If you forget about backlinks then forget about the ranking of your website!
Backlinks are the most important off-page SEO factor. It makes your website trustworthy in the eyes of the Search engine. We will discuss how to get backlinks for free. Before that let’s look into quick discussions.
Analyzing the trend you have two options to acquire the backlinks –
i) Paid backlinks or
ii) Free backlinks
If you have plenty of budgets, you can go for the first one. But wait! There are some cautions! Take these three among many ones.
1) Google never likes any paid activity for backlinks. It is a very common thing too. Backlink provides trustworthiness. Why it should be bought?
2) It is not denied that some paid activities are going on but you should have really plenty of budgets. The more you look for higher authority, the more your pocket gets blanked with notable speed.
3) The business owners want backlinks and backlink providers want money. Here content has not much priority on either side. Most websites also have a bulk order for backlinks. They also use tricky ways to maintain authority. There are great chances that you may be gifted with irrelevant links, spammy links or penalized by google. Even if it is not, you will miss the opportunity for learning to acquire the backlinks.
You may have questions about how to get backlinks for free. This is the article for answering the questions. Without hindering your curiosity let’s start the session.
How to get backlinks for free
There are many common and unique ways you can get a free backlink. Here you can acquire backlinks without giving an effort. However, it is not advisable nor a wise step to do it. Give proper effort to the area where you will acquire the backlink. It helps you instantly as well as in the very long term.
Here you get the 31+ effective techniques to acquire the backlinks. Before that, you should know one thing. That is understanding your website.
It may look natural but this is the most basic aspect that should not be missed. You want backlinks that drive results. If you do not understand it then getting spammy or irrelevant links will affect your website negatively.
Take an example. You have the niche of cooking tasty food. You get a do-follow link from a gaming website. It does not make any sense to be trusted by google as well as human. So the first work can be knowing the website perfectly for the benefit of getting free backlinks.
After that, you are ready to know How to get backlinks for free. No need to wait! Let’s dive into discovering 31+ tactics for getting free backlinks. Here is the first one.
1) Hit Backlink by analyzing your competitors
It is one of the popular strategies for ranking websites. There are easy steps to follow:
First, Search the keyword in Google for which you want to rank.
Second, take out the URL of your competitors.
Third, go to Ahref’s free backlink checker page or any similar types of tools. Put the URL of your competitor. You have to understand which types of websites are giving the link. Select some of your favorites.
It will take a little time to understand it for the first time. Over time you became an expert on it.
Fourth, Pitch to them. Explain to them why your content is far better. Why they should link your page or replace the link on your competitor’s page?
In some cases, you may get an answer quickly or few cases it can be done through cold mail.
Not to mention that you have content on that level for such a pitch.
2) Help A Reporter Out (HARO)
When does anyone ask How to get Do-follow backlinks for free?
Most of the beginners are telling – HARO!
It is the first choice for getting a free backlink in the beginning.
Here you can join as a journalist or source. HARO claims to have 1 million sources and 75,000 journalists and Bloggers (written in September 2022).
Join here as a source. You should read the rules for Backlink and other things.
Then log in to it. Complete the email verification process. After that personalize your profile on your expertise area. Some highly active topics in HARO are
1) Master Haro
2) High tech
3) General
4) Travel
5) Business and Finance
6) Lifestyle and Fitness
7) Giftbag
8) Uk
Apart from that, it has also a few more areas. you can visit their site to know more.
Once you have done it Haro will send you an email with your relevant queries three times a day.
If you have the skill, you can easily reach out to it. But wait! Here if you have skills means a lot. In maximum cases, people prefer to know your expertise first. But yes, If you are good at it then there is a possibility to get backlinks from a very high Domain Authority of 80+.
Here is an example of the queries in email.
Sometimes it is tricky like in finance the top ways grocery stores get you to pay more and how to outsmart them.
In business, you can answer “content marketing strategies for startups”.
You get an overall idea. Now you can remind some best practices to get the most out of it.
1) You will be notified at which time the query will be sent to you. Pitch them immediately without waiting for more.
2) Properly explain your expertise before starting to answer the query.
3) Keep your answer only relevant to the topic.
4) Support your answer with statistics, facts, and figures.
