Backlink strategies remain as important today as ever. In an AI era, I find myself preaching to my clients about the importance of backlinks more than I ever have in the last 10 years as an SEO consultant.
Why?
Because of AI search and expertise, experience, authority, and trust signals (EEAT).
![→ Download Now: SEO Starter Pack [Free Kit]](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/53/1d7211ac-7b1b-4405-b940-54b8acedb26e.png)
As Google’s traditional search, Google’s new AI Mode, and tools like ChatGPT pull insights from across the web to answer natural-language questions, they often cite websites with strong authority signals.
High-quality and relevant backlinks remain one of the strongest indicators of website authority. Authority tells search engines your content can be trusted. If you want your brand to stand out in both traditional and AI-driven search results, earning credible backlinks is non-negotiable.
In this article, I’m breaking away from the “guest post and pray” mindset. You’ll find 14 white-hat ways to earn backlinks, along with the tools to make the process simple.
Table of Contents.png)
Complete SEO Starter Pack
An introductory kit to optimize your website for search.
- Increase your organic traffic.
- Plan your keyword strategy.
- Debunk SEO myths.
- Build a blog strategy.
Download Free
All fields are required.
What are backlinks?
A backlink (also called an inbound link) is a link that comes from another website to yours. Visually, the link could be placed in a text, on an image, or as a button — as long as the source is a different website, all of these connections count as backlinks. In SEO, backlinks are essential because they are one of the most crucial ranking factors for all major search engines.
Why are backlinks important?
While there are 200 known Google ranking factors, backlinks are a key factor in Google’s search algorithm.
That’s because a link to another website is more than just a link — it’s a vote of confidence, a recommendation, a way for publishers to say to their readers: “Here’s a source I trust. Go check it out yourself.”
And when a trusted source is happy to be affiliated with your brand through a link, that’s a signal to Google that your site can also be trusted.
In some ways, backlinking serves as the digital equivalent of word-of-mouth recommendations.
In modern-day SEO and beyond, backlinking will continue to be a crucial pillar of effective SEO. As AI search evolves, more of my clients want to be found in AI for searches, including searches like “best [product/service] for…”
Here’s the thing with “best for…” type content, whether in AI or in traditional Google search, the search tools tend not to share your website.
Why?
Well, you can’t write an article on why you’re the best and expect search tools to trust and rank it in the top spots. If I thought it was possible to do that, I’d just upload a page to my website titled “best SEO consultant,” and call it a day.
The tools prioritize third-party credibility in these spots.
The following screenshot shows an example from AI Mode. I searched “best CRM for startups,” and the first recommendation was HubSpot.
Is HubSpot cited as the source?
No. Listicle articles on trusted third-party websites are cited as references. These websites have given HubSpot the title of “best,” which is a lot more trustworthy than HubSpot saying that about itself.
These articles mention HubSpot, explain why it’s the best, and link to the HubSpot website.
Backlinking goes beyond links and recommendations to a site. Gabi Theard, marketing communications manager at Texas Blue Action, says:
“A link-building strategy doesn’t just increase your SEO score and visibility on Google. It also shows readers where your company falls in relation to other brands — and reminds readers that there is, in fact, a human behind the screen. Backlinks can demonstrate a relationship between two sites and how each works to help the other grow.”
“Plus, backlinks help readers get the highest degree of information that answers their questions.”
High-Quality Backlinks
Not all backlinks are created equal, and the quality of a backlink matters.
If you think of a backlink as a vote of confidence, it only makes sense to evaluate the credibility of that vote.
High-quality backlinks originate from other relevant websites, ideally those that are authoritative. For example, if your article about AI SEO were cited by someone who writes for HubSpot, that would be considered a high-quality link because HubSpot is a well-known, authoritative site. It’s also highly relevant. HubSpot’s website falls under the marketing category, and someone discussing AI SEO would also be categorized under marketing.
If you acquire backlinks simply because you can, from anywhere, but they’re not relevant or high-quality, then you’ll do your website and backlink strategy a disservice. For example, a veterinarian linking to an SEO consultant is rather suspicious.
