7 Smart, Easy & Free Ways To Get Quality Backlinks For Your Website

Quality backlinks are one of the best ways to boost your site’s ranking on Google. For many bloggers who are struggling with SEO, this is one of the toughest things to develop. If you’re like them, you’re wondering how to get backlinks for free for your blog.

Backlinks are important for SEO and GEO alike. They play a role in getting your blog content ranking in Google searches and AI search results alike.

The good news is that there are some very smart, free ways to get backlinks to your site. Some require minimal effort on your part. They work well with other strategies you should be working on – like personal branding and online presence building.

In this post, I’ll go over the best blog backlink strategies for new bloggers and those who’ve been struggling to grow their sites. You’ve got lots on your plate, and these strategies won’t overwhelm your busy schedules!

They’ll help you get started growing your Domain Authority (DA) and building your online presence so you can start getting better and improve your blog monetization strategies.

Let’s get started!

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Why Backlinks Still Matter In 2026

Backlinks are an important trust signal for both Google and now AI searches.

They tell search engines that real people find your content worthwhile referencing. Backlinks also influence your Domain Authority and rankings (more on this in a moment).

Apart from SEO purposes, backlinks are now also important for AI searches. With AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity changing search, GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) focuses on getting your content cited in AI search answers.

It’s not just about ranking anymore. AI systems weigh authoritativeness and trustworthiness when it comes to citations. These are signals built through backlinks.

The strategies below build backlinks the classic way, but they’re doing GEO work too.

NOTE: While backlinks are important, it’s important to know that brand mentions (without the link) are stronger when it comes to AI visibility. Getting your name mentioned in guest posts, podcasts and through digital PR, even when a link isn’t included, is still very valuable.

Before We Look At Backlink Strategies… About DoFollow Links

The goal of focusing on blog backlink strategies is to get do follow links.

There are dofollow links and nofollow links. You ideally want do follow links, which point back to your site. They strengthen your site’s authority for SEO (i.e. Domain Authority – or DA) as search engines see other sites pointing back to yours.

It’s important to know, though, that your DA isn’t the only factor for ranking these days.

How To Get Backlinks For Free For Your Blog

Actively generating backlinks

As a part-time blogger with a full-time job, I have little time to dedicate to actively growing backlinks. So I have to be smart about my blog growth strategies and leverage other activities I’m doing at times.

There are some things that I need to regularly do as a blogger to accelerate my site’s and blog business growth. Luckily, they are also my backlink strategies.

As the saying goes, “Kill two birds with one stone.”

So let’s dive into these strategies so that you can get started getting backlinks for your blog as well!

1. Write Awesome Blog Posts That Get Ranked In Search Engine Results

One of the best ways to get backlinks for your blog is also the easiest way. Your blog posts!

Here’s the thing – you can write a blog post fast, publish it and be done with it. But if you don’t focus on the quality of the post, as well as the on-page SEO, your content will not rank in search engine results.

When you’re not ranking in searches, it’s much harder for people to find that blog post.

As a result, they aren’t linking to your post either.

So here are the key things to do:

• Publish well-written blog posts that achieve their goal of either informing, inspiring or entertaining

• When writing on popular topics, make your posts better than those of your competitors

• Optimize your posts: use on-page SEO best practices, including keyword research and include intuitive longtail keyword phrases throughout your post for more opportunities to rank in searches

PRO TIP: The best bloggers understand the value of interlinking their blog posts. They write on topic clusters – a core, general topic from which subtopics are all interlinked. This helps Google and other search engines better understand your content structure. Always plan your blog content with this in mind.

| READ MORE: How To Write Amazing Blog Posts That Turn Readers Into Followers

2. Work On Your Personal Branding

One of the easiest ways to get backlinks for your blog is by building awareness for yourself through networking with other bloggers.

Consider all the opportunities for growing backlinks through networking activities:

• Guest blogging on blogs (I’ll expand on this in a moment)
• Collaborations where your offering gets featured in a bundled offer
• Links to your posts on other bloggers’ posts
• Inclusion of your digital products (courses, ebooks, etc) in their ”Best Tools” pages
• Links to your content on their podcast or interview blog posts

This is just a brief list of opportunities!

