10 out-of-the-box ways to get backlinks for your website
Originally published: January 2025—Last updated: March 2026
Article topics
- Find non-linked versions of your brand name
- Use forums like Reddit and Quora
- Get involved with guest posting
- Respond to publishers
- Partner with suppliers and other customers
- Identify broken links
- Send out press releases
- Look for directories
- Get in touch with brands you mention
- Create ‘link bait’ content
Building links from other websites to yours is one of the hardest parts of search engine optimisation (SEO).
This is because getting backlinks is something that’s generally out of your control. For example, while you can ask other websites to link to you, they’re under no obligation to do so.
However, there are things you can do to make it easier to get those all-important links.
In this article we’ll share ten of our favourite strategies, as well as some additional insight into how backlinking works.
But first…
Why are backlinks so important?
Search engines like Google use a variety of factors to determine which websites to prioritise in the search engine results. One of those factors is the quality of the content.
When other websites link to you, it shows the search engines that your content is trustworthy and reliable. This increases the chances of you ranking high for specific words and phrases.
While backlinking can be hard work, it definitely brings results. Studies show that pages with more backlinks typically rank higher than pages with no backlinks.
And given that 94% of all web pages have no backlinks whatsoever, if you can get just one, you’re in a great place to increase your search engine rankings!
A strong backlink profile can also increase the chances of your pages being cited in AI Overviews and in AI platforms like ChatGPT. This is because backlinks show that your content is authoritative and will contribute towards a comprehensive, accurate answer.
Of course, the websites that link to you must be relevant and high-quality themselves to get the right results.
Too many low-quality links can have a negative effect and push you down the search engine results. They can also lead to manual penalties, meaning your pages don’t show in the results at all.
Now let’s look at some smart ways you can get backlinks.
1. Find non-linked versions of your brand name
An easy win when it comes to getting backlinks is to find existing mentions of your brand on other websites. You can then ask the website owner to turn the mention into a clickable link.
There are SEO backlinking tools that can do this for you, but you can run a quick search in Google with the following qualifier:
Your brand name – site:yourwebsiteURL
For example, Xigen -site:xigen.co.uk
This searches for mentions of your brand name that aren’t on your website. You can then review the links and identify which websites you want to reach out to.
Also, set up a Google Alert for your brand name. This will let you know if a new mention pops up, meaning you can quickly get in touch.
Email etiquette: how to ask for a backlink
- Don’t be pushy – remember that website owners don’t have to give you a backlink
- Explain the benefits – what do website owners get in return for linking to your site?
- Build a relationship – website owners are more likely to help if they know you already or if you’ve done something for them
- Personalise your message – don’t send something bland and generic
2. Use forums like Reddit and Quora
Reddit and Quora are great ways to get backlinks free of charge and promote your business.
Both sites have lots of communities you can access – Reddit has nearly 140,000 active communities (or ‘subreddits’), many with millions of members.
If you choose to use Reddit and Quora, it’s essential to do so carefully. Users can see a thinly-veiled promotion a mile away, downvoting it or marking it as spam.
Be friendly, show your value, and engage with others. Not every post needs to be promotional.
Nofollow links: are they worth it?
Forums like Reddit and Quora (as well as other websites that may link to you) typically use ‘nofollow’ links rather than ‘dofollow’ links.
<a href="http://www.xigen.co.uk" rel="nofollow">
Nofollow links tell the search engines to ignore the link in the search engine rankings, meaning it doesn’t help your SEO efforts.
Forums typically do this to protect themselves; otherwise everyone would add their links to the site, which would ruin the forum’s own backlink profile.
Some sites that ask for payment to add a link also do this to safeguard themselves from Google’s strict guidelines – we’ll talk about this in more detail later.
While nofollow links aren’t as valuable as dofollow links, they still offer benefits. They help build brand awareness and drive referral traffic to your site.
Plus, if all of your backlinks are dofollow, the search engines would treat this with suspicion, especially if you gained them all in a short amount of time.
3. Get involved with guest posting
A guest post is an article you post on a site that’s not your own.
This can be a win-win for both parties. You get a backlink for creating an article, and the host website gets fresh content. It’s no wonder it’s one of the most popular link-building tactics marketers use!
Relevance is key. You want to post your content on sites in a similar (but not competing) niche to yours.
For example, if you sell chocolate, you could write an article for a beer website about the different chocolate and beer pairings readers can try.
Many websites that accept guest posts have a page stating the type of guest posts they take and the guidelines to follow.
Failing that, it’s always worth emailing a prospective website with an idea and seeing what they think.
Should you pay for guest posts?
While some websites let you guest post for free, some ask for money in return for a link.
Technically, buying backlinks violates Google’s guidelines. If Google identifies that you’ve done it, you risk your content being demoted in the search engine results or removed entirely.
However, many marketers still buy links as it’s easier than earning them.
We wouldn’t recommend buying backlinks on websites, but if you choose to, check the quality of the links already on the site. If there are a lot of spammy links and the website looks suspicious, stay away.
You can check website backlinks with tools like Ubersuggest, Semrush, and Ahrefs. While free tools are available, there might be limitations in the number of links you can see.
4. Respond to publishers
Have you ever wondered how businesses get mentioned in news stories and articles? They do this through websites that journalists, bloggers, and publishers use to get quotes.
