Free backlinks: 8 ways to find and earn them

The 8 ways to get free backlinks

There is no universal list of free backlink sites that works for every business. The best source depends on what you can contribute and who reads it. Here are the eight methods this guide covers, one section each.

• 1. Publishing platforms

  Medium, WordPress.com, Blogger, project pages. Immediate, and the weakest signal of the eight.

• 2. Forums

  Answer a real question in a community that discusses your subject. Free, contextual, and increasingly quoted by AI answers.

• 3. Link exchange

  Two sites with related audiences refer readers to each other. Works better once you have something to offer.

• 4. Broken-link outreach

  Find a dead link on a relevant page and offer a replacement. Elegant, and rarely successful.

• 5. Directories

  Trade associations, local registers, specialist listings. A handful help; five hundred do not.

• 6. Press coverage

  Publish something worth reporting and let journalists cite it. The strongest link on this page, and the hardest.

• 7. Local councils and tourism offices

  Public pages that list businesses and resources, often years out of date, and almost never asked.

• 8. Apps and open-source projects

  A working tool earns a listing, documentation and reviews. The category most free-backlink lists forget.

One distinction is worth keeping in mind throughout. A link you can submit yourself usually carries a different editorial value from a citation someone else chooses to add. Judge the individual page rather than a domain-level score.

Free backlinks from publishing platforms

Medium, WordPress.com, Blogger and public project pages let you publish without setting up another independent site. You can write an article, share a presentation or document a project, and point readers to a relevant resource on your own website.

GitHub Pages can host public project documentation in the same way. The exact link placement and link attributes vary by platform and by page, so check before you write.

Advantages of publishing-platform backlinks

• No cost to place

  You can start without paying for editorial placement or waiting for anyone's approval.

• Full editorial control

  You choose the subject, the structure and the anchor, which is rare in link building.

• Fast indexing

  Pages on these domains are usually crawled quickly, though publication alone does not guarantee indexing.

• Brand presence

  A search for your name returns pages instead of nothing, which changes how a visitor reads you.

Limitations of publishing-platform backlinks

• Anyone can create them

  A link on an empty profile or a thin article carries little editorial endorsement.

• The host domain does not transfer

  A well-known platform does not make every user page an authoritative source.

• Mostly nofollow

  Many platforms mark outbound links nofollow, and policies change without notice.

• A foundation, not a strategy

  Worth an afternoon at the start. Not worth returning to every month.

How to publish a page worth linking from

Choose a question your audience actually asks, and write an original answer with a conventional heading structure: one H1 that states the subject, H2s for each part of the answer, H3s for the details underneath. It is the same structure you would use on your own site, and it is what makes a page readable and quotable.

Link to your site where it helps the reader go further: a data source, a working tool, a detailed guide. Use your brand name or a natural phrase, and avoid repeating an exact-match keyword across every link.

If the page adds nothing beyond the link, improve the page before publishing it.

Free backlinks from forums

A forum link can appear in an answer, a resource recommendation or a member profile. The useful version begins with a question rather than a target URL: someone asks how to solve a problem, you explain the answer in the thread, and you link to a page on your site only if it genuinely adds something.

Most free backlink lists name forums as a category and stop there, which is a pity: this is the method where the gap between doing it well and doing it badly is widest.

Advantages of forum backlinks

• Unusually precise context

  A discussion about a specific problem reaches the people your article or product helps, at the moment they are looking.

• Quoted by AI answers

  Forums appear as sources in search results and in some AI-generated answers, particularly on narrow questions where little commercial content exists.

• Direct visits

  A reader who arrives from a thread already has the problem you solve, which no directory listing can say.

• Lasting mentions

  A useful answer stays readable for years and gets cited by other writers later. None of this is guaranteed by posting a link.

Limitations of forum backlinks

• Almost always nofollow

  Many forums mark user links ugc or nofollow. That is normal and expected.

