‍What Are .gov Backlinks? 

.gov links are links coming from sites on a .gov domain. 

.gov domains are reserved for websites owned and run by federal, state, or local government agencies, such as the FBI, Department of Justice, or IRS. 

What Makes .gov Backlinks So Valuable?

There are three key reasons why .gov backlinks are so valuable:

• .gov sites are trustworthy
• .gov backlinks are trustworthy
• .gov backlinks have high link authority

Let’s explore them in more depth.

1. .gov Sites Are Trustworthy

The .gov domain is reserved for U.S.-based government and public sector organizations and isn’t available to the general public. 

Organizations undergo evaluation processes to register websites on the .gov domain, which include attesting their eligibility through letters “signed by authorizing authority,” providing supporting documentation, and supplying additional records if needed.

Search engines like such strict eligibility requirements because they help ensure that websites are run by credible entities.

That’s why they consider .gov websites – and .gov backlinks – more credible than sites with most other domains (with the exception of comparable domains, like .edu domains). 

Their credibility is further bolstered by the fact that they mainly publish non-promotional and verified content of public interest.

• TL;DR: Search engines prefer sites belonging to known and verifiable entities, and .gov sites fit those criteria. On top of that, .gov sites typically publish highly valuable, well-researched, and closely supervised content, which further improves their credibility.

2. .gov Backlinks Are Trustworthy, Too

.gov backlinks have more weight than links from most other sites. This is due to the reasons we already mentioned, as well as the fact that .gov sites are not likely to engage in link schemes. 

.gov sites typically only link to highly credible sources, so their backlinks (“referrals”) are worth more.

A downside of this is that acquiring even a single .gov backlink can be out of reach for most “average” site owners.

• TL;DR: Search engines give .gov backlinks more weight than average backlinks because they’re hard to obtain and usually highly credible.

3. gov Backlinks Have High Link Authority

Finally, everything we’ve mentioned so far increases the domain authority (DA) of .gov sites. Consequently, this also influences the link authority of their backlinks.

The higher the authority of a backlink, the more it influences the SEO of the site it’s pointing to.

• TL;DR: .gov backlinks have higher impact on the rankings and credibility of the pages and sites they’re pointing to due to higher link authority.

3 Types Of .gov Backlinks

All .gov backlinks are valuable, but some hold more weight than others. Their value – and impact on SEO – typically depends on who owns the sites they’re coming from.  

In that regard, we can talk about three types of .gov backlinks and sites: federal, state, and local.

1) Federal .gov Backlinks

Federal government websites belong to organizations and agencies operating on a national level. These sites typically have the highest domain authority and get the most traffic. 

• Example: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

2) State .gov Backlinks

State government sites belong to entities governing individual states. These sites are often not as well-maintained as federal government sites and have lower authority and traffic. 

• Example: California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)

3) Local .gov Backlinks

Local government websites belong to entities governing specific municipalities and counties. These sites have the lowest authority and traffic out of the three. 

• Example: Virginia Beach Fire Department

Bottom Line: Federal vs. State vs. Local .gov Backlinks

With all of this in mind, the most valuable .gov backlinks are links coming from federal .gov sites.

However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn't try to build links on state or local .gov sites. They're still more valuable than links from most other websites, a well as easier to obtain than links from federal .gov sites.

Just keep these differences in mind and set appropriate expectations. 

.gov Link Building: Start By Finding .gov Sites 

The first step of .gov link building is actually finding .gov websites to build your links on. Here are four methods you can use:

1) The Google Method

Google can help you knock out two tasks in one go:

• ✓ Find .gov sites
• ✓ Ensure they’re related to your industry 

Start by entering the following query string into Google:

• site:.gov 

This query will help you find sites with .gov domains exclusively:

You can further narrow down your search and find more suitable .gov sites by adding relevant keywords to your query: 

• site:.gov “relevant keyword” 

The drawback: You’ll need to manually analyze the results to determine if a .gov site would be open to linking to you. This could include analyzing each individual site to check if it links to non-government sites or, better yet, other commercial websites in your industry.  

This process can be very time-consuming, especially if you want to find more than one good link-building opportunity. If you want to accelerate the process, try method #2. 

2) Competitor Analysis

Alternatively, you can check your competitors’ backlink profiles to see if they have .gov backlinks you could “steal.” 

You can do this using backlink checker tools like Ahrefs’. Simply copy your competitor’s URL and run it through the tool to see their backlink profile: 

The purpose of this strategy is to find .gov sites that have already demonstrated interest in your industry and niche. Such sites are more likely to be open to linking to you.

The drawback: This method may not help you uncover as many link-building opportunities as you’d like. This depends on how many .gov backlinks your competitors have and how easily you can obtain them yourself. 

