What Are Backlinks? How to Get Free Backlinks Safely
Short answer: a backlink is a link from another website to yours. Search engines treat relevant links from trusted sites as a sign that your page is useful, so good backlinks help pages rank higher. The safest free ways to earn them are listing your site on relevant directories and platforms, publishing resources people want to reference, and building real relationships in your niche - never buying links or using link schemes.
What is a backlink?
A backlink (also called an inbound or incoming link) is a hyperlink on one website that points to a page on another website. If a blog in your niche links to your homepage, that link is a backlink for your site. The clickable text of the link is called the anchor text.
Why do backlinks matter for SEO?
- Discovery - search engines find new pages by following links, so backlinks help new sites get crawled and indexed.
- Trust and authority - a link from a respected, relevant site works like a recommendation.
- Referral traffic - real people click links and visit your site.
- Brand visibility - mentions across the web also help AI assistants recognise your brand.
What makes a backlink good or bad?
| Good backlink | Bad backlink |
|---|---|
| From a site related to your topic | From an unrelated or spammy site |
| Placed naturally inside useful content | Hidden, stuffed in footers or comment spam |
| Earned or editorially given | Bought, swapped in bulk or auto-generated |
| Varied, natural anchor text | The same exact keyword anchor everywhere |
What is the difference between dofollow and nofollow links?
A normal link is often called dofollow. A link with rel="nofollow", rel="ugc" (user-generated content) or rel="sponsored" tells search engines not to treat it as an endorsement. Google treats these attributes as hints. Nofollow links still bring visitors and visibility, so a healthy profile naturally contains both kinds.
How to get free backlinks safely (step by step)
- Set up your foundations first. Verify your site in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools - see our guide on how to submit your website to search engines.
- List your site on relevant directories and platforms. Use our free Website Submission Sites tool to find hundreds of options by category and track which ones you have completed.
- Submit to a community directory. You can add your website or tool to our free backlink directory in a few minutes.
- Create profiles where your audience already is. Business listings, review platforms and professional networks often allow a website link.
- Publish something worth linking to. Free tools, checklists, templates and original data attract links naturally.
- Answer questions in your niche. Helpful answers on forums and Q&A sites build visibility - add a link only when it genuinely helps.
- Reclaim brand mentions. When a site mentions your brand without linking, politely ask them to add a link.
- Fix broken links. If a site links to a page that no longer exists and you have a similar resource, suggest yours as a replacement.
Which link building tactics should you avoid?
- Buying links or paying for "1,000 backlinks" packages.
- Private blog networks (PBNs) and large-scale link exchanges.
- Automated comment, forum or profile spam.
- Over-optimised anchor text that repeats the same keyword everywhere.
These tactics violate Google's spam policies and can lead to ranking drops or manual actions.
How many backlinks do you need to rank?
There is no fixed number. It depends on how competitive the search is and how strong the competing pages are. A few relevant links from trusted sites usually do more than many weak ones, and for low-competition searches strong content with only a handful of links can be enough.
How long do backlinks take to work?
Search engines must first find and re-crawl the linking page, which can take from a few days to several weeks. The effect on rankings builds gradually, so build links steadily over time rather than all at once.
Quick checklist
- Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools set up
- Site listed on 10-20 relevant, trusted directories over a few weeks
- Website added to a community directory
- At least one link-worthy resource published
- No paid links, link networks or spam tactics