• Moderation is strict

  Moderators remove self-promotion, restrict new members, and ban accounts that post links without helping first.

• It can count as spam

  A generic reply with a keyword-heavy signature falls under Google's own examples of link spam.

• Timing

  Participation takes time, and a discussion often moves on before you arrive.

How to find and answer the right threads

1. Find active communities around your subject

   Look for boards where your topic comes up regularly, not once a year.

2. Read the rules and the recent conversations

   Every forum states whether self-links are welcome, and the tone tells you the rest.

3. Create an account and contribute first

   Answer where you have firsthand knowledge, before you have anything to link to.

4. Answer the question in full

   A reply that still makes sense with the link removed is a reply that stays up.

5. Add the link only when it earns its place

   Evidence, a working example, a useful next step. A brand mention without a link can still be worthwhile.

How to find relevant threads while they are still open

The difficult part is none of the above. It is spotting a relevant question while the discussion is still live, across communities you do not read every day.

To solve that problem we built FindMention. It tracks 7,093 forums across 14 languages and organises the public profiles by topic, so you can browse the communities that discuss your subject and see how active each one is.

Select a category below to see live forums, their pace and the date of their most recent topic.

See all 223 Cars forums →

Pace and latest topic are recalculated every night. Public profiles show a curated subset of the registry; the full list covers 7,093 forums in 14 languages.

Free backlinks through link exchange

Two organisations that serve related audiences refer readers to each other. No money changes hands, which is why it counts as free. A travel publisher might cite a local transport guide, and the transport provider might recommend an itinerary that helps its own customers.

It works, and it works better once your site has something worth recommending.

Advantages of link exchange

• Real editorial quality

  A relevant business site brings qualified visitors, and the link usually sits in a maintained page.

• You negotiate the details

  The target page, the anchor and the surrounding context can all be agreed, which no other free method allows.

• Durability

  Company sites that have existed for years tend to keep their resource pages live.

• It opens a relationship

  A partner who links once often mentions you again without being asked.

Limitations of link exchange

• Prospecting is the job

  Finding the right sites, writing, negotiating and following up is a full occupation, and most messages go unanswered.

• Links get removed

  A partner can edit or drop the link later, so occasional follow-up is part of the deal.

• The pattern is visible

  Two sites pointing at each other is the easiest arrangement in the world to spot, and Google explicitly lists excessive exchanges as link spam.

• A single swap is not a problem

  What matters is whether each recommendation has a reason. Scale is what turns it into a scheme.

How to approach a potential partner

Write to them directly, by email, and make the case as a collaboration rather than a favour: their readers get a resource that answers a question their page raises, and yours get the same. Be specific about which page and why.

Aim for domains with SEO metrics comparable to yours — similar authority, similar organic traffic. An exchange between equals is easy to justify on both sides.

If you are approaching a larger site, you can offer two links for one. It is sometimes worth it, and it is an honest way to acknowledge the difference in what each side brings.

If you also link to the partner, do it because their page helps your readers, not as a condition of the arrangement.

Free backlinks from broken-link outreach

Web pages move and disappear. When a resource page still points to a dead article, the owner may welcome a replacement.

Find a broken link on a relevant page, check what the missing resource covered, and offer an existing page of yours that answers the same need. This differs from reclaiming a broken link that already points to your own site, where a redirect is usually the first step.

Advantages of broken-link outreach

• You are fixing a real problem

  Reporting a defect and offering the fix is a far better opening than asking for a favour.

• The context already made sense

  If accepted, the link sits where a human editor once chose to place one.

• Specific beats general

  A retired data table replaced by a current one is the strongest version of this request.

Limitations of broken-link outreach

• Low response rate

  Editors may prefer another source, remove the sentence, or leave the page unchanged.

• It needs a paid tool

  Prospecting at scale requires an SEO crawler, which makes this the least free of the free methods.

• Relevance is not optional

  A request to swap in an unrelated sales page rarely succeeds, and damages the next request.