3) .gov Sites Directories

This method involves using directories of government agencies in order to find government websites:

• Directory of federal agencies
• Directory of state agencies 
• Directory of local agencies

The drawback: Directories may not be regularly updated, and you’ll still need to manually check each site.

4) AI Tools

We wrote an entire article about how ChatGPT can be used for link building. You can also use it to find government websites or, at least, get acquainted with different government agencies that you may want to reach out to later.

All you have to do is ask ChatGPT the right questions or give it appropriate commands, such as “list some well-known government agencies in the US:”

You can also use Perplexity, which has Internet access and can pull from more up-to-date data. 

The drawback: AI tools can sometimes generate inaccurate o downright false responses. For example, they can make up a local government agency that doesn’t actually exist. Always double-check their suggestions.

How To Tell If You’ve Found A Good .gov site

Links from any .gov site can benefit your site. However, some will benefit you more than others. 

To ensure you maximize the benefits of your link-building efforts, try to choose government sites that:

✔️ Are related to your niche

✔️ Are open to linking to other, non-.gov sites

✔️ Have high domain authority

11 .gov Link Building Methods

Now that you know why .gov link building is so valuable and how to find the right .gov sites for your links, let’s see how you can actually build them. 

Here are 11 .gov link-building tactics we use ourselves when building links for clients:

1. Write About A Government Agency

Government agencies are always looking for extra exposure. If you can write compelling content discussing their work and initiatives, they'll probably be happy to link back to your website.

Here’s how to get started with this tactic: 

• Find a government agency that is relevant to your niche or industry. For example, if you're in the healthcare industry, you might want to write about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 
• Research their work. This will help you find a topic you can cover.
• Write the article and reach out to your selected agency. Let the agency know you’re giving them free publicity. Check if they’d be willing to share your content with their audience by linking back to you.

2. Write About A Relevant Social Issue Or Cause

Writing about a relevant social issue or cause can be another effective way to attract attention and backlinks from .gov domains. 

This approach works particularly well if you can tie your content to a specific government agency or program related to the issue or cause.

• Find a social issue or cause that aligns with your brand. Choose an issue or cause you're passionate about and that resonates with your audience.
• Research relevant government agencies or programs. Start finding organizations that are actively involved in the issue or cause you want to discuss. You can use any of the four methods mentioned above to do so. 
• Pitch your content. Finally, reach out to your desired government partners and explain how your content aligns with their mission. If they're interested, they may be willing to feature your content on their website, share it on social media, and – yes – link to you.

3. Interview A Government Agency Official

Just like agencies, government officials like free publicity and exposure, especially when it brings them positive attention. 

You can leverage this to build backlinks to your site by interviewing officials and publishing your interviews online. It’s up to you which format you’ll choose — a blog post, podcast, or something else. 

• Identify a government agency relevant to your niche or industry. 
• Find a high-ranking official in that agency. Reach out to them to see if they’re interested in giving an interview.
• Publish your interview. Again, it’s up to you which format you’ll choose. Perhaps you can decide on this collaboratively with your guest.
• Let your interviewee know that your interview is published. Encourage them to share your content on the official .gov site and share it on their social media profiles.

Even if this strategy doesn’t immediately yield .gov backlinks, it can help you create strong connections and build new links in the future.

4. Share Relevant Data & Research

Another .gov link building method includes sharing data and self-conducted research with relevant government bodies.

Government sites like linking to external resources that provide credible data, so conducting experiments, surveys, or other types of research can be a great way of getting .gov links. 

Additionally, you can consider contributing resources or tools that enhance existing data on government sites.

• Find a government agency relevant to your niche or industry. 
• Research what type of data and studies they already link to. This will help you identify ways to contribute or get ideas for new research projects. For example, if you want to get a backlink from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, you may want to run a survey exploring financial literacy among young adults.
• Conduct the research, publish your findings, and pitch them to government agencies. 

5. Sponsor Government Events

Government agencies often host events, such as conferences, workshops, and summits. Sponsoring them can help you get mentions and links.

• Find relevant events you could sponsor or otherwise support. There are entire sites dedicated to tracking government events, like GovEvents.
• Reach out to the agency organizing the event. Make the conditions clear from the get-go. Describe how you could support them and what you’re asking for in return. 

6. Get Listed On .gov Resource Pages

Resource pages provide links to useful resources related to a specific topic, industry, or audience. Getting listed on such pages can be an easy way to build .gov backlinks.

• Find government websites with resource pages. To do so, you can google the query string we mentioned above and add keywords like “resources” and similar variants. You can also add topic- or industry-specific keywords to get the most relevant results.

• Identify relevant resources. Once you’ve found appropriate sites, check your existing content to see if you have a suitable resource that agencies would want to include. If not, you may need to create it first.
• Contact the site owners. Suggest including your resource on their page and emphasize its value for their audience. 