You sign up for alerts on these sites and get an email when a publisher wants a quote from someone in your industry. Send them something they like, and they’ll use it alongside a link to your site.
Platforms to get started on
Here are some of our favourite for registering as a source.
Bear in mind that while they’re all free to get started with, there might be limitations in place.
5. Partner with suppliers and other customers
If you have a pre-existing relationship with a customer, supplier, or other business, you can use this to your advantage.
For example, let’s say you sell chocolate online and you buy your packaging from a particular supplier.
You could offer to help them create a case study on their website in exchange for a link. Alternatively, you could write them a review or even put together a guest post for their blog.
Remember that any content you create for a third party must be honest and truthful. For example, if you write a glowing review for a supplier even though your experience with them was awful, this might cause issues for you in the future.
Are reciprocal links okay?
A reciprocal link is when you link to another website, and they link to you in return.
There’s a lot of debate as to whether reciprocal links are okay. In our experience, they’re fine in moderation and if they’re done in a ‘natural’ way. For example, if you link to a related business and they return the favour.
However, if you gain ‘excessive’ reciprocal links in a short amount of time or exchange links with low-quality sites for the sole purpose of link building, this can get you in trouble.
6. Identify broken links
This strategy takes a little extra effort but can lead to great results when done right. You identify broken links on a website you want a backlink on, and recommend a relevant page on your own site as an alternative.
The benefit of this is that you’re providing value to the target website. You’re giving them a heads-up that they’ve got a broken link and providing them with another page to link to, meaning they don’t have to spend time finding a replacement.
The trick is finding a long-form piece of content with many external links – the more links, the higher the chance that one of those links won’t work.
We love the Broken Link Checker extension on Chrome for spotting dodgy links.
Are broken links bad?
Broken links can frustrate customers and lead to a bad user experience. And a bad user experience can have a negative effect on the search engine rankings.
Broken links also make it harder for the search engines to crawl websites, meaning pages risk not appearing in the search engine results.
7. Send out press releases
A well-written, highly-targeted press release can lead to backlinks in online newspapers and magazines.
These sites typically have high domain authority, which can lead to a fantastic boost in the search engine rankings. It can also lead to a ‘snowball’ effect, with sister publications mentioning you too!
Top tips for sending great press releases
- Identify the right publications and journalists – a good starting point is to search online for similar stories and see where they got coverage
- Write a good subject line – keep it short, to the point and avoid anything that might get caught in the spam filters, like all caps and multiple exclamation marks
- Make sure your news is relevant and newsworthy. You might be excited that you’ve got a new coffee machine in the office, but this probably won’t make the front page!
- Include high-quality photos – we recommend sending both a portrait and landscape image for the journalist to choose from
8. Look for directories
Getting links on directories can help boost your backlinking profile and make people more aware of you.
Even if you can’t get a backlink on specific directories, you can still get a welcome SEO boost through NAP citations.
By adding your business Name, Address, and Phone number to directories, you can show your business is active, increasing the chances of ranking high in local searches.
Which directories should you choose?
Some directories offer more value than others. While some directories are great for SEO, others are full of spammy, low-quality backlinks which can hurt your link-building efforts.
In our experience, the best types of directories to target are:
- Industry-specific and niche directories
- Directories on highly-regarded, trustworthy websites (for example, council and government websites)
- Local directories
Make sure the directories you choose are relevant to your business.
9. Get in touch with brands you mention
Here’s an easy way to get links from relevant companies. If you mention a business in a piece of content, for example, a blog post or a case study, drop the website owners a line to let them know.
Chances are that they’ll want to tell their supporters about the good publicity they’ve received, and that may mean a fresh new backlink for you.
Even if they don’t link to the content on their website, they may still mention you on social media or in an email – free publicity for your site!
How many backlinks do you need to see results?
Quality is far better than quantity when it comes to backlinks.
You’ll see more benefit from one high-performing, relevant website than one hundred spammy, low-quality sites.
While backlinks are important, they’re not the only deciding factor when it comes to SEO. Factors like on-page optimisation, site speed, and the user experience all play a part too.
So the honest answer is… it depends!
10. Create ‘link bait’ content
Link bait is content on your website that you create specifically to build backlinks.
Examples of good link bait content include how-to guides, infographics, interactive tools and quizzes (like the one above), opinion pieces and research studies. Essentially, anything that provides so much value to readers that they feel compelled to share it with others.
The benefit of link bait content is that you can get lots of links for less work.
You don’t have to reach out to individual publishers, and if you create evergreen content, you can continue to earn backlinks for years afterwards.
Top tips for creating content that brings in the links
- Do your research before you create your content. Look at what your competitors are publishing and see where there’s a gap in the market
- If relevant, add reliable sources of data to your link bait and cite your sources. This makes your content more trustworthy
- Regularly review your link bait and update it with new information to keep it fresh and engaging
- Avoid being sensationalist or saying things that aren’t true. This can hurt your brand in the long term
Remember: choose your backlinks carefully
Getting backlinks can be a long and complicated process, but the results are worth it.
It’s best to be selective about the sites that link back to you. While buying hundreds of low-quality website links might be tempting, this approach can result in potential problems.
Slow and steady wins the race when building your backlink profile!
If you need a little extra help with your SEO strategy, our team of specialists is here to make sure you rank as high in Google search as possible. Get in touch today and take the first step towards more organic traffic for your business.
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