Link Building for Mobile Apps and Other Non-Website Assets

A mobile app, a podcast, or a physical product doesn’t have a webpage that accumulates backlinks the way a normal site does — app store listings and podcast platforms generally aren’t structured to receive or pass typical SEO link value. That doesn’t mean link building has no role; it just means the target and the goal shift.

Why app store pages don’t work like normal backlink targets

App store and platform listing pages are controlled by the platform, not you, and links pointed at them don’t behave like links to a normal indexable webpage you control. Treat these pages as conversion destinations for referral traffic, not as SEO link targets in the traditional sense.

Build links to a companion website instead

Almost every serious app or podcast benefits from having its own marketing website or landing page — something you fully control, that can rank in search results, and that can receive and pass along genuine backlink value. Direct link building efforts toward this companion asset, with clear calls to action pointing to the app store or platform from there.

What earns links for an app or podcast

• Coverage of the problem it solves or the story behind it, pitched to relevant journalists and bloggers, similar to standard digital PR.
• Reviews and mentions on sites that specifically cover apps, tools or podcasts in your category.
• Guest content written by the founder or host, discussing the underlying topic rather than directly pitching the product.
• Data or insights generated from usage (used carefully and honestly, never with invented figures) that give journalists a genuine story hook.

Podcasts specifically

A podcast’s own website or show notes page is the natural link target. Guest appearances on other podcasts, being interviewed, and cross-promotion with other shows in your niche often produce links back to your show notes page from the host’s own site, alongside genuine audience discovery.

Measuring success differently

Since the end destination (an app store or podcast platform) isn’t the thing accumulating SEO value, measure link building success here through the companion site’s own ranking and traffic growth, plus direct referral clicks and, where trackable, install or listen attribution from specific campaigns.

A realistic expectation

Link building for these assets is inherently a step removed from the end conversion goal compared to a standard e-commerce or content site. Expect it to support broader visibility and discovery rather than delivering a direct, easily attributed line from link to install.

Building a genuinely useful companion resource

The strongest linkable asset for an app or podcast is often not a plain marketing page but a genuinely useful resource that stands on its own merit — a detailed guide to the problem the app solves, an evolving collection of tips related to the show’s topic, or an interactive companion tool. This kind of resource earns links on its own terms, separate from any direct promotion of the app itself, and it gives outreach something substantive to offer publishers beyond “please cover our launch.”

Physical products and other non-digital assets

The same logic extends to physical products: a product listing page on a retailer’s marketplace behaves similarly to an app store listing in that it isn’t a strong SEO link target you control. Build link building around your own brand or product website instead, using content about the problem the product solves, genuine reviews on relevant blogs, and press coverage of anything newsworthy about the product or company, directing links back to a page you own and control.

Where to go next

Read https://successtoroad.com/blog/the-role-of-brand-in-link-building/ for how brand-building tactics apply here, https://successtoroad.com/blog/press-releases-link-building-reality/ for the PR angle relevant to launches, https://successtoroad.com/blog/links-from-images-pdfs-and-embeds/ for another non-standard asset type, and browse https://successtoroad.com/niche/mobile/ on https://successtoroad.com/marketplace/ for publishers focused on apps and mobile topics.

App store optimisation is a separate, complementary discipline

Improving visibility within an app store’s own search results is a distinct skill set from web-based link building, involving factors like the app’s own listing content, ratings, and install velocity rather than backlinks. Treat web-based link building and app store optimisation as complementary but separate efforts, each with its own tactics and success measures, rather than expecting one to substitute for the other.

Cross-promotion between digital and physical assets

For businesses with both an app and a physical presence, or a podcast and related merchandise, cross-promotion between the different assets can support overall visibility even when direct backlink attribution isn’t possible for every piece. A QR code linking a physical flyer to a companion webpage, for instance, ties an offline touchpoint back into your controlled, linkable web presence in a concrete way.

Overall, expect this category of link building to feel less directly measurable than a typical website’s programme, and set expectations with any stakeholders accordingly, focusing reporting on companion-site visibility and referral activity rather than a direct, clean link-to-install attribution chain.

A practical next step: audit whether your app or podcast currently has a proper companion webpage at all. If it doesn’t, creating one is very likely the single highest-leverage action available before investing further in any link building activity for this kind of asset.

Frequently asked questions