5) Format it properly. It may not look like you have written for a backlink without caring about any things.
Perhaps, It can be a relatively easy way for you to get Backlink.
You can get similar types of features in SourceBottle too.
3) Broken Links
With the passing of time, it gains huge popularity. It is also relatively easy too.
An external link when broken by a 4XX or 5XX error is called a broken link. Let’s think that you visit a website and click an external link. It returns a 404 error. That is the thing you do not like. Similarly, it is not liked by search engines or websites.
You can follow to approach that in this way:
1) Check your competitor’s backlink to know their backlink website. Similarly, you have done this through Ahrefs free backlink checker. After that select a website that you want to target for the backlink. For example, I am going to check Seodesignchicago.com. Remind the website selection from the backlink profile of competitors.
2) Once you have selected (here Seodesignchicago.com), check it in Ahrefs free broken link checker or the same type of tool. You get a clear result of the post link and broken anchor text of this site.
Here you can see 15 broken links. Check the anchor text which is relevant to your posts. If you make content on Social media, you can approach the second broken link which is “uploading a video in an Instagram story”.
3) You may have good content on it. You can edit it for the best benefit. You may also make fresh detailed content on it.
4) Inform them politely about the broken link. After that offer them your quality content to link it. That way both can be benefitted.
For its easy process, there is outstanding competition for it. However, its popularity grows constantly. You should practice it. After some time it is easy to select and pitch for you.
4) Popular answer to how to get backlinks for free is Guest posting
Probably it is the best answer to how to get high-quality backlinks for free. The success of guest posting depends upon content quality. If you are good at this, no one can stop you to get a high authority backlink. You can also check 8 advanced blog post format for it. Although, it is a time expensive thing but proportionally related to success. Apart from do-follow links, you will get decent traffic, popularity, relationship building, etc. How will you approach guest posting?
First, familiar with the term Domain Authority (DA), Page Authority (PA), Spam score (SS), etc. Now decide which range of domain authority (DA) you want to target.
Second, Search the guest posting sites on the internet with a specific query. The query may be Keyword ” Write for us”. Suppose you have a health niche so it can be written as “health write for us”. Many results will be displayed to you on the internet.
Similarly, some standard queries are –
2) KEYWORD “submit a guest post”
3) KEYWORD “guest post”
4) KEYWORD “guest blog”
5) KEYWORD “guest author”
6) KEYWORD “accepting guest posts”
7) KEYWORD “guest post by”
8) KEYWORD “write for me”
9) KEYWORD “guest posting guidelines”
10) Inurl: “guest-post-guidelines” KEYWORD
11) KEYWORD “become a contributor”
12) KEYWORD “submit”
13) Inurl: “write-for-us” KEYWORD
14) KEYWORD “contributes to”
15) Inurl: “become-a-contributor” KEYWORD
16) KEYWORD “guest article”
17) Inurl: “guest-post” KEYWORD
You can also look at 200+ guest posting sites with DA, PA, and SS for taking instant decisions.
Third, Read their guideline carefully. Your chances of selection get higher with the matching of guidelines.
Fourth, Pitch them carefully with short, clear, and correct sentences. After that, you can trace its progress of it.
Commonly, everyone wants to guest post on high authority sites. For your benefit, it is worth mentioning that you should have
i) Exception of unique high-quality content.
ii) Two great published content for which you are proud.
iii) Right-approaching behavior.
You can easily be selected in fewer authority sites. It will harm more than benefit through the spammy link and many more. So it is better to approach your related website which has domain authority of at least >30.
5) Track the follower mentioning your brand name without including the link
It is an easy technique to get backlinks for free. Your site should have popularity. It is found that most websites have popularity at least in a particular social area or app. You have to search where your brand name is put without a link. After that, you can approach and ask them to put a link so users can easily reach it.
For that, you can use paid tools like BuzzSumo. It is a little bit expensive. Another method can be the traditional method. Search your brand name in Google. Take all the activities going on around it. You can also be specific by searching long queries like “bloggerguidepro facebook.com”.
It helps you to search for specific results.
6) Build relationships with influencers
It is an easy and effective way to get backlinks for free. Authenticity is liked by everyone. An influencer can recognize your authenticity and article quality. If you understand that your article is liked by them, ask for a backlink on the best content. Keep in remind that you have added enough value to them before asking anything.