In the past, tactics such as link farms, PBNs, and comment spam enabled black-hat SEOs to create extensive backlink profiles and successfully manipulate the system. However, these black-hat link-building techniques are no longer effective because Google has become savvy to them.
Specialists at Editorial.Link, a high-end backlink-building agency, claims that it is not necessary to have hundreds of links pointing to your website.
In fact, even obtaining 20-30 high-quality links can significantly boost your website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).
You’ll want links that are:
- Authoritative. The site has an authoritative backlink profile (many votes of confidence), generates a lot of traffic, and even ranks well in the SERPs itself. Additionally, .gov and.edu sites tend to carry more weight, as do industry-leading websites.
- Relevant. The referring page tackles a similar topic or niche. In my opinion, relevancy is more important than authority, but a site that has both is best.
- Unique. You will gain an edge if the site mentions you but not your competitors. Otherwise, the backlink may be beneficial, but it’s table stakes.
- Natural. The link is not sponsored, the anchor text is not branded or spammy, and the referring page has a natural number of links.
For a real-world example of a company that used these backlinking rules to rise to the top of the search pages, check out our video case study on Glassdoor.
How to Get Backlinks
- Reclaim unlinked mentions.
- Get contextual links.
- Get 'Best X' list mentions.
- Become a source for other publishers.
- Use HARO, Help a B2B Writer, or Featured.
- Reach out to journalists.
- Update old content.
- Build free tools.
- Publish ultimate guides.
- Use images to earn links & mentions.
- Use directories (yes, directories!).
- Use the broken link building method.
- Use niche edits and links insert techniques.
- Write guest posts.
To help you improve your company’s SEO ranking, I’ve compiled this list of creative and unique ways to earn backlinks.
1. Reclaim unlinked mentions.
Reclaiming unlinked brand mentions is likely the easiest and quickest way to build high-quality backlinks.
All you need to do is keep an eye on who is mentioning your brand, on blogs or in the news. You can do that using something as simple (and free) as Google Alerts.
With Google Alerts, you set up alerts so that you receive an email every time a keyword is mentioned on the web. More often than not, you’d set up alerts for your brand name, your name, or the name of key stakeholders in the company — basically, anyone who’s mentioned in articles or in the press.
Alternatively, you can try the site:search query, type in your brand name, and exclude your own website. I wrote a full article on using the site:search here.
For backlinks, you need to know this site search: -site:yourwebsite.com [Your Brand Name].
Here’s what the search looks like for HubSpot:
The first page of this search nearly always returns the brand’s social media pages, but if you scroll down the SERPs, you’ll often uncover blogs or articles that mention your brand without linking to it. That’s gold dust reclaiming unlinked mentions.
Sticking with the HubSpot example, a quick search shows a partner’s article discussing their HubSpot services. HubSpot’s brand name is there, but the link isn’t. If HubSpot wanted to strengthen its backlink profile, this would be a simple, highly relevant win.
The creative part of this tactic is that you can use the same method to reclaim links for other mentions related to your brand, including events you organize, employees’ names, research reports, and more.
For example, you can keep a lookout for interviews that feature your company’s executives and ask for a link back to their profile page on your website. Or, you can look for mentions of reports or statistics you’ve published and ask for a proper link attribution to the source.
Pro tip: When reaching out for links, you must write a compelling email that is polite and warmly received by the recipient.
Stewart Dunlop, the founder of the link-building agency LinkBuilder.io, explains why this works so well:
“Nowadays, website owners and editors are bombarded by link builders using low-quality outreach strategies. Fortunately, for those willing to take the time to send polished and well-thought-out outreach emails, this presents a real opportunity.
“The beautiful thing about unlinked mentions is that the website you’re reaching out to has already mentioned your brand, so there’s a real reason for your being in their inbox. A polite and friendly email is often enough to do the trick, and our win rate for this type of campaign is considerably higher than any other type of link-building strategy.”