Working on personal branding also means you inevitably build greater awareness for your site and a perception of being credible. You become a niche expert over time. As a result, your content will get referenced by others in their blog posts, etc.

PRO TIP: Make sure your About Me page is up-to-date, with concise information about the purpose of the blog right up at the top of the content. Those whom you reach out to will check your site, and I’m 100% sure they will click your About Me Page.

Here’s a free mini-workbook and template to help you figure out your messaging and content in an updated, reader-friendly About Me Page.

| Read More: Why Personal Branding Is So Important For Bloggers and Solopreneurs

3. External Linking Strategy That Builds Relationships & Backlinks

How to get backlinks for free? Add external links to other bloggers on your posts.

Why do I say bloggers and not other authoritative sites? When you publish your post, send that blogger an email letting them know you’ve included their link to your post.

This does several things:

• Lets you introduce yourself
• Makes their day that you’ve given them a backlink
• Potentially gives you a traffic boost when they share it on social media/Pinterest
• They may, in the future, link to one of your posts
• Leads to future collaboration opportunities

What kind of external links should you link to?

• Choose posts that you find are well-written
• Select those that are ranking well in Google searches
• The blogger is at a similar level as you, or just a bit above you, in terms of following
• Choose those with a decent Domain Authority (for example, DA 25+) using Moz’s free Chrome extension

NOTE: Don’t participate in a link for a link-swapping scheme. These get penalized by Google. Kept it organic: don’t place any expectations on others to link back to you.

| READ MORE: 10 Key SEO Tips For Optimizing Your Blog Posts

4. Broken Links: Pitch Yourself For Best “XYZ” Lists

Listicles are one of the smartest ways to get backlinks for your blog.

It blends networking and personal branding activities. Here’s why – ever come across an older “Top 10 list of…” that’s ranking high in search, but with links that are broken?

Wouldn’t it be awesome if your blog or product/service were featured in a “Best of” list? One of the easiest ways to get backlinks to your site is to do this:

• Find the top-ranking blog content and articles that have a list that’s relevant to your content/niche/product or service
• Check to see if any of those that are listed have outdated, broken links
• Find the key contact and send them a note, pitching yourself or your relevant link in place of the broken link
• Share out the content when it’s updated as a thank-you

PRO TIP: Make sure your content, as well as your blog in general, is professional. Web design and the user experience are important for creating a positive first impression. If your site is looking outdated, update it with a fresh theme. I use fast, easy-to-set-up professional themes for female entrepreneurs and solopreneurs from Bluchic.

| READ MORE: 10 Stunning And Functional Feminine WordPress Themes For Blogs And Solopreneur Businesses

5. Guest Blogging For Backlink Building

It’s still one of the best ways to get free backlinks for your blog, even though there are some limitations as to how to do this.

Writing guest posts on topics relevant to your niche is a fantastic way to build awareness for yourself and your site, and to get a dofollow link back to it.

For this, you’ll need to do a few things:

• Find a blogger or online publication in the same or similar niche that’s open to guest posts. Sometimes this means sending a brief email (literally two paragraphs at most) to see if there’s interest.
• Before sending an email, check to see if their Domain Authority (DA) is at least 25 or higher. You can do this using Moz’s free tools. This helps boost your site’s DA.
• If there’s interest or a submission form, pitch a few blog topics that you haven’t published before anywhere else, nor have the site you’re pitching.
• Include a bit about yourself and your site, and how you would help promote the post.

If you’re invited to submit a guest blog post, you’ll most likely be allowed to include one or two do-follow links to your site.

This is how you get a backlink to your site!

PRO TIP: Avoid reciprocal guest blogging activities. Google may deem them as black hat SEO activities. You can show appreciation for the opportunity by promoting it via social media or in your newsletter.

| READ MORE – Check out Monique Solomon’s great post on guest blogging to help you get started like a pro.

RELATED: How To Use Digital PR To Grow Your Blog Faster And Get Quality Backlinks

6. Release Original Surveys, Studies & Data

This is the “Set It and Forget It” backlink strategy that generates many backlinks for you, and increasingly now, AI mentions and citations. It keeps working long after you’ve hit publish.

Here’s how it works: when you survey your audience, poll your Facebook group, or pull data from your own blog analytics and turn it into a simple report, you create something no one else has.

