"Build backlinks" is easy advice to give. Actually doing it when your website has no authority, no reputation, and no existing relationships is a different challenge entirely. Every link building guide talks about outreach — but who replies to an unknown site? Here is the honest, practical approach to earning your first backlinks even when nobody knows you exist.

Quick Answer: New sites earn their first backlinks by claiming free directory listings and citation platforms (no relationship needed), responding to journalist queries on HARO (expertise matters, not fame), finding broken links on relevant sites and offering their content as a replacement (you are solving a problem for them), and creating a genuinely useful free tool or resource that earns links passively. These tactics work without existing relationships or authority.

Step 1: Claim every free, relevant directory listing right now

Directory links are not glamorous, but they do not require anyone to know you. They are open to any business that qualifies. These are the fastest zero-relationship links available:

  • Google Business Profile — free, verifiable, directly linked to local search rankings
  • Bing Places for Business — equivalent for Bing/ChatGPT Search visibility
  • Apple Maps Connect — essential for iOS device searches
  • LinkedIn Company Page — add your website URL; LinkedIn has extremely high domain authority
  • Facebook Business Page — add your website URL in the About section
  • Industry-specific directories — search "[your industry] directory UK" and submit to any relevant free listing

Do all of these in one sitting. It takes two to three hours and immediately establishes your site as a real, verifiable entity — which also helps Google's indexing.

Step 2: Sign up to HARO or Connectively and respond to journalist queries

HARO (Help a Reporter Out), now Connectively at connectively.us, sends daily emails listing journalists who need expert sources for articles they are writing. When a journalist quotes you, they almost always link to your website.

Crucially, journalists care about your expertise and the quality of your response — not your website's authority. A genuinely insightful 200-word expert comment from a new site gets quoted just as readily as one from an established brand.

  1. Sign up free at connectively.us
  2. Set keyword filters for your specific area of expertise
  3. When a relevant query arrives, respond within one to two hours — journalists work to deadlines
  4. Keep your response to 150–250 words — specific, quotable, expert
  5. Include your name, title, and website URL at the end

Step 3: Find broken links on relevant sites and offer your content

Broken link building is the most effective outreach tactic for new sites because you are solving the website owner's problem rather than asking for a favour. The response rate is dramatically higher than cold link requests.

  1. Find websites in your niche that have resource pages or guides covering your topic
  2. Run their URL through our broken link checker to find any broken outbound links
  3. If you find a broken link pointing to content similar to yours, that is your opportunity
  4. Create or confirm you have a page that replaces the broken resource
  5. Email the site owner: "Hi, I noticed you link to [broken URL] in your guide — that page is no longer live. I wrote a similar resource at [your URL] if you want to update the link."

Keep the email short, specific, and solution-focused. You are helping them, not asking them.

Step 4: Write genuinely useful guest posts for relevant sites

Guest posting works when you offer real value to the host site's audience. The pitch that works from a new site: focus entirely on what value you bring to their readers, not on what you want in return.

  • Find sites in your niche that publish guest contributions (search "your topic + write for us")
  • Read their recent articles to understand their audience and tone
  • Pitch one specific, original article idea that fits their content — not a generic offer to write "anything useful"
  • Deliver exceptional quality — a great guest post leads to more opportunities; a mediocre one does not

Step 5: Create one genuinely useful free tool or resource

Free tools earn passive links without any outreach because people link to things that are genuinely useful. Our own broken link checker and page speed tool earn links because they solve real problems at no cost.

You do not need to build complex software. A well-organised free template, a detailed checklist, an original data study, or a genuinely comprehensive free guide can all earn links when they are the best free resource available for that specific need.

Step 6: Get links from your suppliers, clients, and partners

The most overlooked source of first backlinks: people who already know you. Ask:

  • Your suppliers — do they have a "stockists" or "partners" page?
  • Your clients — can they add a testimonial with a link on their site?
  • Professional associations you belong to — do they list members?
  • Your accountant, solicitor, or other professional service providers — many have client showcase pages

Summary: How to get first backlinks with no existing authority

  • Step 1: Claim all free directories — GBP, Bing Places, LinkedIn, industry directories
  • Step 2: Respond to HARO/Connectively journalist queries — expertise beats authority
  • Step 3: Find broken links on niche sites with our scanner and offer your content as a replacement
  • Step 4: Guest post on relevant sites with a specific, original angle
  • Step 5: Create one genuinely useful free tool or resource that earns passive links
  • Step 6: Ask suppliers, clients, and partners who already know you

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