55 Free Backlinks You Can Build This Week (High Authority Sites List)
55 free backlinks you can build this week, from business profiles to community links, with an honest note on nofollow links and a day by day plan.
Free backlinks have a bad reputation, and most of it is earned. The internet is full of lists that promise thousands of free links and deliver a pile of dead directories nobody has visited since 2015. This list is different in one important way. Every entry here is a place a real business would want a profile anyway, and the link is a side benefit, not the whole reason for being there.
That distinction matters. A link from a profile you actually maintain looks natural because it is natural. A link from a directory you created, never touched again, and forgot about is just another line in a spreadsheet. Build the first kind, skip the second, and this list will do real work for you.
The honest truth about free backlinks first
Most free backlinks are nofollow. That means they do not pass ranking credit in the direct way a followed editorial link does. They still help, in three quieter ways. They diversify your link profile, which makes the followed links you earn later look more natural. They send referral traffic from people who actually click profiles. And they help Google discover and understand your site, especially a new one that has few links of any kind.
So do not judge this list by how many followed links it gives you. Judge it by whether each profile makes your business easier to find. If it does, the link is a bonus. If it does not, skip it even if it is free.
Business profiles (10 free backlinks)
These are the ones to do first, because customers find you through them whether you claim them or not.
Google Business Profile, the listing that shows up in Maps and local search.
Bing Places, the same idea for Bing and its partner search results.
Apple Maps listing, claimed through Apple Business Connect.
Yelp business page, even if you never plan to chase reviews there.
Trustpilot business profile, useful for any company that sells online.
TripAdvisor listing, if your business serves travellers or a local area.
Yellow Pages online listing, old fashioned and still crawled constantly.
Hotfrog business directory listing.
Brownbook business listing.
Your local chamber of commerce member directory, if membership is free or you already belong.
Social profiles (10 free backlinks)
Social links are almost always nofollow, but they are the links Google expects a real brand to have. A site with strong editorial links and no social presence looks odd.
LinkedIn company page, with your website in the contact section.
X profile, website field filled in, not left blank.
Facebook business page, website in the about section.
Instagram profile, link in bio pointing to your homepage or a landing page.
YouTube channel, website link in the channel description.
Pinterest business profile, website claimed and linked.
TikTok profile, website link once your account qualifies for one.
Reddit profile, website field completed, used lightly and honestly.
Quora profile, credentials and website link filled in properly.
Medium profile, bio link back to your site.
Business directories (10 free backlinks)
Pick the directories that fit your industry. A software company on a restaurant directory is noise, not a link.
Crunchbase company profile, for startups and tech companies.
Product Hunt product page, if you have a product to list.
Clutch company profile, for agencies and service firms.
G2 product profile, for software products.
Capterra listing, also for software.
Behance or Dribbble portfolio, for designers and creative studios.
GitHub profile and organisation page, for developers and dev tools.
Wellfound company profile, for startups hiring or fundraising.
Manta business listing.
Foursquare venue listing, for any business with a physical location.
Content platforms (10 free backlinks)
These give you a link and a place to publish. The link only counts if the content is worth reading, so treat these as publishing channels, not link dumps.
Medium publication or personal blog, with original articles, not copies of your site content.
Substack newsletter, with your site linked in the about page and each issue footer.
WordPress.com blog, a genuine side blog on a topic you know well.
Blogger blog, same rule, original posts only.
DEV Community profile and articles, for developers.
Hashnode blog, also for developers and technical writers.
HubPages article, on a topic with real search demand.
Vocal media story, if your niche fits its categories.
Quora answers, genuinely helpful answers with a link only where it truly helps the reader.
Reddit posts and comments, in communities where your expertise is welcome, never as spam.
Community and relationship links (10 free backlinks)
These take more effort than a profile, and they are worth more for exactly that reason.
Niche forums in your industry, with a completed profile and real participation.
Stack Exchange profile, built by answering questions well.
Indie Hackers profile and product page, for founders.
Industry association member directory, if you qualify for membership.
Alumni directory or university business listing, if you are a graduate.
Meetup group organiser page, if you run events.
Local event listings, for workshops, talks, or markets you take part in.
Podcast show notes, earned by appearing as a guest, which costs time, not money.
Supplier or partner pages, by asking a business you already work with to list you.
Testimonial pages, by writing an honest testimonial for a tool you use, with your site credited.
Five quick wins to finish the list (5 free backlinks)
Broken link suggestion: find a resource page in your niche with a dead link, tell the owner, and suggest your page as a replacement.
Resource page suggestion: pitch a genuinely useful guide to a curator who already links to similar content.
Unlinked brand mention: search for your brand name without a link, and politely ask the author to link it.
Local news mention: send a local journalist a short, real story about your business, not a press release dressed up as news.
Image credit: if sites use your images, infographics, or photos, ask for a credit link back to the source page.
Your week, day by day
Monday: business profiles, numbers 1 to 10. These are the fastest wins and the most valuable for local visibility.
Tuesday: social profiles, numbers 11 to 20. Fill every field properly. A half finished profile is barely better than none.
Wednesday: directories, numbers 21 to 30, but only the ones that fit your industry. Skip the rest without guilt.
Thursday: content platforms, numbers 31 to 40. Publish one good piece, not ten thin ones. The link follows the content.
Friday: community links and quick wins, numbers 41 to 55. Send the emails, make the asks, and track replies in a simple spreadsheet so you can follow up next week.
Mistakes that waste a free link building week
Chasing quantity over fit. Ten relevant profiles beat fifty random directories. Relevance is the filter for every entry on this list.
Copying the same description everywhere. Write a fresh two sentence description for each profile. Identical text across fifty sites is a footprint, not a strategy.
Leaving profiles half finished. An empty profile with a link looks exactly like what it is. Complete profiles get clicked, and clicks are the point.
Paying for a free list. If someone charges you for a list of free directories, they are selling you this article with worse formatting. The directories themselves are free.
Expecting rankings from free links alone. Free backlinks are the foundation, not the house. If you want to know how many links you actually need to compete, our guide on how many backlinks you need to rank works through the numbers, and if you ever decide to buy placements, our guide on how to buy backlinks safely covers how to vet a seller before you pay.
Frequently asked questions
Are free backlinks safe?
Yes, when they come from real profiles and real participation. They become risky only when they are built at scale by automation, on sites with no relevance to you.
How long do free backlinks take to show up?
Profiles usually get indexed within days to a few weeks. Their effect on rankings is gradual and small on its own, which is normal. Think months of steady profile and content work, not a weekend miracle.
Do nofollow free backlinks help SEO at all?
They help discovery, referral traffic, and profile diversity. They rarely move a competitive ranking on their own. That is why they sit alongside earned and paid links, not instead of them.
Should I build all 55 in one week?
You can, if you have the time, but spreading them over two weeks with complete profiles is better than rushing all 55 half finished. Quality of profile beats speed of submission.
The bottom line
Free backlinks work when they are a byproduct of being visible in the right places. Claim the profiles your customers would look for anyway, publish something worth reading on one or two platforms, and make five genuine asks to people who already know your work. Do that every month, not just this week, and the foundation under your other link building gets stronger each time.
If you want editorial links as well, see our free guest posting sites list next.
