Free Backlink Sources for SaaS, New Blogs & Local Business

Not every free link source fits every site. Here they are sorted by who you are, with the ones worth doing first.

How to use this list

Free link sources are foundation work: they establish that your brand exists, make you crawlable from multiple entry points, and give you something to point at while you build real editorial links. They are not a substitute for earned coverage.

Pick the section that matches your business, work it top to bottom, and ignore the rest. Chasing every free source is how people spend a month for nothing.

Free sources for SaaS and software

• Launch platforms — Product Hunt, BetaList, Hacker News Show HN, Indie Hackers. One good launch day beats fifty directory submissions.
• Software directories with free tiers — AlternativeTo, SaaSHub, Capterra and G2 free profiles, Slant.
• Developer surfaces — GitHub org and repo READMEs, npm/PyPI package pages, Docker Hub, awesome-list pull requests where you genuinely fit.
• Integration and partner pages — every tool you integrate with usually has a marketplace or directory listing that is free to claim.
• Company data platforms — Crunchbase, LinkedIn company page, Wellfound.

Free sources for new blogs and content sites

• Publishing profiles — Medium, Substack, Beehiiv, Dev.to, Hashnode. Use them for a profile link and canonical-safe syndication, not duplicated content.
• Communities where you already participate — Reddit, niche forums, Discord resource channels, Stack Exchange profiles. Contribute first; link only when it answers the question.
• Blog aggregators and RSS directories — Feedly, Blogarama, niche curated blog rolls in your topic.
• Q&A and expert platforms — Quora Spaces, Source of Sources responses.
• Guest contributions — smaller sites in your niche will often take a well-written post from a nobody. That is your on-ramp.

Free sources for local business

• Google Business Profile — non-negotiable, and free. Complete every field.
• Bing Places and Apple Business Connect — the other two maps surfaces.
• Core citation sites — Yelp, Yellow Pages, Foursquare, Nextdoor Business.
• Chamber of commerce and BID directories — usually free or low-cost with membership, and highly local-relevant.
• Local press and community calendars — event listings, sponsorships, and "local business spotlight" columns are the easiest local links to earn.
• Supplier and franchise "where to buy" pages — ask; most brands will add you.

Keep your name, address, and phone number byte-identical everywhere. Inconsistent citations do more damage than missing ones.

Works for everyone

• Social and professional profiles with a website field.
• Your own tools, calculators, or templates published free.
• Podcast guest appearances — show notes almost always link out.
• Testimonials for products you actually use.
• Answering journalist queries via Source of Sources.

The order to work them in

1. Claim the identity surfaces (business profile, company pages, social).
2. Claim the category surfaces relevant to your type (launch, directory, or citation).
3. Publish one genuinely linkable asset.
4. Start earning: testimonials, podcasts, guest posts, journalist queries.

The full, regularly updated list lives on our free backlink sites page, and the tools that make step four manageable are in the link building tools roundup.

What to skip

• Comment-link blasts and forum signature spam.
• Bulk Web 2.0 networks built only to host links.
• "1000 free backlinks" generators — those are pingback spam, not links.
• Any source that requires a reciprocal link to accept you.