10 Sources for Free Backlinks

Which backlink source fits your website?

Start with sources that already have a real connection. A local craft business needs different references than a software project. “Free” means here: You do not buy a link. Research and editorial work take time; for associations, we require an already existing membership.

A publicly visible profile link is not automatically an editorial ranking reference. Platforms can provide links with nofollow or ugc Mark or exclude the profile page from indexing. Therefore, also evaluate whether suitable people can find your website.

1. Google Company Profile: Filing the Right Website

Suitable for: Eligible local companies, such as a shop or a service provider with personal customer contact. A pure online project is not justified solely because of a website.

Here's how you go about it: Search your business first in Google Maps. Claim and confirm an existing profile instead of creating a duplicate. Leave a reachable website that matches the location and keep your name, address and contact details up-to-date.

Example: An electrician from Bonn links his location page with services and contact. The profile serves above all to guide interested parties to the right operation; it is not a guaranteed ranking backlink. Entry: Setting up Google Company Profile.

2. Bing Places: Complete an existing company entry

Suitable for: local businesses whose customers also use Bing and its card offerings. Bing Places Provides free company listings.

Here's how you go about it: Check whether an entry already exists and accept or confirm it. Check the website address even after importing from another company profile. Paid promotional offers are not required for this step.

Example: A holiday home links to its own booking and information page. Use a permanent destination address without a session ID. Expect additional access for visitors, no promised effect on Google rankings.

3. Professional and project profiles: link where you work

Suitable for: People and companies that are actually active on a specialist platform. For developers, this can be a GitHub profile; for a speaker, his profile at the organizer.

Here's how you go about it: Complete the project description and, if provided, the website reference in your existing profile. Link to a technically appropriate project or author page. The GitHub documentation for profile design describes for this, among other things, the profile README.

Example: A developer explains in her profile a well-maintained plugin and refers to its documentation. Empty profiles on dozens of platforms for just one link, on the other hand, do not help readers.

4. Partner and supplier sides: show real cooperation

Suitable for: Companies with existing customer, supplier or integration relationships. The prerequisite is a cooperation, which both sides can publicly name.

Here's how you go about it: Check partner directories, reference pages and case studies of your business partners. Suggest a factual addition: project goal, your contribution and a suitable detail page. The other editorial team decides whether a reference is useful.

Example: Manufacturers shall identify an authorised assembly company in their installer search. Do not request a mutual link and do not build a large-scale link exchange list.

5. Existing Association Memberships: Check the Member Profile

Suitable for: Companies that are already members of a professional association, guild or regional network. Not every organization publishes member profiles with website link.

Here's how you go about it: Search for your name in the public directory of members. For an existing profile, supplement the current domain, areas of expertise and contact data via the responsible office or the member area.

Example: An engineering office corrects an old domain in its existing association profile. A new paid membership just because of a link is expressly not one of the free measures of this list.

6. Municipal and regional registers: apply for a suitable entry

Suitable for: local businesses, associations and tourist operators. Possible contact points are the economic development of your city, the municipal branch directory or the official tourism portal.

Here's how you go about it: Search for "[city] company directory" or "[region] tourism host". Check operator, reception conditions and costs. Use only a suitable free listing; a paid ad package is a different decision.

Example: A local bicycle workshop complements opening hours and website on the city portal. A well-maintained regional directory is more relevant than a list of any web catalogue without a recognizable audience.

7. Unlinked Mentions: Add an Existing Source

Suitable for: Companies or authors already mentioned in press articles, project reports or technical contributions.

Here's how you go about it: Look for your distinctive name in quotes, for example "Beispielbetrieb" -site:example.com. Open every hit: Is the mention actually about you, and would the original source help readers? Then individually ask for a supplement.

Example of a short request: “In your post, you mention our research on loading time. The methodology and full results are under [URL]; if that helps your readers, you can add to the source there.” A claim to a link does not arise from this.

8. Lost Backlinks: Repair Old Destination Addresses

Suitable for: Websites after a relaunch, domain change or deleted content. Here a new link does not necessarily arise; an already existing reference becomes usable again.

Here's how you go about it: Check known linked landing pages from the Search Console Links report or your backlink list with the HTTP status code checker. Recover accidentally deleted content or set up a permanent redirection to the content-matching following page.

Example: A specialist article also refers to /ratgeber-alt.html. The content is now under /ratgeber/thema. Redirect directly to that. Not every old URL belongs on the start page; without a suitable replacement, a clear error status makes more sense.

9. Expert interviews: contributing as a comprehensible source

Suitable for: Persons with their own experience, data or a reasoned professional assessment. A mere advertising text does not fulfill this purpose.

Here's how you go about it: Find industry media whose target group fits your knowledge. Answer a specific expert inquiry or suggest a narrow question with a documentable contribution. Provide an author page or original source; the editorial team decides on the linking.

Example: An energy consultant explains three frequent measurement errors to a specialist magazine and proves them with a documented practical case. A purchased “expert placement” with a promised link is not a free interview.

10. Editorial guest contributions: closing a concrete knowledge gap

Suitable for: Authors who can provide an independent, technically appropriate contribution for an actually read industry medium.

Here's how you go about it: First, read the existing posts and author guidelines. Suggest a missing topic with a short outline and your own example. References only belong where they provide evidence or meaningful deepening.

Example: An agency describes a traceable technical relaunch and refers to the documented test steps. Avoid guest article series with interchangeable text and always the same keyword link. Google calls such ranking manipulation patterns in its Guidelines for link spam.

Check success: visitors and appropriate references instead of link sets

1. Write down the source, destination URL, date and why the link makes sense for readers.
2. Check if the landing page is reachable and fits the announcement.
3. Observe referral visits and relevant requests in your web analytics. The Search Console Links report is a supplementary, not complete overview.
4. Compare the development of the landing page over a longer period. Individual ranking changes do not prove the effect of a particular backlink.

Have you exhausted these basics? The Five other backlink sources show how own data, tools and templates create a concrete reason for editorial references. Explaining the basic principles Backlinks and Link building.