In SEO, backlinks work somewhat like votes in an election. When you create a link to another website, it is as if you are voting for it and signaling to Google and users that its content is relevant and trustworthy.
If you want to learn more about a website’s backlinks, check out our recent guide on external links and discover how to use them to improve your SEO.
In this article, we provide you with several backlink lists. This will allow you to analyze their quality and maximize your chances of improving your rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs).
How to get free backlinks for SEO
Backlinks are important for increasing visibility and boosting your website’s SEO. There are many methods that allow you to obtain free backlinks.
However, it is important to understand that having high-quality inbound links is preferable in order to achieve satisfactory SEO results.
Link-building campaigns should be carefully managed to avoid penalties from Google. Indeed, when links are identified as being inserted unnaturally, you may face sanctions. Therefore, it is essential to understand the different methods for obtaining authoritative backlinks
Here you have several methods to obtain free backlinks
| Method | Quick Description | Difficulty |
| Create quality content | Full articles, case studies, infographics → naturally attract links | Easy (requires consistency) |
| Use social media | Share useful content on LinkedIn, X, etc. for visibility and mentions | Easy |
| Forums & communities (Ninja linking) | Helpful answers with subtle link integration | Intermediate (needs tact & expertise) |
| Online directories | Register in niche or B2B directories | Easy |
| Guest blogging | Write guest posts on blogs in your niche | Intermediate (research + writing) |
| Link exchanges | Reciprocal or triangular backlinks with partners | Easy |
| Backlinks on client sites | Insert links (footer, blog) where relevant | Intermediate (relevance matters) |
| Skyscraper Technique | Improve existing content and outreach to linking sites | Difficult (time-consuming) |
| Create free tools | Tools like word counter, converters attract links | Intermediate (technical skills) |
| Referral system | Reward users who bring clients | Intermediate |
200+ Backlink List by Category (Updated 2026)
H3: Web 2.0 backlinks sites
| Platform | DA | URL |
| WordPress.com | 90+ | https://wordpress.com/start |
| Blogger.com | 90+ | https://www.blogger.com/about/ |
| Sites.Google.com | 90+ | https://sites.google.com/new |
| Medium.com | 90+ | https://medium.com/ |
| Tumblr.com | 70–89 | https://www.tumblr.com/register |
| Weebly.com | 70–89 | https://www.weebly.com/ |
| Wix.com | 90+ | https://www.wix.com/ |
| Jimdo.com | 70–89 | https://www.jimdo.com/ |
| Strikingly.com | 70–89 | https://www.strikingly.com/ |
| Site123.com | 70–89 | https://www.site123.com/ |
| Webnode.com | 70–89 | https://www.webnode.com/ |
| Yola.com | 50–69 | https://www.yola.com/ |
| Ucoz.com | 50–69 | https://www.ucoz.com/ |
| Over-Blog.com | 50–69 | https://en.over-blog.com/ |
| LiveJournal.com | 70–89 | https://www.livejournal.com/ |
| DeviantArt.com | 70–89 | https://www.deviantart.com/join |
| HubPages.com | 70–89 | https://hubpages.com/ |
| Bravenet.com | 50–69 | https://www.bravenet.com/ |
| Pen.io | 50–69 | https://pen.io/ |
| Page.tl | 50–69 | https://www.page.tl/ |
| Kinja.com | 70–89 | https://kinja.com/ |
| Webs.com | 50–69 | https://www.webs.com/ |
| Zoho Sites | 70–89 | https://www.zoho.com/sites/ |
| Tripod.lycos.com | 50–69 | https://tripod.lycos.com/ |
| Angelfire.lycos.com | 50–69 | https://www.angelfire.lycos.com/ |
| Rediff Blogs | 70–89 | https://blog.rediff.com/ |
| Start.me Sites | 50–69 | https://sites.start.me/ |
| Issuu.com | 90+ | https://issuu.com/ |