7) Invite others and attend in Podcast or interview
Publicity is the thing that every blogger prefers. You can offer another blogger an interview. You may invite them to a podcast. The interview is shared on your blog. They get backlinks and traffic from your site and you also find some traffic and backlinks. In that way, both can be benefited in long term.
You have to take information about podcasts related to your niche. Pitch them by saying you want to share some exceptional way in something. Your inviting chance becomes higher if they understand why you are relevant for the specific podcast.
In my experience, one of the major blogging mistakes for beginners is not considering these factors for investing less time or having no confidence about it. You have to remember market asks for quality. Once you have the right mindset the path will open over time.
8) Create How-to articles and Listicles
Remember the previous anchor text. That is uploading a video on Instagram. There are high chances of getting backlinks when you made how-to-articles. You often notice that your friends easily shared with you How to create an AdSense account etc.
Listicles are the article loved by most people. It has easy navigation and has the option to choose the best-fit product.
How-to articles and Listicles are the most popular content among bloggers. Whether it is about traffic or backlinks it has always led.
9) Make case studies and statistics for huge backlinks
Statistics are a great element to support the statement. You can easily find backlinks for even single statistics. Let’s take statistics –
Credibility increases in a blog post if statistics are included (Forbes, 2018).
For if you are made a post with lots of statistics then lots of backlinks are in the way.
Case studies are an even easier way to get free and huge Backlinks. Here is an example of it –
Orbitmedia surveyed in 2021. It is based on 1067 bloggers. The main goal is to identify the content strategies which work. They invented very important 13 actionable strategies with graphical representation. One example –
Blogger who spends more time writing their blog, get better results.
 |
| (Credit – Orbitmedia) |
It is a strong way to get an easy backlink. Everyone loves to link the primary relevant source. In September 2022 it has 15313 URL backlinks.
Why you do not check the trending collections of 155 blogging statistics too?
These types of posts has also some limitations. They are irrelevant after some time. However, in the meantime, these will draw enough backlinks as well as traffic.
10) Make a free tool
It is one of the easy ways to get a huge backlink. You may notice here that Ahref’s two backlinks for the backlink checker are placed by default.
These may be image compression tools, content idea generator tools, keyword density checkers, different SEO tools, or even drop-down menu options. For example, create a function like people put their symptoms, age group range, and find their possible disease.
11) Create engaging images and videos
It is quite easier to get popular than an article. Who does not love visuals? In social media, we often share visuals. Look at the below image about “how to start content writing“.
It is an example of rich images. Popularly it is also known as Infographics. It is created from Canva. You can create even better by using Power BI or Tableau.
Getting shared a Video is also far easier than content. If you attach a good engaging video then you will get backlinks disproportionately higher than the content.
12) Create a profile on Social Media
It is a very common strategy a beginner must do. It is also the easiest way.
Let’s take the example of Twitter. First, create your Twitter account. After that fill in all the elements. You should not miss filling out the profile and cover banner. It will look professional then. You may look at our Twitter account below.
Now, Twitter has the option to add your Website. You can link it. bloggerguidepro.com is an example of the link here.
Similarly, you can create backlinks on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Youtube, Tumblr, etc. You can post here as usual. You can build the relation between fellows and followers. After a certain time, there are chances to get an easy do-follow backlink from them.
Apart from that it will help you to engage people and generate traffic along with backlinks.
It does not mean you may start to manage hundreds of backlinks in that way. Use that where it means.
13) Link Exchange
I want to give you a link. Can you please link back to me?
It is a common mail request for link exchange.
Firstly I want to inform you that link exchange violates the Google webmaster guidelines. But wait!
One Ahref study reveals that 73.6% of 140,592 domains have some kind of reciprocal link. Moreover, 27.4% have a 15% overlap between the sites. It is shown that it is very common to link exchanges among websites in a limited way.
It does not necessary that it is in your control. Sometimes it happens in the open market.
However, doing this task more is harmful. You can think about it only on a very limited level.
14) Understand backlink activity and make your content
I hope you may agree about the importance of content quality without any doubt. What if it is also tilted with backlink criteria? You can make some outstanding content. The biggest advantage is you will wonder from where and when your content getting linked.