How to pitch a replacement

Send the exact page URL and identify the broken reference. State briefly what the old link covered and why your page is a suitable replacement.

Keep the request easy to verify. If the publisher prefers a broader collaboration, judge it on its own merits rather than turning a repair request into a disguised exchange.

Free backlink submission to relevant directories

A directory lists businesses, products or resources in a category, and the listing usually includes your website, a description and contact details. Choose the ones a real customer might use: a local business listing, a credible trade association, a specialist software directory.

Complete the profile accurately and keep it current. A stale listing with an old address does more harm than no listing at all.

Advantages of directory backlinks

• Fast and predictable

  A profile is live in minutes, and you know in advance what it will look like.

• Verification, not just links

  A consistent listing across a few credible directories helps customers confirm that the business is real.

• Local and specialist reach

  In a city or a narrow industry, the right register is genuinely where people look.

Limitations of directory backlinks

• Almost always nofollow

  Most directories mark outbound links nofollow, and have done for years.

• Mass submission backfires

  Five hundred identical listings appearing in a week is a pattern, and the pattern is the problem.

• Little readership

  Many generic directories have no visitors at all, which makes the link the only reason to be there.

• Free is often partial

  A basic listing is free; the useful features are frequently behind a paid tier.

Free backlinks from press coverage

Journalists need facts, examples, expert comment and original findings. If you publish a useful study, a public dataset or a clear analysis of an emerging issue, a reporter may cite your work.

The strongest pitch gives a reporter a story or evidence their readers can use, without demanding a link in return.

Advantages of press backlinks

• Authority and reputation together

  Coverage in a respected publication brings readers, recognition and independent attention to your brand.

• It compounds

  One outlet picks up a study, and others cite the first.

• Unlinked mentions still work

  A citation without a link introduces your work to people who link to it later, and it is read by the models that answer questions about your market.

Limitations of press backlinks

• It is a profession

  Reporting, data collection, outreach and follow-up can become a job in themselves.

• No control over the outcome

  A journalist may quote you without linking, use another source, or decide there is no story.

• Size is not relevance

  A large outlet is valuable only if its readers are relevant to your work.

• Press releases are not coverage

  Buying a distribution package rarely produces editorial links.

How to earn a press citation

Start with a narrow, verifiable finding. Show your method, the date of the data and its limits.

Write a short pitch stating the finding, why it matters now, and where the journalist can inspect the underlying source. Publish that source material on a stable URL so an editor can cite it directly.

Free backlinks from local councils and tourism offices

Public bodies maintain pages for residents and visitors: accessible attractions, local events, transport information, lists of local businesses. Those pages are often several years old, and somebody is responsible for keeping them current.

If you find a broken link or a clear factual omission, contact the team responsible for that page. Offer a reliable source, or ask for a correction. The decision to include a link belongs to the editor.

Advantages of local-institution backlinks

• Exact local relevance

  A citation from a local resource page reaches the people searching in that area.

• Institutional credibility

  The context carries weight that a commercial directory cannot reproduce.

• Almost no competition

  The approach is closer to a phone call than to an SEO campaign, so very few people make it.

Limitations of local-institution backlinks

• Finding the contact takes time

  Public teams are not organised around inbound requests from businesses.

• No guaranteed placement

  They may correct the text without linking to a commercial site, which is their right.

• It does not scale

  Each link is one conversation, and it stays one conversation.

• The fit matters more than the domain

  Your page has to serve the public purpose of the listing, whatever the domain ending.

How to make a useful request

Identify one precise page and one concrete issue. Send the page address, the correction and a verifiable source.

If you have published a useful local guide, explain what residents or visitors can do with it. Keep the request short, and accept a correction without a backlink as a useful result.

Free backlinks from apps, extensions and open-source projects

A useful tool creates several natural places to reference its website: the store listing, the documentation, the release notes, and coverage by the people who use it. A browser extension, a plugin or an open-source package can solve a small problem and direct people to a fuller guide or service.

