Think link building is just sending out a few emails asking for links? Think again. When it comes to big business, we’re playing in a different league. Amazon, Airbnb, Booking… These behemoths don’t dominate Google by chance. They’ve understood something fundamental: link building on an enterprise scale is a team sport requiring strategy, coordination and a long-term vision.

In 2026, with the explosion of AI-powered response engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini), quality backlinks are becoming even more crucial. Why? Because these systems rely on authority to determine which sources to cite. No authority = no visibility in AI-generated results.

📌 Key points to remember

• Scale changes everything: link building for key accounts requires coordination between several departments (legal, tech, content, PR).
• Quick wins first: Correcting broken links and transforming brand mentions can generate hundreds of links in just a few weeks.
• Quality > Quantity: A linkable asset (data study, free tool) attracts more links than 100 average articles.
• Long-term vision: Winning strategies take at least 6-12 months, not a few weeks.
• Measurement and iteration: Without rigorous link profile tracking, it’s impossible to optimize strategy

Classic SEO vs Enterprise SEO: Why everything is changing on a grand scale

The problem of scale

When you run a small business with a 50-page site, getting 20-30 quality backlinks may be enough to rank you. But when you’re running a 10,000-page site with multilingual versions in 15 countries? That’s another level of complexity.

The specific challenges of key accounts :

• Multi-team coordination: Marketing wants links, legal is afraid of risks, tech struggles with redirects, PR has its own contacts but doesn’t talk SEO.
• Massive volume of content: Identifying which pages deserve backlinks becomes a headache
• International presence: Each market has its own rules, its own media and its own language.
• Increased risk of penalties: A poor linking strategy can ruin the visibility of thousands of pages at once.

This is exactly why the “artisanal” strategies that work for small sites don’t work on an enterprise scale. You need to think in terms of process, intelligent automation and strategic coordination.

Quick Wins: The Easy Victories Everyone Ignores

Before embarking on complex content creation, start by harvesting the low-hanging fruit. These “easy wins” can generate dozens, even hundreds of backlinks in a matter of weeks.

1. Repair broken internal links

You’d be surprised at the number of broken links on corporate sites. Renamed pages, unmanaged migrations, restructuring… Every broken internal link dilutes your link juice.

Concrete action: Use Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to identify all internal 404s, then set up clean 301 redirects. This improves the user experience AND redistributes page authority correctly.

2. Optimize the existing internal network

Many large companies have excellent content that doesn’t perform simply because it’s buried 5 clicks from the home page.

The golden rule: Your strategic pages must be accessible in no more than 3 clicks from the home page. Create contextual links from your high-authority pages to those you want to boost.

3. Turning brand mentions into backlinks

Your brand is probably mentioned hundreds of times on the web without a link to your site. That’s potential authority down the drain.

Strategy:

• Use Mention, Brand24 or Ahrefs Content Explorer to track down unrelated mentions
• Kindly contact the authors to request a link
• Average conversion rate: 20-30% agree to add link

For a major brand, this can mean 50 to 200 new backlinks in just a few months. Without creating a single new piece of content.

Linkable Assets: Why One Good Tool Is Better Than 100 Items

Let’s be honest: nobody’s going to link to your umpteenth “10 tips for…” article. On the other hand, certain types of content naturally attract backlinks like magnets.

Content that generates links naturally

1. Original data studies

Publish a study on your sector with exclusive figures. Journalists, bloggers and other sites will cite you as a source. A single report can generate hundreds of backlinks if the data is relevant.

Case in point: HubSpot publishes its annual “State of Marketing” report, which generates thousands of backlinks every year.

2. Free tools

Create a calculator, a generator, a comparator… Something useful that people will naturally share and link to.

Examples:

• Moz with their MozBar
• Ahrefs with their free Backlink Checker
• Canva with templates

3. Ultra-complete resources

Definitive guides, sector glossaries, databases… Everything you need to become THE reference in your field.

How to create a linkable asset that performs

Step 1: Gap search

• Analyze the most-linked content in your sector via Ahrefs or SEMrush
• Identify what’s missing or obsolete
• Find the unique angle that no one else has covered

Stage 2: Quality production

• Invest in production (design, data viz, interactivity)
• Make it shareable (embeds, downloadable infographics)
• Optimize for mobile

Step 3: Strategic promotion

• Contact sites that have linked to similar content
• Pitch journalists with precise angles
• Use your network of partners

One good linkable asset can generate more links than 50 traditional blog posts. It’s the difference between quantity and quality.

The Transversal Dimension: Involving the Whole Organization

Here’s where it gets interesting for key accounts. Link building can’t just be something the SEO department does on its own.

Involving the legal department

Yes, I know, it sounds strange. But legal must :

• Validating content partnerships
• Ensuring that guest posts comply with Google guidelines
• Check co-branding agreements that include links

Pro tip: Create a legally-approved guidelines document to speed up future campaigns.

Coordinate with press relations

Your PR people probably have golden contacts in the media. The problem? They don’t think “backlink” when pitching a story.

The solution: Train PR staff in SEO basics and create common briefs. Every press release should include a strategic link to a target page.

Aligning tech

Without tech, you can’t :

• Set up redirects properly
• Create dedicated campaign pages
• Track inbound links correctly
• Manage international versions

Best practice: Organize regular SEO-Tech syncs to anticipate the technical needs of link building campaigns.

How DS Overseas orchestrates complex campaigns

Coordinating all this internally when you’re operating in several markets? It’s a logistical nightmare. That’s exactly where DS Overseas comes in.

Our approach to international key accounts

1. 360° link profile audit
We start by taking an X-ray of your current situation:

• Analysis of existing link profile
• Identifying quick-win opportunities
• Benchmark against your competitors in each target market

2. Multi-market strategy
We don’t copy and paste. Each market has its own strategy:

• Identification of relevant local media
• Creating culturally appropriate content
• Respect for linguistic and regulatory specificities

3. Cross-functional coordination
We act as a link between your different teams:

• Briefs aligned legal-marketing-tech
• Fluid validation processes
• Unified reporting for all stakeholders

4. Execution and scaling
Thanks to our presence in Tunisia, we offer :

• A team dedicated to your project at optimized costs
• Multilingual resources (French, English, Arabic)
• Scalable content production capacity

Concrete results in African and MENA markets

For our customers expanding into North Africa and the Middle East, our local expertise makes all the difference. We know the media that counts, the influencers that really make an impact, and the partnerships that generate quality links.

Link Building in 2026: A Long-Distance Race, Not a Sprint

Stop thinking in terms of “one-off campaigns”. The brands that will dominate Google in 2026 understand that link building is an ongoing process that requires :

• Long-term vision: Planning for at least 6-12 months
• Diversification: Mix several tactics rather than relying on a single one
• Obsessive quality: 10 links from 10 different sites > 100 links from a single site
• Constant measurement: Profile tracking, regular adjustments, data-driven iterations

In 98% of cases, a few one-off links are not enough. You need to constantly feed your profile with links to stay ahead of the competition. It’s just like fitness: you can’t go to the gym once and expect to stay in shape all year round.

Want to develop your SEO authority in multiple markets without managing all the complexity in-house? Let’s discuss your project and see how DS Overseas can orchestrate your international link building strategy. With our combined expertise in technical SEO and strategic content creation, we turn link building into a real competitive advantage.