Free backlinks are links you earn without paying for placement.

This guide covers 9 ways to earn backlinks through useful content, relevant relationships and legitimate outreach. The safest opportunities usually come from unlinked brand mentions, original research, local organisations, industry websites and communities that already serve your audience.

A backlink is a link from another website to a page on your website. Google uses links to discover pages and understand relevance, but links created mainly to manipulate rankings can violate Google's spam policies.

Method Cost Effort Best for Main risk
Unlinked brand mentions Free Low Established brands The mention may be difficult to find
Business and local profiles Free Low Local businesses Low-quality directories
Resource page outreach Free Medium Useful guides and tools Generic outreach gets ignored
Original research Free to low High B2B and specialist sites Requires credible data
Digital PR Free Medium Newsworthy stories and expertise No guarantee of coverage
Testimonials and case studies Free Low Service businesses Must be genuine
Partner and supplier links Free Low Existing business relationships Irrelevant reciprocal links
Community contributions Free Medium Niche expertise Spammy self-promotion
Broken-link replacement Free Medium Strong replacement content Requires careful research

1. Reclaim Unlinked Brand Mentions

Look for websites that mention your company, product, founder or domain without linking to your site.

Useful searches include:

  • "Your Brand Name" -yourdomain.com
  • "Your Product Name" -yourdomain.com
  • "Founder Name" company
  • "yourdomain.com" OR "Your Brand Name"

When you find a relevant mention, contact the editor or website owner. Keep the request short. Explain which page you would like them to link to and why it would help their readers.

Example outreach email:

Subject: Possible link for your article

Hi [Name],

Thanks for mentioning [brand or product] in your article about [topic].

If useful for your readers, you could link the mention to our guide on [specific topic]: [URL]. It explains [one-sentence benefit].

Thanks for considering it, [Name]

This approach works best when the existing mention is positive and your suggested page supports the surrounding content. Do not ask for a link when the page has no meaningful connection to your business.

2. Create Free Business and Local Listings

Create profiles on legitimate platforms that customers use, including:

  • Local chamber of commerce websites
  • Professional associations
  • Trade organisations
  • Government or community directories
  • Reputable industry directories
  • Local business directories
  • Event, sponsorship or membership pages

Use consistent business information, including your business name, address, phone number and website. Complete each profile with a useful description instead of copying the same keyword-filled text everywhere.

These links may not be strong ranking assets by themselves. They can still help people find your business, confirm that your organisation exists and create relevant citations.

Avoid submitting your website to hundreds of low-quality directories. Automated link creation and links created mainly to manipulate rankings fall within Google's link-spam guidance.

Many websites maintain pages that recommend useful tools, guides, suppliers, courses or organisations.

Find them with searches such as:

  • [topic] useful resources
  • [topic] recommended tools
  • [topic] helpful websites
  • intitle:resources [topic]
  • inurl:resources [topic]

Before contacting the site owner, check that:

  • The page is relevant to your audience
  • The page links to external resources
  • Your content adds something missing
  • The website appears maintained
  • Your suggested link would improve the page for its readers

A request such as "Please link to my website" gives the site owner little reason to act. A stronger email identifies the exact section where your resource belongs and explains what it adds.

4. Publish Original Research, Statistics or Useful Data

Original information attracts backlinks because writers need sources to cite.

Possible formats include:

  • A survey of your customers
  • An analysis of public data
  • A benchmark report
  • A pricing comparison
  • A local market study
  • A calculator or interactive tool
  • A database or searchable directory
  • A detailed experiment with a transparent method

For example, a recruitment company could publish an annual report on hiring trends in its region. A software company could compare support response times across several tools.

Make the page easy to cite by including:

  • A clear headline
  • The publication date
  • The methodology
  • The sample size, where relevant
  • Downloadable charts or tables
  • Definitions for important terms
  • A short summary of the main findings

Do not present estimates as facts. Research earns trust when readers can see how the information was collected and what its limits are.

Journalists, bloggers and editors often need expert comments, examples and sources for articles. You can respond to relevant requests with a short, useful contribution.

Good opportunities include requests for:

  • Expert commentary
  • Industry predictions
  • Data or statistics
  • Customer examples
  • Local business insight
  • Product explanations
  • Case studies
  • Reaction to a new development

Put the answer first. Then add your name, job title, company and a short explanation of why you are qualified to comment.

Do not send a generic company introduction or demand a backlink. The aim is to provide information worth publishing. If an editor includes your company as a source, the resulting link is an earned outcome rather than a paid placement.

6. Offer Genuine Testimonials and Case Studies

Write testimonials for products and services you already use. Some companies publish customer testimonials with a link to the customer's website.

This method works best when:

  • You have genuinely used the product or service
  • Your testimonial includes a specific result or experience
  • The company's website is relevant to your industry
  • You do not exaggerate your results
  • You are comfortable being identified publicly

You can also take part in a customer case study. A detailed case study may link to your business, explain your role and introduce your company to a relevant audience.