Some platform listings allow ordinary outbound links, others apply nofollow. Policies and link attributes change, so inspect the actual listing rather than relying on a list.

Advantages of app and project backlinks

• The link comes with something usable

  That gives writers and users a reason to mention the project independently.

• Direct discovery

  A store listing brings people who were looking for the tool, not for your article.

• Hard to copy

  It takes more than filling in a form, and that is much of its value.

Limitations of app and project backlinks

• You have to build it

  A functioning product takes time to build and, more importantly, to maintain.

• Not always literally free

  Store approval and developer registration sometimes carry fees.

• Often nofollow

  A highly ranked platform page does not guarantee that your particular link influences rankings.

• Loose thematic fit

  Treat these as profile diversity rather than topical relevance.

What to publish

Pick a narrow task connected to your site. An extension could show a useful comparison while someone researches a product; an open-source calculator could document the data behind one of your articles.

Describe the tool honestly, link to the most relevant page, and keep the project updated. The best eventual backlink often comes from someone reviewing the tool rather than from the store listing itself.

How to get free backlinks for your website

The eight methods differ, but the sequence that works is the same for all of them.

1. Make one page worth recommending

   A useful guide, current data or a working tool gives people a reason to cite you. Without it, every other step becomes a request for a favour.

2. Choose a relevant source of opportunities

   Inspect the audience, the recent activity and the rules before writing or submitting anything.

3. Contribute the answer or the evidence first

   In a forum, answer the question. For a journalist, provide a verifiable finding. For a directory, complete an accurate listing.

4. Suggest the right page with a natural link

   Link to the resource that serves the reader, and let the publisher make the editorial decision.

5. Check the result and learn from it

   Record the live URL, whether the link is still present, and any visitors or follow-on mentions it produced.

The first few placements often take longer than expected. They also show which of your topics other people find useful enough to share, which is worth more than the links themselves. If you want to watch those mentions as they happen, that is what brand monitoring is for.

Which free backlinks are best for SEO?

It depends on what you already have, rather than on which method is strongest in the abstract. Answer three questions.

For most new sites the practical sequence is simple: publish one page worth citing, claim the relevant profiles, join conversations where that page genuinely helps, then invest in outreach or original research. Measure visits, useful conversations and independent citations alongside the link count. And if you want to see which communities discuss your subject before you start, the forum directory is free to browse.

Frequently asked questions

• Are free backlinks worth it?

  Yes, when the referring page has a relevant audience and a reason to mention you. A free editorial citation can be more useful than dozens of self-created profiles. Count the hours it takes to earn the link, then look at the visitors and the opportunities it brings. Price alone says little about quality.

• Are all free backlinks equally useful?

  No, and the range is wide. A citation from a trade association, a local institution or a forum where you are known is worth having. An automated listing on five hundred directories is not, because the pattern is visible and the pattern is the problem. A reasonable test: if anyone could have obtained that link in ten seconds without reading your site, it tells a search engine very little.

• Can free backlinks hurt my website?

  Free links are not automatically safe or harmful. An ordinary mention from a relevant page is a normal part of the web. Repeated keyword-stuffed forum comments, automated placements, low-quality directories and excessive exchanges are different, and Google lists these patterns in its link-spam policy. Use common sense: contribute something useful, respect the publisher's rules, and never make the link the only reason a page exists.

• How many free backlinks does a new site need?

  Fewer than most lists suggest. Five good links from five different kinds of source do more for a new site than two hundred directory listings. What a search engine reads is the shape of the profile rather than the count, and a profile made of one repeated pattern reads as manufactured however large it is.

• Which free backlink sites still work?

  The ones with real visitors, editorial standards and a reason to exist beyond hosting links. That excludes most of what appears on lists dated two years ago and never checked since. It includes forums, trade bodies, local institutions and the platform profiles attached to something you actually built, which is why this page is organised by method rather than as a list of URLs.