7. Get Listed In gov-Hosted Directories

This .gov link building method is similar to the previous one. However, instead of getting listed in resource pages, you’re aiming to get listed in gov-hosted directories.

Local governments, for example, often have business directories that link to suppliers and service providers.

Most directories allow you to simply submit your information (alongside a link to your website) and get your listing published. Some may require additional verification processes.

8. Get Involved In Government Programs

Government bodies host many programs. Participating in them can help you land a feature on their websites. 

Alternatively, you can also consider offering volunteer or free services, or starting a new initiative and asking government bodies to partner with you.

9. Find Broken Links On Government Websites

Broken or dead links usually lead to 404 pages, which indicates that the target page is no longer available or doesn’t exist.

More rarely, broken links may also return errors like 400 Bad Request, Timeout, or Bad Code. 

No site owner, government agencies included, wants to send their audience to unavailable or non-existent pages. That’s why they may be interested in replacing existing broken links on their sites with links to yours.

Here’s a step-by-step on how to replace broken links on .gov sites with yours:

• Identify broken links on government sites. You can manually open links on government websites one by one or use tools like Ahrefs to automatically find all broken links on a site. Alternatively, you can use free tools like SEO Minion that will highlight all broken links on the page you’re analyzing in yellow:

• Check if you can replace the broken links with yours. Your proposed link should fit the existing anchor text and overall context. If you don’t have an appropriate replacement link and page, consider creating them.
• Reach out to website owners. Let them know about the broken link and offer a replacement link. 

This is a win-win strategy for both sides. You can get valuable .gov backlinks, while government websites get working links.

10. Create Government-Related Content 

Creating content or organizing events around government-related topics can also land you mentions and links on .gov websites. 

For example, guides and webinars that help explain complex policy changes could be incredibly beneficial — not just to your audience, but to government agencies, too. 

Other link-worthy content can include:

• Templates
• Checklists
• Infographics
• Live, online workshops
• How-to video tutorials

You can also consider partnering with government bodies in advance to create co-branded content.

11. Write Guest Posts For Government Blogs 

Finally, the most traditional tactic of them all: writing guest posts.

Guest posts are posts written for the purpose of getting them published on someone else’s sites – in this case, .gov sites. When used for link-building purposes, guest posts will contain naturally-placed links to authors’ websites.

Here’s how to use this tactic:

• Find .gov sites that accept guest posts. Not many government sites accept or publish guest posts. To find them via Google, you can include the keyword “guest post” or a similar variant to your query string. This should help you find .gov sites that have already published guest posts before, so they’ll be more likely to be open to publishing yours, too.

• Research published guest posts. Analyze the results to see how the guest posts are written, what they’re about, and what value they offer to .gov sites. These insights will help you write your own guest post.
• Write high-quality guest posts. Leverage the insights you extracted in the previous step to write a quality guest post that aligns with the target site’s style and audience. Don’t forget to include links to your site where it makes sense.
• Pitch your guest post. Lastly, reach out to site owners and offer your guest post. Explain how it benefits their audience and objectives, but also inform them that it contains links to your site. Transparency is key when collaborating with government agencies.

Alternatively, Just Buy .gov Backlinks

Building .gov backlinks is no easy feat. It takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication. If you don’t want to spend dozens of hours on reaching out to governments or spend too much money on sponsorships, just buy backlinks instead.

Buying backlinks is always faster, but also often turns out to be cheaper.  

To mitigate the risks that come with spammy backlinks, make sure you work with a reputable link building agency. We offer you a guarantee on all links we build for you and always do extensive quality checks before settling on a site. Order your backlinks here. 

FAQ

Can .gov websites be fake?

The chances of .gov websites being fake are slim, as organizations typically have to undergo grueling application processes to register their sites on the .gov domain.

Are .gov websites peer-reviewed?

The content published on .gov websites is typically reviewed and approved by government officials or subject matter experts before it is published. However, the term "peer-reviewed" typically refers to academic research that has undergone rigorous review by other experts in the field, which may not apply to all content published on .gov sites.

Do .gov backlinks still work after Google's March 2024 Core Update?

Yes, .gov backlinks still work after Google’s March 2024 Core Update. As long as you get your backlinks from a reliable provider (like us), they still work extremely well.

Get The .gov Backlinks You Want, Guaranteed

You can take all the right steps, offer great partnerships, and write flattering posts, but there’s no guarantee that any government site will actually link to you. 

As discussed, .gov backlinks are notoriously hard to obtain, so there’s always a chance that your hard work will ultimately be for nothing. 

Avoid this scenario by working with agencies that can guarantee .gov placements, like us. Contact us and get .gov backlinks in just 10 days.