrefs suggests DR of 10 or more and traffic of 5,000 or more as a first filter. Then check the page is maintained and its links are editorial.
Should I pay to be listed on a resource page?
No. Buying links is against Google’s guidelines, and a page that sells entries has lost the editorial value that made it worth a link.
The takeaway Find with operators, vet with metrics and your own eyes, and pitch only a resource the curator would choose without being asked.