2. Get contextual links.
Some publications are happy to feature additional resources, either recommended in text or inside a “Read more” section. These links embedded in the text of an article are called contextual links.
Here’s an example from Search Engine Land:
In their article, they include a “further reading” section, which links to a Semrush study.
The key to getting contextual links is to find the right link prospect to reach out to. You can find them by researching articles that are related to the content you’re promoting.
For instance, let’s say you have a new study on email marketing. Try looking for articles that discuss marketing trends and recommend other relevant resources. You could enhance your search for articles that have further reading or “read more” sections by using a search like:
- marketing trends inurl:blog intext:”Read more”
- marketing trends inurl:blog intext:”Recommended articles”
- marketing trends inurl:blog intext:”Recommended reading”
- marketing trends inurl:blog intext:”further reading”
When you reach out to the author to pitch your study or content, don’t forget to mention why your content is worth getting featured. A persuasive boilerplate and a personalized email will go a long way.
Theard says, “Once you get into the habit of earning backlinks, you may start to notice that other publishers come to you directly. With the right relationship-building strategy, publishers come to you rather than you inquiring to them.”
She adds, “Relationship-based backlinks are critical, as opposed to simple (and frequent) link exchanges. Google can, and will, pick up on backlink publications that are whimsy; a backlink for a backlink is not a good backlink.
“A relationship-based backlink is accepted by Google through relevant keywords, the credibility of websites, and a genuine effort to have website referrals be at the top of calibers.”
3. Get “Best X” list mentions.
I’ve already mentioned the importance of “Best” type listicle content. If you want to be mentioned in AI search, or in “best…” search results, you need third-party credibility.
Today’s consumers look for all available options before making a purchasing decision. They often use comparison websites or articles, like “Best AI Tools for B2B Marketing,” to see what others recommend.
Perhaps more importantly, AI tools cite the information from these articles. So, when your prospects are searching within AI, your site can still come up, via the content on a trusted third-party website.
To understand how popular these Best X articles are in your industry, use a keyword research tool and check for monthly search volume.
For instance, there are more than 15,000 searches per month for the query “best CRM for small businesses” and its variations (according to data from Semrush).
Getting mentioned in articles that list the best products like the one you offer is a fantastic way to reinforce your brand, get more people to try out your product, and, of course, earn high-quality backlinks.
Alex Birkett, cofounder of Omniscient, explains why getting featured on these lists is so important for your business. He says, “If you look at these search results in terms of pure click-through rate, there’s an upper limit on how much traffic you can bring to your own product page by ranking on your own site’s listicle.
“If you can broaden your view from trying to rank #1 to trying to monopolize all of the sites on the first page of a search query, you can multiply the amount of click-throughs to your site, your website traffic, and, down the line, your sales volume.
“And that's not even factoring in the less trackable aspects, such as social proof and brand awareness. In other words, this tactic goes beyond just link building and taps into acquisition and brand awareness potential, too.”
To get your product or service included in a list round-up, start with a simple Google search to find high-ranking blogs that write about your product or industry.
Here are some useful search terms to help you find relevant prospects:
- Best [X]
- Best [X] for [Y], e.g., Best CRM for entrepreneurs
- Top [X]
- Top [X] for [Y], e.g., Top 10 CRM for small businesses
Collect the most relevant prospects in a list and prioritize them based on domain authority (or Authority Score if you’re using Semrush), backlink profile, ranking, and referral traffic potential. There are also tools like Smartlinks that help you filter web pages not only by DR, Traffic, and Spam score, but also by the type of page, including listicles, guides, and more.
Once your final list is ready, write a brief pitch for the author to explain why your product or service deserves to be included in their list.
As with any outreach campaign, a short, persuasive pitch and a customized email will help you stand out. Make sure to also make an effort to connect with the recipient. You want your email to stand out as genuine and personalized, not just another cookie-cutter pitch.
4. Become a source for other publishers.
Your own marketing is a key factor in backlinking. If you become a trusted source in your industry, people will start reaching out to you for quotes or ask you to appear on their podcast.