There is a question for you. When do you link to the content in your article? It may support your content, provide value for users or you feel proud that your user can access that content. You may place yourself in the same position. Write a killer post that is worth it to people.
Look at one more statistic –
Long-form of content significantly outperforms short-form content in terms of backlinks (Backlinko)
You can visit their page and look at how backlinks are increases with increasing the blog length.
In that way keep an eye on backlink facts and make your content get the most backlink.
15) Web 2.0
Web 2.0 indicates websites or applications that are user-generated content used for the end user.
That is the effective answer to how to get backlinks for free or with a little effort. Anyway, do not make it only for backlinks. Give a little effort to complete the profile and publish some quality content for the best benefit.
Here are some popular web 2.0 websites where you can create your site –
1) Blogger, DA (Domain Authority) – 89
2) Medium, DA – 95
3) Wikidot, PA (Page Authority) – 49
4) Weebly, PA – 64
5) Wix, PA – 78
You can check Create account in Blogger and full navigation on it.
Here lots of sites can be used but it is not a viable way. Only create your site where you may be able to run them.
16) Use document sharing strategy
You have to provide good value on the respective website. It is simple. You have to create a high-quality pdf, word document, presentation, etc. Then you can upload it to the document-sharing websites. Finally, you can link a relevant page as a backlink.
Some popular document-sharing sites are
1) Slideshare, DA – 95
2) issuu, DA – 94
3) Scribd, DA – 94
4) Mediafire, DA -94
5) box, DA – 93
The more you create high-quality content, the better your popularity will be. You can look at a high-quality example in the 2019 adobe brand content survey via Slideshare
17) Use Social Bookmarking sites
It is obvious for getting backlinks. Bookmarking sites are those where people can save the post for future quick visits. You can share blog posts, articles, images, videos, etc. Some popular sites are listed below
1) scoop.it, PA – 71
2) we heart it, PA – 95
3) slashdot, PA – 49
4) Pocket, PA – 78
5) Pinterest, PA – 97
18) Business directories for Backlinks
Business directories are an easy way to get trustworthiness for search engines. It is helpful for businesses that have local brands or addresses.
You have to put your website URL with your phone number and address on these websites.
It also proves that you running a business in real!
Some popular free business directories sites where you can create an account are –
1) Google My Business, DA – 100
2) MapQuest, DA – 89
3) YellowBook.com, DA – 57
4) Thumbtack, DA – 76
5) Bing, DA – 93
6) Yelp, DA – 93
7) Super Pages, DA – 70
8) Linkedin company directory, DA – 99
19) Find duplicate content and claim a backlink
It is an easy and legal step. Here you have to follow just two steps.
1) Enter your URL in Copyscape. Find if there are any duplicates on the internet.
2) Reach out to them and claim for backlinks. Either they should remove your content or give you proper content. As the last step, you can also warn them to make DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) complaint.
You may think what is the possibility to get this type of content. Well, It depends upon luck (all the factors). You should not be surprised if this is found from low to high-authority sites. All factors or employees are not a good fit for them. These cause the issue. You can play in that blank field!
20) Claim backlink for duplicate images
It is similar to the previous one. Now it is about images. Many times people copy the images from your site and use them in their content. Sometimes they do not give credit for that. It is because of inexperience in author hiring, forgetting to include, lost in the buying process, etc. For taking a backlink you have to do two things –
1) Copy the URL of images that you think are worthy enough to use by others. After that search it on Google. You find the all websites that use these images. Check if they mention the source properly. You can also use TinEye for it. It is a tool used for reverse image search.
2) If the source is not mentioned then claim for it with a proper backlink. Otherwise, you can tell politely remove it to not face DMCA issues.
21) Engages in quora and Reddit
If you can generate value, you will get value from the same. Quora and Reddit are not exceptional in it.
Give killer advice on questions on Quora and Reddit that will help you to grow your followers. It helps in the long run. If you want an immediate link then answer thoroughly and put a link in the text. Keep in mind that it must produce high value and should not be spammy.
22) Run an affiliate program
If you sell any product or service then it is an easy way to get the link.
