Starting a new website is exciting. But then reality hits. Nobody links to you; your domain authority is zero, and you are competing against websites that have been building backlinks for years.
The good news is that every high-authority website started exactly where you are right now. In this guide, you will learn eight proven strategies to get your first backlinks and start building a strong link profile from scratch.
Why Backlinks Matter Even More for New Websites
When your website is brand new, Google has no idea whether to trust it. Backlinks are one of the main signals Google uses to determine a site’s authority. According to research,
pages in Google’s top 10 have 3.8x more backlinks than those ranking below them. Without any backlinks, even great content will struggle to appear in search results.
Building hundreds of links overnight is not the aim of a new website. The goal is to gradually establish a consistent, organic link profile that conveys credibility. To set reasonable expectations, read our advice on
how many backlinks you actually need to rank.
8 Proven Strategies to Get Backlinks for a New Website
1. Start With Your Network
Your first backlinks do not have to come from strangers. Think about who you already know. Suppliers, business partners, associations you belong to, local business directories, and industry groups are all potential sources of early backlinks. These are easy wins that most new website owners overlook.
2. Produce Content That Is Worth Linking
Producing content that people actually want to refer to is the most sustainable strategy to get backlinks. This includes in-depth training, data-driven articles, free tools, thorough guidelines, and unique research. Other websites will naturally connect to your content when it is the best available resource on a subject.
Check out our full guide on
building relevant backlinks through great content for a deeper strategy.
3. Visitor Posting
One of the quickest strategies to gain high-quality backlinks early on is to write articles for well-known websites in your area. Find websites that welcome guest posts, suggest a subject that appeals to their readership, and incorporate an organic backlink to your website in the article or author bio
.
4. Forward to Specialized Directories
Reputable industry listing websites and specialized directories are good sources of early backlinks. Seek out directories with editorial standards that are pertinent to the sector. Avoid generic, subpar directories that accept anyone.
5. Building Broken Links
Look for pages in your niche that provide links to out-of-date materials. Inform the owner of the website about the broken link and offer your pertinent content as a substitute. It is a useful strategy that frequently yields favorable results. We take you step-by-step through the procedure with our broken backlinks tutorial.
6. Make Use of Journalist Platforms and HARO
Platforms like Help A Reporter Out (HARO) link reporters with knowledgeable sources. Register and provide insightful answers to pertinent questions. You receive a high-authority backlink from a media outlet when your reaction appears in an article. As a new website, this is one of the quickest ways to obtain editorial links.
editorial links and how writers link to you.
7. The Method of the Skyscraper
Make a far better version of the content in your region that gets the most links, then get in touch with the websites that link to it to let them know about your upgraded resource. This approach works particularly well for guide content that is lengthy or has a lot of information.
Leaving genuinely helpful comments on relevant blogs and participating in niche forums can generate early referral traffic and some backlinks. While comment links are typically nofollow, they still contribute to a natural link profile. Read our tips on
comment backlinks for SEO.
What to Avoid When Building Backlinks for a New Site
- Never buy links from link farms or bulk link sellers
- Do not submit to hundreds of low-quality directories at once
- Avoid exact-match anchor text on every backlink you build
- Do not use automated link – building software
- Avoid links from completely unrelated niches. Relevance matters. See our guide on finding competitor backlinks to understand what quality links look like in your niche,
How to Monitor Your Development
Track the development of your backlinks over time using
Google Search Console. It is free and displays the pages that are receiving the most links, the websites that are linking to you, and whether any human measures have been taken against your website.
For more details,
Ahrefs’ free backlink checker lets you see the full backlink profile of your site and your competitors.
Speed Up Your Results
If you want to skip the hard work and get high-quality backlinks built for you,
Backlinkier’s link – building service for new websites can accelerate your growth with manual, white-hat backlinks from real high-authority websites in your niche.
Explore more tips in our
insights section.