Every time someone quotes you, you’ll earn a backlink. But high-domain authority backlinks aren’t the only benefit of this tactic (although they are a huge benefit on their own).
By establishing yourself as a trusted source, you’ll enhance your brand awareness and attract referral traffic to your website. Plus, you’ll create higher levels of E-E-A-T signals. As more brands trust and link to you, the higher your E-E-A-T.
In the last month or so, I’ve been featured on four podcasts. All the podcast hosts came to me because I have a reasonable brand and authority in the marketing and SEO category. I post to LinkedIn daily, and I have built a following of over 30,000 people. Naturally, some of those I’m connected with have their own exciting endeavors, and they want to share my insights and cite me (with a backlink) in their podcast or on their blog.
Here are some authoritative websites that link to my site and drive traffic to my website. Thanks to backlinks from HubSpot, Search Engine Land, and Moz, amongst others, I have relevant traffic coming to my website.
My own branding has been a significant tactic in achieving high-quality backlinks for my own site.
5. Use HARO, Help a B2B Writer, or Featured.
HARO, Help a B2B Writer, and Featured connect journalists with experts.
You can use these tools to build links simply by sending a timely pitch to a journalist.
This isn’t as difficult as you might think, as long as you do link building appropriately.
To start, you just subscribe to one or all of the websites above. They’re all free services, but some have premium features. For my own link building and for small clients, I’ve not needed to pay for the features; the free version has been enough.
Here’s how it works — every day, the tools send you an email with queries from writers in your industry. You can pick the ones that resonate with your business and respond via email, including your credentials.
Speed is crucial here, as most of these writers receive numerous submissions. If you’re among the first to respond, you have a higher chance of being seen and selected for the final piece.
If you’re selected, you’ll likely receive an email from a journalist or blogger letting you know the article is live.
I really like all of these tools, but I have to admit that I think Featured has the best UX, and it’s the tool with which I’ve had the most success. The following screenshot is from my Featured account, showing a list of some of my published quotes. Two are in top websites, GoDaddy and Entrepreneur:
Based on my experience with HARO, it typically takes around four weeks for an article to be published after you submit your response.
Even if you don’t receive a follow-up email from the writer, keep an eye on the publication to see if your quote makes it into the piece.
Pro tip: You can set up Google Alerts to receive an email every time something goes live with your name in the content.
I found that, on average, two out of every 10 answers are selected. That isn’t too bad, but if you’re like me, you don’t want to waste those eight other answers that don’t get to be published.
Bonus tip: Take notes of quotes that don’t get used so you can use that valuable content. I suggest creating a backlog of content and using it to answer similar questions on Quora, LinkedIn, or even your own blog or social media channels. Or, you can rework the answer and pitch it to another journalist in the future. Just because you weren’t picked up this time, doesn’t mean the content isn’t good.
Although I prefer Featured, I’ve had considerable success on HARO and Help a B2B Writer as well.
In my opinion, two of the best guides on sending HARO pitches are:
- How to Write a HARO Pitch that WORKS
- How to Get Quoted in the Media 5 Times in 1 Month Using HARO [Bonus: It’s FREE]
I read both of those articles several years ago and still recommend them today.
P.S. See what I did here? That’s two highly authoritative backlinks from HubSpot to The Content Factory, which wrote both of those articles. Well, I say I did it, I just added the links. It was they who wrote comprehensive guides that deserve the link in the first place! Kari DePhillips, founder at The Content Factory, knows what she’s doing when it comes to earning links, and this tactic is Publish Ultimate Guides, which I cover a bit later.
6. Reach out to journalists.
Bloggers and journalists are bombarded with emails pitching them information that is too promotional and doesn’t add value to their readers. That’s why many outreach emails don’t get any responses.
However, there are effective methods to make your pitch stand out. Paddy Moogan, founder of The New Leader, explains how his team uses this tactic successfully to earn high-quality backlinks for their clients:
“We take an individual from a client’s company, usually the founder, managing director, or CEO (although it can be anyone, really), and get them to provide us with their views and opinions on a set of topics.
