A common misconception about backlinks is you have to spend a lot of money to build them.
Today I’ll show you how to build backlinks for free using a few tried and proven methods.
Continue reading this article only if you want to boost your rank in search engine results.
Before we begin, let’s clarify a few things:
What is a Backlink?
A backlink is simply a link from one website to another, a metric Google considers when ranking websites.
In short, the more backlinks a website has (links from other websites pointing to that website) the greater the chances of that website ranking in the top results of Google.
As you can imagine, backlinks are incredibly important.
Ideally, backlinks would be built organically, as in, someone likes your site, and links to it as a resource from their own website.
But that doesn’t happen as often as we like, so sometimes we need to take matters into our own hands and build our own backlinks.
Learn more about backlinks from Wikipedia.
Not All Backlinks Are Created Equal:
There are tons of different types of backlinks and not all of them provide the same “Power” or “SEO Juice” as others.
In general, the more popular a website is, the more powerful the banklink it gives when it links out to another site.
So the idea is to get links from authority websites.
The best kind of links come from popular authority websites.
Of course, owners of authority websites won’t link out to just any site, unless there’s a clear benefit.
If you want to learn how to build backlinks for free, it’s best to figure out a benefit to offer website owners.
One benefit would be free content.
Every website owner needs content, and if you can write a compelling keyword-targeted article for their website, they should let you include a link to your website inside the article.
Wondering how to write content that brings in traffic? Read this article!
This technique is often referred to as “Guest Posting” and tons of websites accept guest posts.
If the content is good enough 🙂
How to Build Backlinks for Free:
We already mentioned one technique, but we’ll expand on it a little bit.
1. Guest Posts:
Contrary to what you might think, finding websites that accept guest posts is a walk in the park.
Type in a few words into Google and you’ll have a list of websites to pitch.
The more popular websites will be more strict, but if you can write good articles (or have a writer who can) it shouldn’t be hard to write something that fits the bill.
I typed in this string into Google and found a bunch of sites I can submit guest posts to:
You could narrow the search to specific niches by adding more words, like “Health” or “Fitness”, etc.
Of course, these backlinks take time to build because not only do you need to reach out to website owners, but you need to write the article as well.
Nevertheless, these backlinks can be really helpful to your business, so it’s worth the effort, at least, in my opinion.
2. Blog Comments:
Links from blog comments are not as powerful as guest posts, but they’re a lot easier to do.
Most websites built with WordPress allow you to add your name and website address when you leave a comment on an article.
Take a minute or two to write a meaningful comment on as many articles as you can and you’ll see an uptick in traffic.
It’s also a nice way to build relationships with other bloggers!
3. Web 2.0 Blogs:
These are sites built with free blogging platforms such as Tumblr or Blog Spot.
The idea is to build small blogs and then include a link to your main website from inside them.
Links from Web 2.0 sites are not very powerful but they can provide a nice little boost in search engine results.
4. Network with Bloggers:
Remember back in the days of the good-old link exchange?
That still exists, though on a different scale.
Generally, link exchanges are not recommended.
But there are bloggers who often seek professional opinions for round-up articles.
Share your opinion, and receive a free backlink – simple as that.
Of course, finding these opportunities is a little difficult, but I see them pop-up quite often in Facebook Blogger Groups.
Or you can take the initiative and link out to bloggers you love, and mention it to them later, maybe they’ll return the favor.
5. Create an Irresistible Resource:
Did you notice how many news articles link to studies?
“Study Reveals…”
Well, take the time to create an irresistible resource.
Such as a case study, or other data-driven content, chances are people will link back to it.
Naturally, creating an in-depth case study is a challenge, but it could lead to some amazing benefits.
One simple idea would be to create a survey and write about the findings on your site.
If the findings are interesting enough, chances are bloggers will pick it up, and link back to it.
Need help with SEO? Learn to link your site correctly – read this post.
Value First, Backlinks Later:
To really succeed online, one must learn how to build and deliver value.
Find out what website owners need, deliver it to them, and they’ll be more than happy to do what you want.
Most marketers harass website owners without a care for their needs, only thinking of themselves, and this leads to a dead end.
Think of the other person first.
How can you help them? How can they benefit from your offer?
This is how successful businesses are built, on value.
Nobody likes spam.
Break Free from the 9-5, Learn How It’s Done Right Here →
Conclusion on Building Free Backlinks:
There’s several different ways to build backlinks for free, and every website should have some sort of active backlink building campaign in place.
If you can base your backlink building campaign on value, it will be much more successful.
So focus on creating value, and good things will happen.
Thanks for taking the time to read this article, I hope you now know how to build backlinks for free!
Leave a comment below if this post helped out!
Hi, this is very nice article on how back links work. Much appreciated.