| About.me | 70–89 | https://about.me/ |
| Carrd.co | 70–89 | https://carrd.co/ |
| Notion.site | 70–89 | https://www.notion.so/ |
| Substack.com | 70–89 | https://substack.com/ |
| Quora Spaces | 90+ | https://www.quora.com/spaces |
| Medium Publications | 90+ | https://medium.com/ |
| GitBook.com | 70–89 | https://www.gitbook.com/ |
| Beacons.ai | 50–69 | https://beacons.ai/ |
| Tilda.cc | 70–89 | https://tilda.cc/ |
| Leadpages.net | 70–89 | https://www.leadpages.com/ |
| Webflow.com | 70–89 | https://webflow.com/ |
| Read.cv | 50–69 | https://read.cv/ |
| Canva Sites | 70–89 | https://www.canva.com/websites/ |
| Google Docs Publish | 90+ | https://docs.google.com/ |
| Google Drive Public | 90+ | https://drive.google.com/ |
| Note.com | 70–89 | https://note.com/ |
| Typehut.com | 50–69 | https://typehut.com/ |
| Edublogs.org | 70–89 | https://edublogs.org/ |
| Webgarden.com | 50–69 | https://www.webgarden.com/ |
| MyStrikingly.site | 70–89 | https://www.strikingly.com/ |
3. Business Directory Backlinks
| Platform | URL | DA |
| annu.e-monsite | http://annu.e-monsite.com/ | 92 |
| gralon | https://www.gralon.net | 88 |
| annuaire-web-france | https://annuaire-web-france.com | 44 |
| net-liens | http://www.net-liens.com | 43 |
| el-annuaire | https://www.el-annuaire.com/ | 40 |
| ociwen | http://www.ociwen.com/ | 39 |
| noogle | http://www.noogle.fr/ | 38 |
| tagbox | http://www.tagbox.fr/ | 38 |
| toplien | http://www.toplien.fr | 38 |
| toncinema | http://toncinema.online/annuaire/ | 32 |
| seopowa | https://seopowa.com/annuaire/ | 31 |
| supernova-annuaire | https://www.supernova-annuaire.fr/ | 31 |
| acheterdesvues | http://acheterdesvues.fr/annuaire | 27 |
| sitopolis | https://www.sitopolis.com/ | 27 |
| hoodspot | https://hoodspot.fr | 25 |
| referencementdansgoogle | https://referencementdansgoogle.com/annuaire/ | 24 |
| premiumreferencement | https://premiumreferencement.com/annuaire/ | 23 |
| openbuzz | https://openbuzz.in/annuaire | 18 |
| streamingclub | https://streamingclub.net/annuaire/ | 17 |
| waz | http://waz.one/annuaire/ | 17 |
| betadeals | https://betadeals.net/annuaire/ | 15 |
| acheter-du-seo | http://acheter-du-seo.fr/annuaire/ | 13 |
| Platform | URL | Domain Authority |
| YouTube | https://www.youtube.com | 100 |
| https://www.facebook.com | 96 | |
| Blogger | https://www.blogger.com | 91 |
| https://www.reddit.com | 92 | |
| Medium | https://medium.com | 95 |
| Quora | https://www.quora.com | 93 |
| Telegraph | https://telegra.ph | 93 |
| Scribd | https://www.scribd.com | 94 |
| https://www.linkedin.com | 99 | |
| Coursera | https://www.coursera.org | 92 |
| Fiverr | https://www.fiverr.com | 92 |
| Academia | https://www.academia.edu | 93 |
| AboutMe | https://about.me | 92 |
| Flickr | https://www.flickr.com | 92 |
| Tumblr | https://www.tumblr.com | 77 |
| Slideshare | https://www.slideshare.net | 94 |
| Notion | https://www.notion.so | 57 |
| https://www.pinterest.com | 94 |
How to analyze your backlinks?
For backlinks to positively impact your website’s SEO, regular monitoring is essential. You should use multiple free tools, but also consider paid tools for more comprehensive and valuable insights.
Google Search Console – Track your website’s backlinks
Google Search Console provides information about the total number of backlinks and the websites linking to you. It also helps identify top-linked pages and the most influential anchor texts.
However, it does not allow you to analyze competitors’ backlinks. The backlink data is also more limited compared to tools like Ahrefs, Majestic SEO, SEMrush, or Moz Link Explorer.
Ahrefs – Industry-leading backlink analysis tool
With one of the largest backlink indexes in the world, Ahrefs is a top choice for backlink analysis. Its crawlers continuously scan billions of web pages.
