Tiered link building is an internal link-building strategy which has tiers of links that point toward the site. The main idea is to create an authority and influence the search engines with a web of backlinks. The first tier of links to a site is called Tier 1 links, which typically point directly to the target website. These links are mostly of good quality, with linkages from good sites. Second tier links pointing to the Tier 1 links are called Tier 2 links and so on. The philosophy in tiered link building is that lower-tier links will pass link juice, authority, or credibility upwards the tiered chain to benefit the target site. This is a black hat method considered very risky because manipulative link building is looked down upon by search engines. There is a possibility of penalisation for websites indulging in such tactics. Although highly undetectable, those tiered link-building strategies revealed are likely to bring down the ranks effectively, if not wipe the site totally from search results. In a way, some SEO might still use tiered link-building strategies, but it is generally thought of as unethical and not very sustainable long-term. You’re much better off focusing on natural-quality backlink generation from reputable sources.