“These topics should be a sweet spot between what their company is credible to talk about, and general newsworthy topics. Classic examples might be ‘What [timely news] means for the [category] industry’ or ‘What the future of [category] industry is in the world of AI or automation.
“These broader topics are being talked about a lot in the press, so tying it to a topic that your client can talk about allows you to approach journalists and offer their comments for any upcoming articles.
“They often link to you because of this and will also often link to profile pages on your client’s website, as well."
Jeff Previte, director of content and training at Bluleadz, also told me a tip on how their agency stands out when pitching journalists:
“When we conduct outreach for new link-building opportunities, we like to use HubSpot video in our emails. We record a short video introducing ourselves and our company.
“After the introduction, we briefly explain how our content can deliver value to their audience and suggest what they can link to. This lends a human element. Most link-building outreach comes from cold email templates.
“With a video, we give recipients a name, a face, and a voice they can associate with our company. That small touch helps us stand out."
Complete SEO Starter Pack
An introductory kit to optimize your website for search.
- Increase your organic traffic.
- Plan your keyword strategy.
- Debunk SEO myths.
- Build a blog strategy.
Download Free
All fields are required.
7. Update old content.
If you come across an article or a research report on someone else’s site that hasn’t been updated in a while, check how many backlinks the piece has. If there are many publications referencing that content, and the content is still relevant, then you’ve found yourself a real gem.
You can simply go ahead and create a better, fresher piece with more relevant data.
Once the content is live, you can then reach out to bloggers or journalists who’ve linked to the old content to let them know about your updated version.
Oftentimes, you’ll see the results of your outreach in a matter of days or weeks in the form of backlinks or social media shares. However, other benefits arise from building that relationship in the first place.
For instance, you might end up collaborating on other projects that can help you grow your brand and your traffic.
8. Build free tools.
Creating free tools, such as calculators or template generators, is an effective method for earning links and generating new leads.
Why?
Because they’re fairly difficult to create, when you create a useful asset, others will prefer to link to it rather than create it themselves.
Here’s how to get started:
- Start with keyword research and see what comes up for “templates,” “tools,” or “generator” in your industry.
- Check out what tools appear in the Top 10 search results for those keywords.
- Try to determine which tool or generator currently receives the most backlinks.
- Build something similar but significantly better, e.g., with improved design, more customizable options, etc.
For example, take HubSpot’s Email Signature Generator. There are over 29,000 searches for “signature generator” on Google each month, and HubSpot’s tool offers a simple, aesthetically pleasing solution.
According to Semrush data, since HubSpot launched it, it’s been highly used and recommended, having earned over 11,000 backlinks from over 2,000 referring domains. It’s well cited in AI search tools like ChatGPT as well.
9. Publish “ultimate guides.”
An Ultimate Guide is a piece of content designed to be the best, most comprehensive resource on a given topic.
It covers enough information that you don’t need to go elsewhere to learn more about that subject. I’ve already sent two links to naturally written, comprehensive guides (the HARO guides from The Content Factory).
HubSpot creates long-form guides, too.
Here are two examples from the HubSpot blog:
The reason why these Ultimate Guides attract inbound backlinks is that they help bloggers and journalists reference a concept they mention.
For instance, if someone writes an article titled “How to get started with SEO,” they can focus on a few tips and tactics without explaining, in-depth, what SEO is — instead, they can simply link to an SEO Ultimate Guide if their readers have further questions.
HubSpot’s Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing has over 30,000 backlinks from over 5,000 domains.
Here’s an example of the guide being cited:
Alex Birkett also uses this approach on his personal blog.
Here’s how he explains it, “An Ultimate Guide doesn’t have to explicitly tell you it is an Ultimate Guide. It must go above and beyond in its utility or perceived value.
“For example, I recently wrote a 6,500-word guide on A/B testing. It ranges from beginner issues to advanced topics and fringe cases.
