How to Get Backlinks for a New Website (Fast, and Without Risky Shortcuts)

Why a new site needs links early

Backlinks do three jobs for a new domain:

1. Discovery: search engines find new sites largely by following links. A site no one links to is crawled slowly.
2. Trust and authority: links from relevant, established sites are one of the signals search engines use to judge whether a page deserves to rank.
3. Referral traffic: a link on a page people read sends visitors directly.

You do not need hundreds. In our experience, the first 20-50 relevant referring domains are what move a new site from invisible to ranking for its long-tail terms. Beyond that, the number you need depends on your competition. See how many backlinks you need to rank.

Layer 1: foundational links (week 1)

These are easy, legitimate, and establish that your business exists:

• Social and community profiles: LinkedIn company page, X, GitHub organization, Product Hunt maker profile, Indie Hackers, Crunchbase.
• Business listings relevant to you: industry associations, local business directories if you serve a location, your accelerator or university's startup list.
• Tool and integration directories: if you integrate with a platform, apply to its app marketplace or partner directory.
• Founder bios: podcasts, conference pages and communities where you have a profile.

Many of these links are nofollow, and that is fine. They help discovery, brand searches and a natural-looking profile. Our dofollow vs nofollow guide explains why a healthy profile contains both.

Layer 2: launch and directory links (weeks 1-4)

Launch platforms and curated directories give you links plus real visitors:

• Launch platforms: Product Hunt, BetaList, Hacker News (Show HN), Uneed, Peerlist, DevHunt, Microlaunch, Fazier.
• Software directories and alternatives sites: AlternativeTo, SaaSHub, G2, Capterra, SourceForge.
• Category directories: AI tool directories for AI products, extension directories for extensions, developer tool lists for dev tools.

Choose relevant, moderated directories. Mass-submitting to hundreds of low-quality "directory" sites is the kind of pattern Google's link spam policies describe. Our list of 100+ launch directories is grouped by type so you can pick the relevant ones.

Layer 3: create one linkable asset

Cold outreach for "please link to my homepage" rarely works. Outreach for "here is a useful resource your readers would like" works much better. Before outreach, build at least one asset:

• Free tool: a calculator, generator, checker or converter related to your product.
• Original data: a survey, an analysis of public data, or anonymized aggregate data from your product.
• Definitive template or checklist: genuinely more complete than what ranks today.
• Visual explainer: a diagram or flowchart of a confusing process.
• Open-source repo: for developer products, see GitHub SEO.

A good test: would a blogger in your niche link to this even if they never used your product? If not, keep improving it.

Layer 4: outreach that gets replies

Build a list of 50-100 relevant pages that would naturally reference your asset: resource pages, recent articles on the topic, "best tools" lists, and posts that mention an outdated resource.

Outreach template:

"Hi Priya, I read your guide to freelance pricing. Really liked the section on day rates. You mention that calculating a minimum rate is tricky. We built a free freelance rate calculator that factors in taxes and unbilled time: [link]. If it is useful for your readers, feel free to reference it. Either way, thanks for the guide."

Rules:

• Personalize the first line with something specific from their page.
• Offer value for their readers, not a favor for you.
• Never offer payment for a dofollow link; that is a link scheme under Google's policies.
• Follow up once after a week, then stop.

Expect a 5-15% positive response rate for well-targeted outreach with a strong asset.

Layer 5: digital PR and expert quotes

Journalists and bloggers constantly need expert input. Ways to get quoted with a link:

• Source-request platforms where journalists post queries; respond fast with a concise, quotable answer and your credentials.
• Data stories: pitch a surprising finding from your original data to reporters who cover your industry.
• Podcasts: niche podcasts need guests and almost always link to guests in show notes.
• Guest articles on respected sites in your niche, written to teach, with at most a natural bio link. See our guest posting guide.

These links are usually the most valuable you will get, because they are editorial and from sites with real audiences.

Anchor text and velocity

Two things make a link profile look natural:

• Anchor text: most links to a new site should use your brand name, your URL or generic text ("this tool", "their guide"). Exact-match keyword anchors in large numbers are a classic sign of manipulation, and Google's spam policies specifically mention keyword-rich anchor text in large-scale guest posting campaigns.
• Velocity: steady growth beats sudden spikes. Twenty links over two months from varied, relevant sources looks normal; 500 links in a week from unrelated sites does not.

Track every link you earn in a sheet or dashboard: URL, date, anchor, rel attribute, and whether it is still live.

Speeding it up safely

If you need links faster than outreach allows, focus on placements that are relevant, in real content, and on sites with genuine traffic. Ask any provider:

• Is the link placed in a relevant, editorial article, or a page created only to hold links?
• Does the site have real organic traffic, not just a high DA or DR?
• Can you see every placement, with the live URL, before and after?

Our backlinks service places links on three owned, high-traffic domains and a network of 30+ partner sites, typically live within 24-72 hours, with every link visible in a client dashboard. Whatever route you choose, understand Google's position first: read buying backlinks: risks and safe alternatives.