An affiliate program refers to when someone promotes your product with some commission on the sale. They will provide you with backlinks as usual way.
23) Ask your writers for backlinks in their post
You may be hiring different authors. Request them for sharing their written article with a link. They will get popular and you will get backlinks.
24) Run a youtube channel
This tactic is used by most bloggers in the beginning. You might notice people redirected to you from youtube to Blog for providing resources. The link given for driving to their blogs is a backlink.
In clear terms google says, it does not consider backlinks placed on their properties like youtube. However, After seeing effective results, marketers believe it is still a good method. Do not take it looking for the only backlink. Make a video on youtube and link the relevant page on the description. There is no harm in it. You can get traffic as well as a backlink.
25) comment that adds value
It is an effective strategy to get backlinks from high-authority sites. Most of them are no-follow. However, no-follow links are a non-missing part of backlink creation. Do not spam in the comments. No high authority sites will accept it. Place a valuable thought in the comment box. In that way, you also be noticed.
26) Profile and engagement in Forum
There are many forums where you can build your profile. It is a good way to include your website in the respective profile.
Another way, you can post a valuable comment in the discussion. You can provide a link that will provide the users worth resources. Apart from that, You will get popularity which will help to spread your brand.
27) Share Free Images
So far we get many strategies for how to get backlinks for free. Why not try this? It is a less-known unique strategy to get backlinks as well as for helping others. You can put some worth value (self-created) images on a free image website like Flickr.
You can share it in the creative commons. You can allow it for free to use (attribution appreciated) or compulsory attribution on it.
28) Get a backlink from Wikipedia
It will give you leads in terms of trust. You may hear that everyone can edit Wikipedia! It is true but not for backlinks. You have to go in a long way to get a permanent do-follow link from here. Then why this point is mentioned here? It is because you can start the journey now. Join Wikipedia and after several valuable edits, you can insert the link here.
29) Make reviews on products and services
Take a practical look. Go to the Amazon website and read reviews of a popular product. It is often you can look at a brief review. After producing enough value they put a link there for further questions. It is trustable and also causes for attracting traffic.
Another good way is to ask for a review of the product on a website. They can provide you backlink in exchange for your value.
30) Design your post for engagement on social media
If you want a backlink on your page from social media, then produce value there. Let’s take the example of Pinterest.
Here bloggers share very rich image content. You can create it with highlighted points of your article. In that way, it can be easily shared by others. you can also pin the articles on your websites with links. Your audience may read it, pin it, and share it. The below image is a very less time taking image for pins on Pinterest.
Similarly, sharing your article on different social media with the most effective strategy. Over time you will grow and see the result more.
Immediately it looks like nothing but over a year it will give you the result more than your expectations.
31) Share your fellow’s blogs
It is a common technique used by like-mind fellows. They try to share their fellow blogs which creates high value. In return, you also get shared by fellow bloggers. It produces the best result if it happens in an obvious way. It will create a strong connection. Over time you get some influencers in your connection. In that way, it is easy for you to collect backlinks from fellow bloggers and even from influencers. Many people will be attracted to you when they find you are sharing their blog. You can also share this blog too if it produces good value.
32) Create internal backlinks
It is an important way to get more from backlinks. It indicates your page strength internally. Google recognizes the worth value of a page by looking at the mesh of internal linking. It also helps users with easy navigation. In the beginning, it is a common mistake among writers they do not link their current content to the previous one. If you have also the same, you can link it after reading this article.
33) Be a sponsored website
We end this list of how to get backlinks for free by spreading humanity. Here you have an opportunity the donation. Many non-profit websites struggle for getting enough funds. You can donate them for building our beautiful earth. In return, they will list you on the sponsored websites. For the crisis of donations, many websites are listing it in a small donations too.
Final punch
Now, You have lots of answers on how to get backlinks for free. Some are easier while some are time talking. Easier ones will support you instantly. The time-taking activities will produce awesome results in the long run. For example, you choose guest posting on high authority sites. You have to give an effort there. You should publish your best content. Over time it will rank. It will increase your authenticity, popularity, and no need to say a good follower, traffic, and backlinks by doing nothing. So it is the best option to go with authenticity and you will get more than the desired result. If you have any queries then the whole comment box is yours. I will try to answer in the best possible way.