How to Get Free Backlinks in 2024

Backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors for websites. The more relevant, high-quality backlinks point to your site, the better it will perform in search engine results pages. However, getting backlinks can be difficult and expensive if you have to pay for each one.

The good news is that there are still many free ways to get backlinks in 2024 without spending any money. This article will outline several effective free backlink building strategies that are still working in 2024 and which you can implement starting today.

Getting Guest Posts Published

One of the best free backlink opportunities is getting your articles published as guest posts on other blogs and websites in your industry or topic. Guest posting allows you to gain backlinks from authoritative domains while also providing valuable content to readers. Some tips for getting guest posts accepted:

Research websites in your niche that accept guest posts and have decent domain authority. Reach out to their editors with a well-written pitch email.
Offer truly unique, informative content the site’s readers will find valuable. Avoid thin content or content they could easily write themselves.
Be patient. It may take multiple pitches to get a positive response. Build relationships by commenting on sites you want to guest post on.
Include 1-2 internal links back to your site within the body of the post and a brief bio link at the end. Ask the editor if they have any linking guidelines.

Content Partnerships & Link Exchanges

Developing content partnerships with other sites can yield mutual backlinks over time. Both parties create unique content for the other’s site with internal links to strengthen SEO for their own domains. Some partnership possibilities include:

Collaborate on how-to guides, case studies, or top 10-style posts where you each take different sections or angles.
Do a link exchange with sites in your space – you write a featured resource for them with their link and they write one for you with your link.
Look for influencers or sites profiling experts in your industry to interview or guest post on – include links to your services.

Social Signals & Mentions

While not true backlinks, social signals and mentions can help raise your profile and point traffic back to your site. Spend time each week engaging strategic social profiles:

Follow influences and comment on their Facebook or Twitter posts with valuable feedback.
Share and engage with relevant industry news on LinkedIn to build connections.
Repurpose your best blog content as social updates with links back and relevant hashtags.
Monitor brand/company mentions and thank people sharing positive feedback about your business.

Linkable Resources

Create and optimise freely accessible resources like guides, templates, checklists etc and promote them to get natural links:

Infographics, free mockups and templates other creators want to feature or link to from their articles.
Landing page optimized ‘Top 10’ or ‘How To’ guides perfect for sites to excerpt and link to in roundups.
Regularly updated resource pages like link directories or glossaries in your niche worth linking to.
Ebooks, webinars or lead magnets you trade links for or other incentives for shares and links.

Local Citation Building

If your business has a local presence, focus on optimizing citations across local directories and maps like:

Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Bing Places & Maps
Industry-specific directories in your city/region
Local review sites like Yelp, Yahoo Local
Chambers of commerce, visitor bureaus

Consistent updates and verification of your business listings will earn natural backlinks from these authoritative local sources over time.

Link Baiting with Curated Content

Carefully craft front-page blog posts with topics you know will be shared widely like commonly asked questions, breaking news stories, or ‘best of’ lists.

Some baiting strategies include:

Posting visual guides or charts other sites want to embed directly on their pages.
Quickly summarizing major industry events or announcements as they happen.
Compile comprehensive keyword-optimized roundups other websites will want to excerpt from.
Leverage current events or pop culture trends into evergreen, linkable posts.

Monitor social shares and engagement and reach out to thank sites linking to or featuring your content. Over time, this planting of linkable seeds will bear fruit.

Conclusion

There are many free strategies businesses of any size can leverage to begin earning quality backlinks to their website without any out-of-pocket costs. Focus on creating valuable, informative content while engaging strategically across publishing platforms and you’re bound to see your link profile strengthen naturally over time through thoughtful link building. Get started with a few of these tactics today and be patient – consistency is key to search engine success through free backlinks.