I had a call with an FBO owner last month. He'd hired an "SEO agency" who promised 100 quality backlinks for £500. Three months later, his rankings actually dropped. Why? Because those 100 "quality" links were from spammy directories Google had already penalized.
Here's the uncomfortable truth about **link building strategies for aviation businesses**: there are no shortcuts. You can't buy your way to good links. You have to earn them.
But here's the good news: aviation has natural link opportunities everywhere. You just need to know where to look and how to approach them properly.
Why Link Building for Aviation Is Different
Aviation isn't like e-commerce or SaaS. You can't just write guest posts for random blogs and expect results. The industry is niche, the audience is specific, and Google knows the difference between a relevant aviation link and rubbish.
What Google Actually Looks For:
- •Relevance: Link from aviation publication > link from random business blog
- •Authority: Domain Authority 60+ matters way more than DA 20
- •Natural placement: Link in actual content > link in footer/sidebar
- •Editorial value: Earned link > paid/exchanged link
One link from Aviation International News (DA 78) is worth more than 100 links from random blog comments. Focus on quality over quantity, always.
Strategy 1: Industry Publications & Trade Media
This is the goldmine for aviation link building. Industry publications are constantly looking for expert insights, company news, and interesting stories. Give them what they need.
Top Aviation Publications to Target:
International Publications
- • Aviation International News (DA 78)
- • Business Jet Traveler (DA 65)
- • Aviation Week (DA 82)
- • Flying Magazine (DA 71)
UK-Specific
- • Business Jet Interiors Intl (DA 55)
- • Elite Traveler (DA 68)
- • Pilot Magazine (DA 60)
- • Airliner World (DA 54)
Business & Luxury
- • Forbes Travel (DA 95)
- • Robb Report (DA 76)
- • Luxury London (DA 62)
- • Spear's Magazine (DA 58)
Trade Associations
- • NBAA (DA 70)
- • EBAA (DA 64)
- • UK CAA (DA 75)
- • BACA (DA 48)
How to Actually Get Featured:
1. Pitch Real News
"We just launched a new website" → Ignored. "We're the first UK FBO to achieve carbon-neutral operations" → Published.
2. Offer Expert Commentary
Journalists need quotes. Email editors: "Happy to provide expert commentary on [current industry topic]."
3. Write Original Research
"Private Jet Booking Trends 2025" based on your own data. Publications love citing original research.
4. Build Relationships
Don't pitch cold. Follow editors on LinkedIn, engage with their content, then pitch when you have something worth publishing.
This is exactly what our link building team does—we have established relationships with aviation editors and know what stories they'll publish.
Strategy 2: Strategic Partnerships & Supplier Relationships
Every aviation business works with suppliers, partners, and complementary services. These are natural link opportunities most companies completely ignore.
Partnership Link Opportunities:
Aircraft Manufacturers & Brokers
If you operate Gulfstreams, reach out to Gulfstream's marketing team. Many manufacturers feature their clients/operators on their websites.
Example: "Featured FBO for Gulfstream maintenance" → Link from gulfstream.com
Luxury Hotels & Resorts
Partner with 5-star hotels near your FBO. Offer their guests special rates. Get listed on their "Preferred Partners" page.
Real example from client: Partnership with Savoy Hotel London → Link DA 72
Concierge Services
Quintessentially, John Paul, Ten Group—these luxury concierge services often feature preferred travel partners on their sites.
Tourism Boards & Local Chambers
Join your local Chamber of Commerce. Get listed on VisitBritain if you serve international clients. These are high-authority .gov and .org links.
Strategy 3: Events, Sponsorships & Community
Aviation events happen constantly. Air shows, industry conferences, charity events. Each one is a link opportunity.
Sponsor Industry Events
NBAA conference, EBACE, Farnborough Air Show. Sponsors get links from the event website (usually DA 50-70).
Cost: £3k-15k depending on level. ROI: 1 high-authority link + brand exposure to your exact target audience.
Speak at Conferences
Submit speaker proposals. Conference speakers get featured on the event site with a link to their company.
Host Your Own Events
Aviation safety seminar, networking dinner, aircraft showcase. Local business press will cover it and link to you.
Charity Partnerships
Partner with aviation-related charities. Flying for Freedom, MAF UK, etc. Charity websites often have high domain authority.
Strategy 4: Create Link-Worthy Content
The best link building strategy? Create content so good that people naturally want to link to it.
Content That Earns Links:
Industry Research
"Private Jet Booking Trends 2025" "Most Popular Routes from London" "Aviation Sustainability Report"
These get cited by journalists, other companies, trade publications.
Ultimate Guides
"Complete Guide to Private Jet Charter" "FBO Services Explained" "Aircraft Comparison Guide"
Comprehensive resources become go-to references that earn links naturally.
Interactive Tools
Route calculator, charter cost estimator, carbon offset calculator
Useful tools get bookmarked and linked to repeatedly.
Visual Assets
Infographics, aircraft comparison charts, route maps
Visual content gets shared and embedded (with attribution links) across the web.
What NOT to Do (Seriously, Don't)
Link Building Tactics That Will Hurt You:
- ✗Buying links from Fiverr/SEO marketplaces: Google will penalize you. Full stop.
- ✗Mass directory submissions: 500 business directories won't help. Google ignores them.
- ✗Blog comment spam: "Great post! Check out my FBO!" is obvious and useless.
- ✗Link exchanges: "I'll link to you if you link to me" stopped working in 2010.
- ✗PBNs (Private Blog Networks): Risky, expensive, and Google's getting better at detecting them.
If someone promises you 100 links for £500, run. Quality link building takes time, effort, and often investment. But it's the only thing that actually works long-term.
How to Measure Link Building Success
Don't just count links. Track metrics that actually matter:
Domain Authority Growth
Your overall DA should increase over time. Check monthly using Ahrefs or Moz.
Referring Domains
Number of unique domains linking to you. 10 links from 10 different DA 60+ sites beats 100 links from 1 site.
Keyword Rankings
Track your target keywords weekly. Quality links should improve rankings within 2-3 months.
Referral Traffic
Good links drive actual visitors. Check Google Analytics for referral traffic from your new backlinks.
The Reality of Link Building for Aviation
Here's what nobody tells you: good link building is slow. It takes 3-6 months to see meaningful results. It requires consistent effort. And yes, it often costs money (event sponsorships, content creation, outreach tools).
But it's the single most important factor in SEO rankings. You can have perfect on-page optimization, blazing-fast page speed, and brilliant content. Without quality backlinks, you won't rank.
I've seen FBOs and charter companies invest £10k in link building and 6 months later they're ranking #1 for their target keywords. That one client is worth £50k-100k in revenue. The ROI is there.
Whether you handle link building strategies for aviation businesses yourself or work with specialists like us at Epic Edits, just make sure you're doing it properly. Quality over quantity, every single time.
Frequently Asked Questions
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