Backlinks in Switzerland: 10 strategies that work in 2026

Why backlinks still matter in 2026

Despite 20 years of talk about the announced death of link building, backlinks remain a major Google ranking factor in 2026. Studies by Backlinko, Ahrefs and Semrush agree: sites in the top 3 for competitive queries have, on average, 3 to 10 times more backlinks from different domains (referring domains) than sites in positions 11 to 20.

But the nature of link building has changed. The aggressive techniques of the 2010s (PBNs, mass link buying, link farms) now trigger manual or algorithmic Google penalties (the Penguin algorithm, Link Spam Updates). The only lasting strategies in 2026 are legitimate editorial links, earned on the merit of your content or of real partnerships.

The Swiss market has its own logic when it comes to link building: recognised .ch directories, an active regional press, a dense network of associations, fertile ground for B2B partnerships. The 10 strategies that work in 2026 build on this logic.

Strategy 1: Listing in recognised .ch directories

The first reflex when you launch a .ch site: register with the legitimate Swiss directories. Cost: CHF 0 to 200 a year in total, effort 1 to 2 hours per listing.

Directories to target first:

• local.ch: the reference standard, free, local + national listing
• search.ch: a popular alternative to local.ch
• Yelloo (formerly Yellow Pages): a long-established directory, free
• Tel.search.ch: for company phone numbers
• Zefix: automatic once you are entered in the commercial register (you have a UID)
• CCI Vaud / CCI Genève / CCI Valais: the chambers of commerce, depending on your canton
• FER Vaud / FER Genève: Fédération des entreprises romandes, the business federation of French-speaking Switzerland
• Sector directories: depending on your trade (Salon Pro Suisse, the directory of Swiss architects, etc.)

Critical: your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) must be byte-identical across all directories. Any inconsistency dilutes the entity signal.

Strategy 2: Profiles in international sector directories

For digital agencies, designers and developers, the relevant international directories in 2026 are:

• Clutch.co: the reference for B2B digital agencies (free, once your profile and client case studies are validated)
• DesignRush: for digital, design and marketing agencies (free)
• Sortlist: matches agencies and clients, based in Belgium but widely used in Switzerland
• Goodfirms: international agency directory (free)
• The Manifest: the equivalent of Clutch (free)

Effort: 1 to 2 hours per well-completed profile. ROI: a DR 70+ backlink from Clutch or DesignRush is well worth the effort.

Strategy 3: A complete Google Business Profile

GBP remains a major entity signal in 2026, on top of classic backlinks. An optimised GBP listing in Saint-Gingolph, Geneva or Lausanne tells Google: “this business really exists at this location”.

Setup: name, exact address, phone, opening hours, professional photos (5 to 10 minimum), a description optimised with your main keyword, relevant categories, FAQs, monthly posts with news.

The 2026 bonus: Google has integrated GBP reviews into its AI Overviews. A listing with 30+ five-star reviews is cited as an authoritative source in AI answers.

Strategy 4: Links from your clients

The simplest and most profitable strategy. Your clients have websites: ask them for a “Website by …” credit in their footer, with a link to yours. At Voren, several of the sites we have delivered carry one.

Build the request into the project handover: “We ask you to mention our name with a link from your footer, in return for a project delivered to a high standard of quality.”

Effort: 0 minutes per link if agreed upfront. ROI: extremely high, because the links come from thematically relevant sites (your clients work in sectors close to yours).

Strategy 5: Guest posts in the regional and tech press

The Swiss regional and tech press regularly accepts outside contributions on expert topics. Targets:

• Bilan: economy, B2B business in French-speaking Switzerland
• Le Temps Tech / Heidi.news: tech and digital topics
• Migros Magazine / Coopération: general public, if relevant
• ICTjournal: B2B tech press
• AGEFI: finance and business
• Werbewoche: Swiss marketing and communication

Approach: pitch an original article with an expert angle and no disguised advertising. Include a natural link to your site in the body or in the author bio.

Effort: 4 to 8 hours per published article (research, writing, back-and-forth with the editor). Acceptance rate: 20 to 40% depending on the quality of the pitch. ROI: DR 60 to 80 backlinks from established media.