Do not provide a product review in exchange for a required link. Google identifies exchanging goods or services for links as a link-spam risk unless the link is appropriately qualified.

7. Ask Partners, Suppliers and Professional Contacts

Existing relationships are often the easiest source of relevant backlinks.

Potential contacts include:

  • Suppliers
  • Distributors
  • Manufacturers
  • Clients
  • Contractors
  • Accountants and legal advisers
  • Technology partners
  • Industry associations
  • Event organisers
  • Charities you support

Look for legitimate pages such as:

  • Customer directories
  • Partner pages
  • Supplier profiles
  • Member directories
  • Project pages
  • Event sponsor pages
  • Approved-provider lists

The link should describe a real relationship. Avoid creating pages solely to exchange links. Google lists excessive link exchanges and partner pages created mainly for cross-linking as examples of link spam.

8. Replace Broken Links With Better Content

Broken-link outreach involves finding a dead external link and suggesting your relevant page as a replacement.

The process is straightforward:

  1. Find a relevant resource page or article.
  2. Check whether any links lead to missing pages.
  3. Create or identify a page that covers the same subject.
  4. Contact the site owner.
  5. Mention the broken link and suggest your replacement.

Example email:

Subject: Broken link on [page title]

Hi [Name],

I noticed that the link to [old resource] on your [page title] page no longer works.

We have a current guide covering [same subject] here: [URL]. It may be a useful replacement for your readers.

Regards, [Name]

Your page should be a genuine replacement, not a loosely related sales page. If it does not match the original resource, create a better article before starting outreach.

9. Contribute to Relevant Communities

Helpful participation in industry communities can lead to links, referrals and relationships.

Useful communities may include:

  • Specialist forums
  • Professional groups
  • Local business communities
  • Open-source projects
  • Industry Slack or Discord groups
  • Question-and-answer websites
  • Nonprofit or community initiatives

Answer questions thoroughly and link only when the page helps solve the problem. A link added to every discussion looks promotional and may be removed.

Community links may be marked nofollow or ugc, particularly when users can add their own links. These attributes tell Google about the relationship between the website and the linked page.

Prioritise backlinks that meet most of these conditions:

  • The linking website is relevant to your industry or audience
  • The link appears in useful editorial content
  • Visitors could realistically click the link
  • The linked page answers a question or supports a claim
  • The website has real users and a maintained editorial process
  • The link is earned through usefulness, expertise or a legitimate relationship

A relevant link from a smaller specialist website can be more useful to your business than a random link from a large but unrelated directory.

Use Google search results and Google Search Console to find potential opportunities.

Google Search Results

Search for:

  • Competitor brand names
  • Competitor resource pages
  • Industry directories
  • "Best tools" lists
  • "Recommended providers" pages
  • Local association websites
  • Relevant event and conference pages

Review the results before sending outreach. A page can rank for a useful search and still be a poor link prospect if it is outdated, unrelated or full of low-quality listings.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console's Links report shows sample data about external sites linking to your website, your most-linked pages and the websites that link to you. The report is not a complete list of every backlink Google knows about, but it can reveal existing relationships and pages that already attract attention.

Use this information to identify:

  • Content that naturally earns links
  • Websites already familiar with your brand
  • Pages that could be improved or expanded
  • Topics that attract citations in your industry

Avoid:

  • Automated backlink software
  • Link farms
  • Large-scale reciprocal link schemes
  • Blog comment spam
  • Forum profile spam
  • Hidden links
  • Keyword-stuffed anchor text
  • Mass directory submissions
  • Guest posts created only to place links
  • Offering products or services in exchange for followed links

Google recommends descriptive, concise and relevant anchor text. It also warns against forcing keywords into anchor text or using links mainly to manipulate rankings.

Use natural anchor text such as:

  • "local SEO checklist"
  • "pricing research"
  • "project management guide"

Avoid repeatedly using an exact commercial phrase such as "best cheap SEO services" as the anchor text for every link.

Week 1: Prepare Linkable Assets

Create or improve:

  • One comprehensive guide
  • One useful template, checklist or calculator
  • One original data page or case study
  • Your business and organisation profiles

Week 2: Reclaim Existing Opportunities

Find:

  • Unlinked brand mentions
  • Broken links
  • Existing partners without links
  • Relevant directory and association listings
  • Websites already discussing your work

Week 3: Begin Targeted Outreach

Contact a small number of highly relevant prospects. Personalise every email and suggest one specific page.

Week 4: Build Relationships

Respond to expert requests, contribute to communities, contact partners and continue improving content that receives clicks or mentions.

Track each opportunity in a spreadsheet with columns for:

  • Website
  • Contact person
  • Relevant page
  • Suggested URL
  • Outreach date
  • Response
  • Link status
  • Follow-up date

Final Takeaway

Free backlinks come from usefulness, relevance and relationships, not from submitting your website everywhere.

Start with unlinked mentions, legitimate business profiles, existing partners and resource pages. Then create original research, tools or guides that other websites have a clear reason to cite. Measure success by relevant referral traffic, brand visibility and earned mentions, not by the number of links alone.