Bloggers, journalists, and other content creators are always looking for a stat to cite — and when they use yours, they have to credit you with a link. You’re the source.

This is one of the easiest ways to get backlinks because you don’t have to pitch anyone. You publish the data once, and it earns links passively for months. Sometimes you may need to update the stats to keep them relevant.

Here’s how to do it without overcomplicating it:

• Survey your own audience. Use a free tool like Google Forms to run a survey or a poll inside your Facebook group to ask a handful of questions relevant to your niche (blogging habits, income, tools used, time spent, etc.)
• Use data you already have. Google Analytics, email open rates, Pinterest analytics. These all can provide you with valuable insights to share. A small data set is OK too — just be honest about it.
• Share it simply. A short blog post with 3–5 key findings, a chart or two, and a clear headline stat is enough. Repurpose your blog post for social media and newsletters. You don’t need a 20-page whitepaper!
• Give it a headline that’s easily citable. Add a quotable number — “62% of part-time bloggers said X” is far more linkable than a vague summary
• Promote it directly to people who’d cite it. Once it’s live, share it in relevant Facebook groups, tag bloggers who write on that topic, and pitch it as a source to journalist-request platforms (more on that below)

PRO TIP: Run an annual “state of [your niche]” survey every year. Once you’ve published year one, you have a built-in reason to email past linkers again next year. It gives you a natural content refresh that keeps ranking.

| READ MORE: How To Do Keyword Research Before Writing Your Blog Post

7. Pitch Yourself Through Journalist & Source-Request Platforms

You may know of HARO (Help A Reporter Out). It shut down in 2024, but it’s since been revived under new ownership. It gives journalists expert resources that they can interview and cite in their work.

However, HARO isn’t the only platform of its kind, and there are other source-request tools out there. You shouldn’t just rely on HARO.

This backlink-building tactic is genuinely one of the easiest ways to get them because you’re not the one doing the pitching cold. Journalists and bloggers are already actively seeking people like you for topical expertise. All you have to do is answer well and, most importantly, fast.

This is why it’s a time-intensive project that you need to set aside a few weeks to focus on.

A few great options to sign up for (most are free to start):

• HARO — delivering source requests by email
• Qwoted — strong for higher-authority publications, free tier available
• Source of Sources — free, run by HARO’s original founder
• Mention Match — Formerly Help a B2B Writer, is great if your niche skews business/marketing
• #JournoRequest on X and LinkedIn — journalists post live requests here, often with far less competition than the formal platforms.
• Journorequest – Threads has this as a topic that you can search through, with less competition.

I’m putting my PR professional’s hat on here and sharing how to actually get the backlink:

• Reply fast. Try to get a response to them within the first hour or two of a request going out. Speed matters more than polish.
• Lead with a ready-to-use quote, not a pitch email. Make it copy-paste easy for a busy journalist. Here’s the secret: they usually just scan the first paragraph. Make it worthwhile. Answer their question immediately in the intro.
• Provide your details. Include your name, blog/site, and one line of relevant credibility
• Be real and authentic. Skip generic, AI-sounding answers. Specific, personal experience gets picked far more often.

PRO TIP: Sign up for two or three of these rather than just one. Platforms in this space have a track record of shutting down or changing hands, so diversifying protects you from losing your only source of leads overnight.

| READ MORE: How To Use Digital PR To Grow Your Blog Faster And Get Quality Backlinks

Top 7 Ways To Get Backlinks For Your Blog

To summarize all of these points, the best ways to get backlinks for your blog are:

• Write great blog posts that get ranked in searches
• Work on personal branding to introduce your great content to others
• Add quality external links to other bloggers
• Pitch your site/post to “Top #” type listicles with broken links
• Guest blogging
• Release original surveys, studies, or data from your own blog
• Answer journalist and blogger source requests through platforms like Featured, Qwoted, or #JournoRequest

While there are many other backlink-building strategies, these are the easiest that can be part of your other blog growth strategies.

Work smart, with intention, and you’ll see your blog grow faster without as much effort.

Now that you know how to get backlinks to your blog, which method will you focus on first?

Read more on SEO here:

• How To Do Keyword Research Before Writing Your Blog Post
• SEO Title Tips: How To Write One That Gets Clicks

QUESTION: What do you think are other ways to get backlinks for your blog? Add them in the comments below!

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