Backlinking is a part of every digital marketing strategy. Getting other websites to link to yours increases your domain authority and website’s rankings on search engines. Backlinking should be your priority when you’re doing SEO, but you might be under the wrong impression that this must require a budget. Here’s how to get backlinks for free:
1. Use business directories
If you’re not just owning a website but running a business, let search engines know that by adding your website to business directories. Some of the business directories that you can use are Google My Business, Foursquare, Yelp, Bing Places, Merchant Circle, Local Chamber of Commerce, Tupalo, and Hot Frog.
2. Use HARO
How to get backlinks for free by using HARO? HARO is short for Help A Reporter Out and you’ll be responding to journalist inquiries. Being available for a quote could get you backlinks on some of the major websites such as Forbes, CNN, Business Insider, etc.
3. Write reviews
Write reviews of popular products or services or write “top 10” articles where you’ll list and review these products or services. The important thing is that you let the company know that you wrote a positive review of their product or service and they are likely to give you a backlink to show off this review.
4. Use forums
Setting up free accounts on forums gives you the possibility to include a backlink in your profile. You can also add the link to your signature so that it’s always indexed and displayed when you comment on any post.
5. Use blog aggregators
Blog aggregators are websites that display blog content collected from all over the internet, all in one location. Submitting the RSS feed of your website to blog aggregators such as Feedspot or Alltop creates instant backlinks.
6. Give a free book
Make sure that your homepage has an email opt-in form for those interested in getting a free book. People will share your link on social media and on their own websites which will result in more backlinks.
7. Use Reddit
Starting your own subreddit is a great way to get backlinks for free. To start a subreddit your account needs to exist for 30 days at least and you need the minimum number of positive karma. Inside your subreddit, you can write about whatever you want and include links to your website.
8. Use Youtube
How to get backlinks for free by creating a Youtube Channel? You can turn your blog posts into videos with the most important information. Add links to your website to your channel and insert them into the video descriptions.
9. Use Quora
The popular question-and-answer platform Quora is a great place to build free backlinks. Copy and paste text from your articles as an answer and add a link to the article.
10. Find resource pages
Search the web for resource pages and reach out to the owners to get your URL listed. You can search for resource pages in Google like this:
inurl:resources intitle:[keyword or topic]
inurl:links intitle:[keyword or topic]
11. Use social bookmarking sites
Social bookmarking sites give you the possibility to share blog posts, web pages, images, and more. Some of the popular sites are Diigo, GetPocket, Plurk, and Digg.
12. Make slide shows and use document-sharing sites
One more fast, free, and easy way to get new backlinks is to make slide shows and upload websites like SlideShare with the link in the description. You can also create Word or PDF documents and upload them to document-sharing sites such as Scribd, ISSUU, Calameo, and Zoho.
13. Use Backlink Generators
There are automated tools that create free backlinks. Obviously, you can’t expect high-quality backlinks but it still counts so use Backlink Maker or SENuke.
14. Take advantage of Website feedback sites
There are also website feedback sites that exist so that you could get improve your website’s layouts and conversations by receiving feedback. When you ask for help, you instantly get a backlink, and you’ll also get valuable advice.
15. Post a job
Are you thinking of hiring someone to help you with your website? Create a job listing and promote it on SimplyHired, Indeed, Linkedin, CareerBuilder, Monster, etc. You’ll get quality backlinks from these websites.
16. Use Google
There are a lot of ways you could use Google Properties to get free backlinks. Use Google Docs, Calendar, My Maps, Sheets, and the rest of the options Google gives you.
17. Create a network of websites
This might be considered black hat SEO but many big brands and top websites use this method to get more backlinks. Create a network of websites and link them to each other!