Tiered link building are still effective in today's SEO world.

This approach involves supporting key links by building a structured chain of backlinks.

Instead of sending low-quality links straight at your main website, tiered strategies build links to your supporting content first, which in turn pushes link juice to your primary target.

This Multi-layer SEO strategies is a strategic way to minimise exposure while still gaining ranking improvements.

If you're interested in this method, check out this supporting article