Partner links: testimonials, suppliers, integrations and other relationship links
Partner links come from organisations you already do business with, such as vendors you can give a testimonial to, suppliers and stockists, integration partners and trade associations. They cost nothing in cash and sit within Google's rules.
In short
- Partner links come from businesses you already have a relationship with, so the request is easy to make and easy to grant.
- The cash cost is $0 and the risk is R1, with first links typically arriving within weeks.
- Practitioners expect a business to find 10 to 30 testimonial opportunities in total, so the supply is finite.
- Affiliate links are the exception: they should carry a sponsored or nofollow attribute.
Partner links come from organisations you already work with: the tools you pay for, the suppliers you buy from, the retailers that stock you, the software you integrate with, the associations you belong to. The relationship exists, so the link is a natural record of it. These links are free in cash terms and R1.
The process and estimates on this page are practitioner knowledge unless a source is named.
Why people use them
There is no stranger to persuade. A vendor wants a named customer on its testimonials page. A manufacturer wants its stockists listed. An integration partner wants its directory to look full. You are offering something they already want.
The limit is that the supply is finite. Once you have worked through your relationships, you are done until you form new ones.
The types
| Type | Where the link appears | What you give |
|---|---|---|
| Testimonial or case study | A vendor’s testimonials or customers page | A specific quote with a result, and a headshot |
| Supplier or stockist | “Where to buy” and stockist pages | Nothing beyond the existing relationship |
| Integration | A software partner’s integration directory | An integration page on your side as well |
| Client or agency | Agency client lists, partner logo pages | Permission to be named |
| Association or trade body | Member directories, professional registers | A membership fee, from free to about $500 a year |
| Review and software directories | Listings on curated platforms | A complete, accurate profile |
What it costs
The cash cost is $0 for everything except memberships. The time cost is small: a testimonial takes minutes to write. Allow a few weeks for partners to update their pages, since you are waiting on someone else’s content calendar.
How to do it
Testimonials and case studies
- List every tool, supplier, agency and platform you pay.
- Check whether each has a testimonials or customers page, and whether that page links out.
- Offer a specific quote that includes a result, with a headshot. “It cut our reporting time by a third” gets used. “Great product” does not.
Practitioners expect a business to find 10 to 30 of these in total.
Suppliers, stockists and clients
- Export your supplier and customer lists.
- Check each for a page that lists partners, stockists or clients.
- Ask to be added, and send the exact name, logo and URL to use.
Integrations
For software companies, build integration pages on both sides. Your page explains how the two products work together, and theirs lists you in a directory. Readers use both.
Associations and directories
Join the trade bodies and professional registers that matter in your field, and claim your listing on the review platforms your customers use. Two questions sort good directories from bad: would a customer use it, and does it ever reject a listing?
The risks and where the line is
Links that record a real relationship are R1. Three things move you off that footing, and each is named in Google’s link spam policy.
- Requiring a link in a contract. The policy lists requiring a link as part of terms of service or a similar agreement. Ask your partners for a link. Do not make it a condition of doing business.
- Affiliate links without a qualifier. If a partner earns commission on what they send you, the link is a paid one and should carry a sponsored or nofollow attribute.
- Mass directory packages. Curated directories are fine. “Submit to 500 directories” services produce the low-quality directory links the policy names, and we rate those R3.
One honesty point: only give testimonials for products you use. A testimonial for a tool you never bought is the one footprint this tactic has.
What these links do
Do not expect a testimonial or stockist link to win a competitive keyword on its own. Its value is that it is real, relevant and usually on an established business site. Practitioners treat these as foundation links, and for a new site they are often the first ones. Our lesson on how search engines evaluate links explains why relevance and context matter.
Use your brand name as the anchor. A partner page is the wrong place for a keyword anchor. See anchor text.
Who it suits
Every business, and especially e-commerce brands, manufacturers and software companies, which tend to have many suppliers, stockists and integrations.
In iGaming the picture is different. According to a 2026 operator guide from Track360, affiliate partner sites are the single largest natural source of links in casino SEO. Those are commercial relationships, so the qualification rule above applies. Our iGaming hub covers how that market works.
When not to use it
There is little reason to skip partner links. The mistake is to expect too much from them. They are a foundation and not a growth plan: if you need to compete for commercial terms, you will also need linkable assets, digital PR or other tactics from the full list. And if you serve customers in a specific place, add local citations at the same time.
Common questions
What is a testimonial link?
You give a vendor or supplier a short, specific testimonial or case study, and they publish it on their site with a link to yours.
Are partner links safe?
Yes, when they reflect a real relationship. Two things cross the line in Google's link spam policy: requiring a link as a condition of a contract, and unqualified affiliate or paid links.
How many partner links can I get?
The number is finite. It depends on how many vendors, suppliers, customers, integrations and associations you really have.
Do directory listings count as partner links?
Curated industry directories, review platforms and trade association member lists are close relatives. The test is whether a customer would use the directory and whether it ever rejects a listing.