Last Updated on July 24, 2026 by Becky Halls
I thought I’d tell you the story behind 3way.Social and how it came to be.
You can probably all relate – most backlink strategies feel like a bad group project. One person’s doing all the work, someone’s ghosted the email thread, and someone else is trying to sell you a link for $250 from a site you’ve never heard of. Then comes spammy directories, irrelevant and totally useless content swaps, or cringey cold pitches that even ChatGPT would side-eye.
We got tired of it but we knew backlinks were still super important in SEO, even with all the recent Google updates and algorithm changes.
So we built something better.
Welcome to 3way.social: a platform built by us! The people who’ve lived through the broken world of SEO, and decided to fix the one part that everyone complains about but no one’s sorted out properly: backlink building.
The Problem with Traditional Link Building
Whether you’re an SEO pro or a content creator just trying to improve your rankings, you already know that links matter. A lot. They’re still one of Google’s top-ranking factors even after all the AI and algorithm updates. Why? because they are a major signal of trust and authority – and they show your brand name out there in the world.
But let’s face it:
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Outreach is exhausting (and often ignored)
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Paid links can get you penalized
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Organising manual swaps are time-consuming
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And marketplaces? A wild west of quality
What Google’s Link Guidelines Actually Say
Google is clear about links that try to game rankings. Buying or selling links that pass PageRank breaks policy.
Paid placements should use rel=”sponsored” or rel=”nofollow”, and be disclosed. Excessive link exchanges, including “you link me, I link you”, are treated as link schemes.
- Editorial, relevant links are fine when they add value for readers.
- Avoid automated link building, spammy directories, and link farms.
- Keep anchors natural, not stuffed with keywords.
We saw our friends and acquaintances in the digital space wasting hours on outreach spreadsheets and cold DMs… only to land links that were off-topic, overpriced, or outright shady.
And for small businesses or solo creators? Forget it. Competing with enterprise-level budgets in this space felt impossible.
👋 Who We Are
3way.social was founded by Ian Naylor — a seasoned SaaS entrepreneur and digital strategist who knows exactly how frustrating (and painfully inefficient) traditional link building can be.
Ian previously founded AppInstitute, one of the UK’s leading DIY app builder platforms, used by thousands of small businesses around the world. After scaling it over 13 years and navigating everything from SEO algorithm changes to the rise of mobile-first content, Ian saw the same problem crop up time and again: backlink building was stuck in 2011.
So, in 2023, he set out to change things, and create a simple, yet effective, platform that makes ethical, relevant, and scalable link building accessible to everyone, not just those with massive budgets or armies of outreach interns.
You can connect with Ian here:
🔗 Ian Naylor – LinkedIn
Of course, no founder builds something great alone… 3way.social is backed by the tight-knit team that built and scaled AppInstitute, a SaaS platform used by thousands of small businesses worldwide. They are a small but mighty team of SEO specialists, developers, and support pros who are just as passionate about ethical, effective link building as you are – and they include myself! Hi i’m Becky: a content and UX strategist with a background in UI/UX as well as a passion for helping underprivileged communities by finding ways to give back.
You can find me here:
🔗 Becky Halls – LinkedIn
Together, we’re on a mission to make link building smarter, fairer, and more transparent for businesses of all sizes.
And we give back by supporting entrepreneurs in developing countries with their own pursuits and business dreams (more on this coming soon…).
We know what it feels like to need results without the luxury of a massive team or budget.
That’s why we decided to build a smarter way to trade backlinks, with:
✅ Relevance
✅ Transparency
✅ Reciprocity
✅ And no BS
So, What Is 3way.social?
It’s a matchmaking platform for backlinks.
You register your site for free, select relevant categories, and either choose sites to link with or let us match you with other complementary sites. There’s also the option for guest posts or niche edits – it’s up to you.
Guest posts are new articles you contribute, reviewed and edited by the host. They should be topically aligned, with natural anchors and clear value.
Niche edits place a contextual link in an existing, relevant article. If money changes hands, use rel=”sponsored” or rel=”nofollow” to stay within policy.
It’s efficient, ethical, and actually works.
We called it 3way social because it’s based upon the 3-way ABC link exchange (where site A links to site B, site B links to site C, and site C links to site A. Google discourages manipulative or excessive exchanges, so relevance and moderation matter) and it’s our answer to the outdated, over-complicated link building process.
What Makes Us Different
We’re not just here to dish out DA numbers and hope for the best. Everything about 3way.social is designed to make real link building easier, more accessible, and a whole lot less soul-destroying.
Here’s how:
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We vet sites manually to keep the spam away
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Our categories are tight – you’ll only be matched with relevant partners based on keywords
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We reward contribution, not budgets – every site in the network gets value
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We believe in equity – whether you’re a niche blogger or an agency, you get the same tools
What Counts as a High-Quality Link
Quality links share traits that map to trust signals. E-E-A-T appears in Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines and is not a direct ranking factor.
Use these when you review partners. They keep your profile clean and effective.
- Strong topical match between the linking page and your page.
- Placement in the main body content, not footers or sidebars.
- Pages that are crawlable, indexed, and fast.
- Original content, not spun or AI spam.
- Reasonable outbound link count, with no footprint of PBNs.
- Varied, natural anchor text that fits the sentence.
- Real sites with visible authors and contact details.
And yes, we’re biased – but our users tell us it’s the easiest, fairest way they’ve ever built backlinks.
Why This Matters Now
Google’s algorithm isn’t just looking at links. It’s looking at trust.
With the rise of AI-generated content, fake authority, and SERP saturation, quality matters more than ever.
That means:
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Real sites
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Real relationships
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Real relevance
Our goal? To level the playing field. To help small businesses, SEO freelancers, and marketers compete, without resorting to spam tactics or breaking Google’s guidelines.
3way.social isn’t a shortcut. It’s a smarter route.
What’s Next?
We’re just getting started…
We’re rolling out new features, working on deeper SEO integrations, and building a community of creators who believe that backlink building doesn’t have to suck.
We also plan to develop our social impact campaign where we sponsor a small business in an underserved market.
(Yes, backlinks for good. Watch this space.)
🚀 Join the Movement
If you’ve ever opened a cold outreach email and thought “I hate this”,
or you’ve spent more time tracking backlinks than writing content,
you’re exactly who we built this for.
Let’s make link building something that actually builds something.
→ Sign up for free at 3way.social
→ Follow us on LinkedIn
→ Reach out if you want to feature your success story – for a free backlink!