“Basically, it’s a bookmarkable article for anyone who runs A/B tests. Not only did it get a really solid initial spike of traffic from social shares, but it consistently gains organic links month-by-month.”
10. Use images to earn links and mentions.
Infographics are probably the most common visual asset used to earn backlinks. As a writer, I often turn to Google Images to find infographics to include in my articles, supporting my points and adding a visual element.
When I add an image, I credit the source.
Here’s an example from another HubSpot article I wrote. In the following screenshot, you can see my content about data-driven decision making and a model from Eric Colson. Below, where it says “Source” is a link from HubSpot’s article to the page the infographic came from.
If you feel infographics don’t work well for your brand, here are a few other visuals you might consider creating:
- Charts and graphs with original data.
- Diagrams to visually explain complex concepts.
- One-page templates.
- Free photo galleries for others to use.
To give you an idea of how other brands use free photo galleries, check out this creative campaign from LinkedIn: The Real Face of Sales. The brand has created a free, downloadable library of photos featuring real, non-clichéd salespeople.
The photos are also available on Unsplash and Pexels (where they got over 35 million views), which helped with distribution.
11. Use directories (yes, directories!).
Despite what you may have heard, directories aren’t dead. In fact, they are probably one of the best ways to improve your local SEO and help potential customers find your business.
Of course, I’m not referring to spammy directories that exist solely for the purpose of acquiring links. Those are more likely to harm your SEO performance than anything else.
The directories you need to be on are the ones people actually use — like Google My Business, Yelp, and TripAdvisor. Beyond these famous ones, there are many other general and niche directories that can help your rankings and traffic.
Pro tip: Conduct your own research and look for directories specific to your niche. Look at what’s available locally, too. For example, your local chamber of commerce or large networking communities might have directories you can join. If it feels like a good decision for business, then it’s probably not a spammy directory.
Here are a few resources to help you find relevant directories:
- 21 Web Directories That Still Have Value (Search Engine Journal)
- Top Local Citations by Business Category (BrightLocal)
- 600+ Directory Sites and How To Do Directory Link Building (Linkio)
12. Use the broken link building method.
This tactic involves reaching out to a website that has a broken outbound link (a link to an external source) and suggesting they update it with a link to one of your pages.
Of course, your page has to be a good resource on the topic to which they were originally linking. It must make sense for the website to swap the broken link with yours.
The reason this tactic works so well is that it adds a ton of value to the webmasters you’re pitching to.
Why?
- It helps them fix an error on their website.
- It saves them from having to research alternative link options.
- It improves the experience for their readers.
The challenge with this tactic, of course, is finding these broken links.
You have a couple of options here:
- You can search for websites with broken links and find relevant resources on your own website that you might suggest as an alternative.
- You can look for one dead page (404) that used to get many links, recreate that article, or offer better, more relevant content, and then reach out to those who linked to the initial piece.
Either way, you’ll need a good SEO tool to help you identify broken links.
You can try Siteliner, which is free if you have under 250 pages to review, or Semrush, which also published a guide on how to use the broken link-building method in 2025 using their tool.
Once you have identified the target websites and prepared your content, you can begin working on your outreach. Make sure to keep your email short and sweet and focus on being helpful rather than just getting a backlink.
13. Use niche edits and link insert techniques.
Niche edits (also known as link inserts) are one of the most efficient and natural ways to build high-quality backlinks. Instead of creating new content from scratch or pitching guest posts, this method involves adding your link to existing, relevant content on another website.
Here’s how it works:
- You identify an article that’s already ranking well and aligns closely with your topic or target keyword.
- You reach out to the site owner or editor and suggest adding a link to your relevant page — ideally in a way that enhances the reader’s experience or adds supporting information.
- They agree your request is worthy of a link and they add it.
Because the content is already indexed and trusted by search engines, your link benefits from that existing authority.
When done properly, this approach can deliver fast, powerful results without the overhead of creating new posts. As Sheikh Shadi Shuvo, the founder of Backlink Express, explains, “Building links is an art, and focusing on high-quality links over quantity helps to boost ranking on search engine results immediately, and using niche edits/links insert technique is the fastest way to build quality links.”