Strategy 6: Association and event partnerships

Switzerland’s network of associations is dense: learned societies, professional chambers, sports clubs, festivals, business events. Active participation brings natural backlinks.

Examples:

• Sponsoring a local event (Lift Conference, Voxxed Days, local meetups)
• Joining a professional association (ICTswitzerland, asut, scienceindustries)
• Talks or appearances (your name + a link in the programmes)
• Articles in association newsletters

Effort varies. ROI: moderate for each backlink taken in isolation, but cumulative for your entity authority.

Strategy 7: Targeted editorial exchanges

Exchange links with non-competing providers in your ecosystem:

• Professional photographers
• Videographers
• Copywriters
• Accountants
• Legal advisers
• Print designers
• Freelancers with complementary tech skills

Typical format: “I can mention your photography expertise in my article on e-commerce photography. In return, mention my web expertise in your article on digital branding.”

Google penalises crude “link exchange”. Here, the links are legitimate editorial mentions in relevant content.

Effort: 2 to 4 hours per exchange (writing the mentions). ROI: moderate individually, strong cumulatively.

Strategy 8: Linkable assets

Produce a linkable asset: content so good that other sites cite it of their own accord.

Effective formats in 2026 for the Swiss market:

• Original studies with hard figures (e.g. “The state of SEO in French-speaking Switzerland 2026”, built with DataForSEO)
• Structured comparisons (e.g. “SEO tools compared for the Swiss market in 2026”)
• Interactive calculators (e.g. “Calculate the ROI of a website”)
• Comprehensive guides on a niche topic

High upfront effort (40 to 80 hours). ROI: recurring, lasting backlinks, often from DR 50+ sites, over 3 to 5 years.

Strategy 9: Answering HARO and Connectively requests

HARO (Help A Reporter Out) and its successor Connectively (since 2024) are platforms where journalists look for experts to comment in their articles. A few subscribers from French-speaking Switzerland are on these platforms: journalists from Bilan, Le Temps, RTS.

Approach: answer relevant requests with precise insights. The journalist cites your expertise in the published article, with a link to your site.

Effort: 30 to 60 minutes per answer written, 5 to 10% of answers selected. ROI: moderate individually, strong in terms of the backlinks gained (established media).

Strategy 10: Overhauling your profile pages on professional networks

LinkedIn, Behance, Dribbble and GitHub profiles with a link to your site are nofollow, but they count as an entity signal.

Setup:

• A complete LinkedIn company page with a description, employees and published content
• The manager’s personal LinkedIn profile with a link to the site
• Behance or Dribbble for design portfolios (if relevant)
• GitHub for developer portfolios (open source)
• Crunchbase for startups
• Product Hunt for product launches

Effort: 2 to 4 hours per well-completed profile. ROI: strong entity signals.

What you must not do under any circumstances

Buying backlinks on Fiverr, BHW or other marketplaces. Algorithmic detection by Google is almost certain, and so is a penalty.

PBNs (Private Blog Networks): an agency offers you 50 backlinks a month from sites it controls. Google identifies these sites, and their links are devalued or penalised.

Mass link exchanges: exchanging 100 links between 100 sites gets detected. Exchanging 1 to 5 targeted editorial links is fine.

Blog comments: a 2010s technique, disabled on 99% of serious blogs, ignored by Google.

Forum profile spamming: creating profiles on 100 forums with a link in the signature. Detected and ignored.

Realistic pace and targets

For a new .ch site following these 10 strategies:

Month	Backlinks DR > 30	Backlinks DR > 50
M3	10	2
M6	25	5
M12	50	12
M18	80	25
M24	120	40

These figures assume sustained effort: 2 to 3 strategies running in parallel, about 5 to 10 hours a week on link building, methodical and unhurried.

Going further

If you want to speed up your link building with a methodical approach:

See our Swiss SEO package: link building is included in the Standard and Premium retainers.

Work out what SEO could bring you: your search volume, your target position and your average order value, in 30 seconds.

Request a free SEO audit: an analysis of your current backlink profile and a prioritised action plan.