What are the best sites to get backlinks from?

The best backlink sources are relevant sites your audience actually reads, where an editor decides what gets published. Think industry publications, resource pages in your niche, podcasts and interviews, and reputable directories specific to your field. A single link from a respected niche site outweighs hundreds from generic "submit your URL" directories.

Do free backlink sites work?

Most of the "free backlink sites" lists you'll find are low-quality directories and profile pages that pass little or no authority, and some can even look manipulative to search engines. Free links from genuinely relevant sources do work. That includes resource pages, press coverage from reporter requests, and reaching out when a site mentions you without linking. What matters is relevance and whether a real editor chose the link, not the price.

How do I get backlinks for a new website?

Start with links you can control or easily earn. That means a few relevant niche directories, your own profiles, and partners or suppliers who list their customers. Then move to links you have to earn. Get quoted by journalists, contribute a guest article, and reach out to resource pages you belong on. Avoid buying links in bulk. For a new site, that's the fastest way to look spammy.

Are paid backlinks a good idea?

Buying links violates Google's guidelines and carries real risk. At best you waste money on worthless links. At worst you get hit with a manual penalty. The exception is legitimate paid placements that are clearly marked as sponsored, which pass no ranking value by design. For ranking, links you earn are both safer and far more effective.

Link building

Where to get backlinks that actually count

Forget the "1,000 free backlink sites" lists. Most of those links do nothing, and some hurt. Here's where good links genuinely come from, ranked by effort, plus how to tell a link worth chasing from one worth ignoring.

Brad Williams·Updated Jul 2026·3 min read

Search "backlink sites" and you'll drown in listicles promising 1,000 free places to get backlinks. Here's the uncomfortable truth: most of those links do nothing, and a chunk of them can actively hurt you. Good links don't come from a submission form. They come from relevant sites choosing to point at you. This guide is the honest map of where those links actually live, ranked by effort rather than by how easy they are to spam.

The one test every link source has to pass

Before any tactic, one rule cuts through the noise:

Would a human click it and expect to find you?

If a link would make sense to a real reader on a relevant page, it's worth chasing. If it only exists to feed a search engine, such as a generic directory, a link farm, or a comment signature, it's worth ignoring. Relevance, and whether a real editor chose the link, is the whole game.

Where good links come from, easiest first

Tier 1: Control or easily earn (start here)

Relevant niche directories. Not "free directory list" spam. These are the specific, respected directories for your industry that buyers actually use.
Profiles and partners. Your own verified profiles, plus suppliers, partners, and integrations who list customers. Low effort, legitimately yours.
Unlinked mentions. Sites that already named you without linking. This is the single easiest real link to get: just ask. (See how to check backlinks using Google to find them.)

Tier 2: Earn with a pitch

Resource and "best of" pages. Curated lists you genuinely belong on. If a competitor is listed, you often can be too. That's the core idea behind replicating competitor links.
Guest contributions. A real article, a fresh angle, in a publication your audience reads.
Podcasts and interviews. Almost always come with a link in the show notes, and they're easier to land than a byline.

Tier 3: Earn by being link-worthy

Journalist requests (HARO-style press). Answer a reporter's query well and you earn a link from a publication you could never pitch cold.
Original data, tools, or research. The compounding play: make something worth citing, and links accrue without outreach.

One relevant Tier-2 link

AR 68 / 100

One editorial link from a site your buyers read beats a thousand from directories nobody visits. A score can't tell the difference. A human can.

The "sites" to walk away from

Not all backlink sites are neutral. Steer clear of:

Generic "submit your URL" directories with no editorial standards.
Paid link networks and PBNs. These are a manual-penalty risk, not a shortcut. (A PBN is a private network of sites built only to sell links.)
Comment and forum-signature spam. Ignored at best, flagged at worst.

A quick tell: if the same list of sites shows up in every "free backlinks" article, Google sees the same spam signal you do. Some of these links cross into genuinely harmful territory. That's what finding and removing toxic backlinks is about.

See which good sites already link to your rivals

See how we surface a competitor's relevant, replicable link sources. Run a free scan on any competitor, no account needed.

Open the free checker →

Where to actually start

If you're staring at a blank link profile: convert your unlinked mentions this week, add yourself to two or three resource pages you belong on, and answer one journalist request. That's five real links from relevant sources. They are worth more than any thousand-site directory dump, and none of them come from a "free backlink site."

Frequently asked questions

What are the best sites to get backlinks from?: The best backlink sources are relevant sites your audience actually reads, where an editor decides what gets published. Think industry publications, resource pages in your niche, podcasts and interviews, and reputable directories specific to your field. A single link from a respected niche site outweighs hundreds from generic "submit your URL" directories.
Do free backlink sites work?: Most of the "free backlink sites" lists you'll find are low-quality directories and profile pages that pass little or no authority, and some can even look manipulative to search engines. Free links from genuinely relevant sources do work. That includes resource pages, press coverage from reporter requests, and reaching out when a site mentions you without linking. What matters is relevance and whether a real editor chose the link, not the price.
How do I get backlinks for a new website?: Start with links you can control or easily earn. That means a few relevant niche directories, your own profiles, and partners or suppliers who list their customers. Then move to links you have to earn. Get quoted by journalists, contribute a guest article, and reach out to resource pages you belong on. Avoid buying links in bulk. For a new site, that's the fastest way to look spammy.
Are paid backlinks a good idea?: Buying links violates Google's guidelines and carries real risk. At best you waste money on worthless links. At worst you get hit with a manual penalty. The exception is legitimate paid placements that are clearly marked as sponsored, which pass no ranking value by design. For ranking, links you earn are both safer and far more effective.

Keep reading

How to replicate a competitor's best backlinks

The outreach playbook for earning the links below.

Dofollow vs nofollow backlinks

Which of these sources actually pass authority.

How to analyze a competitor's backlink profile

Find which of these sources already link to rivals.

How to find and remove toxic backlinks

Recognize the "backlink sites" that hurt more than help.

Types of backlinks, with examples

What each source actually gives you, and what it is worth.

How to get backlinks

The method for earning links from the sources below.

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