14. Write guest posts.
Guest posting is a backlink tactic that feels as old as SEO itself! Over the years, guest posting has received criticism, but I strongly think that guest posting is as valuable as it always was.
The concept is simple: You write a valuable article for another website in your niche, and in return, you earn a backlink to your own site.
The key is to approach it strategically. And this is where people go wrong.
Forget spammy guest posts on irrelevant sites, that’s black-hat territory, and that’s the inefficient guest post rubbish that gets a bar rep. Instead, focus on publishing genuinely useful content on reputable, topic-relevant sites where your target audience actually spends time.
When done right, guest posting delivers more than just a backlink.
It builds:
- Credibility thanks to the affiliation with another website or company in your industry.
- Traffic thanks to shared, relevant audiences.
- Relationships are important because you have to connect with people within your industry.
Start by identifying websites that are owned by people you already know or are connected with. Pitch a few fresh, high-quality ideas that fit their audience, and make sure any link you include adds real value to the reader. Over time, this approach compounds, positioning you as both a thought leader and a trusted contributor in your niche.
Further reading:
Jenny Romanchuk has a brilliant piece of writing about guest posting. If you’re still skeptical, read her article: I built my backlink strategy on guest blogging — here’s exactly how it drove results. It’s a comprehensive piece about guest posting, including what it is, how to do it successfully, and tools to help you.
Best Free Backlinks Checkers
- Ahrefs Backlink Checker
- Semrush
- Majestic
- SE Ranking
- SEOptimer
- OpenLinkProfiler
- RankWatch
- CognitiveSEO
Now that you have a list of tactics to try out in your next link-building campaign, it’s time to ensure you also have the tools you need to succeed. Especially nowadays, there are even AI tools that can assist with your SEO and link-building efforts.
Divyesh Bhatasana, founder of Jeenam Infotech, a leading SaaS link-building agency, notes, “I’ve witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of leveraging AI in optimizing link-building strategies. AI algorithms not only streamline the process but also enhance precision, enabling us to identify high-quality backlink opportunities with unparalleled efficiency.”
Because there are so many options out there, I thought I’d end this article with a list of my top free, tried-and-tested backlinks checkers.
To make it easier for you to choose the right tool for your next project, I tested each tool to determine how many backlinks it can find, as well as the other unique features each tool offers.
I used our domain (www.hubspot.com) to test the capabilities of each tool, and here’s what I found.
1. Ahrefs Backlink Checker
With the second-most active crawler besides Google, Ahrefs has the most comprehensive backlink database, providing you with up-to-date data.
In the free version of the tool, Ahrefs shows you the Top 100 backlinks, Top 5 anchors, and Top 5 pages. That’s enough to get a birds-eye view of your website’s backlinks.
If you’d like to get into more details, the paid version offers far more extensive data and access to other tools that might be useful in a link-building campaign, like Content Explorer or Broken Outbound links, to name a few.
2. Semrush
I must admit that, between Ahrefs and Semrush, Ahrefs is often credited as the better tool of the two for checking backlinks. However, I have been using Semrush for years now and switched from Ahrefs some time ago.
Both tools are excellent, but I felt it was necessary to include both, as I use Semrush.
Semrush’s Backlink Analytics tool gives you a complete overview of your backlink profile, including referring domains, anchor text distribution, link types (text, image, form, frame), and whether links are follow or nofollow. You can also compare your backlink profile against competitors to see which domains link to them but not to you — a great way to uncover fresh link-building opportunities.
3. Majestic
Majestic has long been one of the most trusted names in backlink analysis. I’ve spoken to them a few times at SEO conferences, and I’ve always enjoyed talking to their team. I appreciate their approach to backlinking and the information available through their backlinking tool.
Unlike Semrush and Ahrefs, Majestic focuses almost exclusively on backlinks, making it one of the most specialized tools on the market for understanding link strength, trust, and topical relevance.
At the heart of Majestic’s platform are two key metrics: Trust Flow and Citation Flow.
