diff --git a/tests/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
index fa0f5ed367..22ced3db7e 100644
--- a/tests/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -93,9 +93,11 @@ endmacro()
 if(AVIF_ENABLE_GTEST)
     check_avif_option(AVIF_GTEST TARGET GTest::GTest PKG_NAME GTest)
     add_library(avifincrtest_helpers OBJECT gtest/avifincrtest_helpers.cc)
-    target_link_libraries(avifincrtest_helpers avif GTest::GTest avif_enable_warnings)
+    target_link_libraries(avifincrtest_helpers PUBLIC avif)
+    target_link_libraries(avifincrtest_helpers PRIVATE GTest::GTest avif_enable_warnings)
     add_library(avifincrtest_helpers_internal OBJECT gtest/avifincrtest_helpers.cc)
-    target_link_libraries(avifincrtest_helpers_internal avif_internal GTest::GTest avif_enable_warnings)
+    target_link_libraries(avifincrtest_helpers_internal PUBLIC avif_internal)
+    target_link_libraries(avifincrtest_helpers_internal PRIVATE GTest::GTest avif_enable_warnings)
 endif()
 
 if(AVIF_ENABLE_GTEST)