It provides:
- Total number of backlinks
- Referring domains
- Average backlink quality score
- Detailed data for each linking page (anchor text, traffic, etc.)
Ahrefs offers a 7-day trial for $7.
Majestic SEO – Analyze your backlinks and competitors
Majestic SEO allows you to analyze both your backlinks and those of competitors. A free version is available but limited. Full access requires at least $50/month.
SEMrush – Backlink analysis & keyword research
SEMrush helps you analyze backlinks and find relevant keywords in your niche. It offers a 7-day free trial, with pricing starting at around $100/month.
Moz Link Explorer – Deep backlink insights
This tool provides both basic and advanced data, including the domain authority of referring sites and other useful backlink metrics.
Backlinks: Key metrics to check before choosing a website
To determine the quality of a backlink, several factors must be considered. Here are the 7 main criteria to carefully examine when evaluating your inbound links:
Domain Authority (DA) measures the strength and credibility of a website in the eyes of search engines. This metric, developed by Moz, ranges from 1 to 100. The higher the DA, the more valuable the backlink from that website will be for your SEO.
To evaluate a domain’s authority, use specialized tools such as Ahrefs, Moz, or SEMrush. Aim for backlinks from websites with a DA higher than your own site to maximize the positive impact on your SEO.
- Ahrefs
- Moz
- SEMrush
Topical Relevance
The topical relevance between the source website and your own website is crucial. A backlink from a website covering topics similar to yours will have a greater impact than a link from an unrelated site.
Majestic SEO’s Topical Trust Flow (TTF) helps quantify this relevance. Analyze the main categories of the source website and ensure they match your industry. A backlink from a niche website in your field carries more weight than a generic link.
Website Popularity
The popularity of the source website directly affects the value of a backlink. Metrics such as monthly unique visitors or Alexa ranking provide insight into this popularity.
Use tools like SimilarWeb or Alexa to evaluate the traffic and popularity of websites linking to you. A backlink from a high-traffic website generally has a stronger impact on your search rankings.
Link Placement
The position of the link on the source page plays an important role. A link placed within the main body content carries more value than a link located in the footer or sidebar.
Prioritize backlinks that are naturally integrated into editorial content. Google especially values contextual links that are relevant to the surrounding text.
Dofollow Attribute
Dofollow links pass “link juice” and fully contribute to SEO. In contrast, nofollow links do not directly influence rankings, although they can still generate traffic.
To verify a link’s attribute, inspect the page source code or use browser extensions designed for SEO analysis. Aim for a balanced link profile with a majority of dofollow backlinks while still maintaining some nofollow links for a natural-looking profile.
Referral Traffic
A quality backlink should not only improve your SEO but also generate qualified traffic to your website. The volume and quality of referral traffic are valuable indicators of a link’s effectiveness.
Analyze Google Analytics data to evaluate traffic coming from your backlinks. Focus on links that generate not only visits but also meaningful engagement such as time on site, page views, and conversions.
Qualitative Assessment
Beyond numerical metrics, human evaluation remains essential. Writing quality, website design, and the overall reputation of the source website should all be considered.
Visit the source website and assess its professionalism, content quality, and reputation within the industry. A backlink from a respected and authoritative website in your niche will always be more valuable than a link from a lower-quality website, even if the latter has stronger technical metrics.
By rigorously applying these 7 criteria, you will be able to accurately assess the quality of your backlinks and optimize your link-building strategy. This methodical approach will help strengthen your backlink profile and sustainably improve your rankings in search engines.
Remember that quality always matters more than quantity when it comes to backlinks. Focus on acquiring high-quality, relevant, and natural backlinks to build a long-term and effective link-building strategy.
Conclusion
Can you improve your organic SEO for a highly competitive keyword without Netlinking? It’s difficult, even in 2025. Can you boost your SEO using only free backlinks? Surprisingly, yes! However, once again, I must point out that what does not require a financial investment in Netlinking often requires a significant investment of time and effort instead.
One final point: Netlinking is obviously only a complement to an overall SEO strategy. It is the factor that can help you reach top rankings, but not necessarily what gets your website ranked in the first place. Before dedicating all your energy to acquiring free backlinks, make sure to optimize your semantic content and thoroughly check your website’s technical SEO first.