- Trust Flow measures the quality of backlinks pointing to your site. The higher the score, the more credible your linking domains are.
- Citation Flow measures the quantity or volume of backlinks.
Used together, these metrics give you a quick snapshot of your site’s overall link health and help you identify whether you need more links or better ones.
4. SE Ranking
SE Ranking is another software that stands out for its extensive backlink analysis features. It’s similar to Ahrefs and Semrush, but it’s more affordable. I have used SE Ranking, but personally, I didn’t take to it as easily as Semrush. It is good, though, and a very good alternative if you’re looking for a more affordable option.
SE Ranking’s Backlink Checker provides essential data on any domain’s backlink profile, including the list of all referring domains and backlinks, anchor texts, and top-linked pages. All of this comes with important metrics, such as Domain Trust score, target URL, and toxicity score, among others.
If you’re looking for link-building opportunities, try the Backlink Gap Analyzer, which shows you websites that are linking to your competitors but not to your website. To track the performance of your backlinks and identify any status changes, you can use SE Ranking’s Link Monitoring feature.
Although it doesn’t offer a free version, a 14-day free trial is available, allowing you to check three domains and monitor up to 250 backlinks.
5. SEOptimer
SEOptimer picks up almost as many referring domains as Ahrefs. Additionally, what’s unique about SEOptimer is that it provides details on the top backlinks, which you can view based on Trust Flow or Citation Flow.
I think the information they provide on the free tool is super tool and it could check HubSpot’s domain in less than a minute.
However, to access more of their database, you need to switch to their paid version.
6. OpenLinkProfiler
OpenLinkProfiler is a great tool for analyzing your backlink profile. The downside is that their database of links is fairly limited compared to Ahrefs or Semrush.
Still, there are many insights you can gain (for free) by filtering the available backlinks by categories such as industry, TLDs, anchors, or LIS (Link Influence Score). That’s something I haven’t seen in other free tools.
7. RankWatch
RankWatch features a great dashboard that allows you to visualize your backlink profile. Among other things, you can view your link acquisition trend for the past three months, which includes domain acquisition and anchor distribution.
The overall summary charts are available for free. However, to view the exact list of backlinks or referring domains you’ve earned, you need to switch to the paid version.
8. CognitiveSEO
CognitiveSEO is great for getting an overall view of the total backlinks and referring domains — and, most importantly, checking your link velocity.
You can see the link acquisition trend for the past six months for free, even without creating an account. Another interesting visual report is the Top 5 website pages, where you can see how your website performs in terms of backlinks or referral domains.
All of the above tools provide valuable insights that can help you get started with link building. They all give a macro view of your backlink profile, but each comes with additional information. Try them out and see which one is best for you.
Start backlinking for better rankings in AI search and traditional search.
The best backlinks aren’t bought, begged for, or traded; they’re earned through relevance, quality content, and real relationships.
As AI search continues to evolve, authority and credibility will only become more important. Backlinks are a tangible way to build both.
If you’re new, I’d recommend starting with the following tips:
- Reclaim unlinked mentions. Easy, and if it doesn’t work out, it only takes a few hours or a day, depending on how many mentions you have.
- Become a source for other publishers. A long-term and ongoing commitment, but this is excellent for your marketing efforts more generally.
- Use HARO, Help a B2B Writer, or Featured. They’re easy to get started with, and I got results very fast from all of these, but particularly with Featured.
- Publish Ultimate Guides. Time-consuming, but very useful for marketing generally. Even if your content never earns a single backlink, you’ll get your investment back, as you can share it with your audience and use the content elsewhere, such as in emails or across social media.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in September 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
Complete SEO Starter Pack
An introductory kit to optimize your website for search.
- Increase your organic traffic.
- Plan your keyword strategy.
- Debunk SEO myths.
- Build a blog strategy.
Download Free
All fields are required.
Link Building
.jpg)
![How to Find & Add Nofollow Links to Your Website [Step by Step]](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/how-to-add-nofollow-links.jpg)
