Where good backlinks come from
A site links to you when linking helps its readers. That happens in a few repeatable situations. A resource page collects useful tools. A "best X" article lists products in a category. An old article points to a page that no longer works. A blog mentions your brand but forgot the link. Each one is a chance to ask.
The common thread is relevance. The page already covers your topic, so your email is not a cold favor. It is a fix or an improvement for something the editor already cares about.
Ways to get backlinks, compared
Here are the main ways to get backlinks, what they take and which BacklinksBot plan runs them for you.
| Way | What you ask for | Effort by hand | BacklinksBot plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resource pages | A spot on a list of useful tools | Medium | All plans |
| Listicle inclusion | A place in a "best X" article | Medium | All plans |
| Broken link building | Replace a dead link with your page | High | All plans |
| Unlinked brand mentions | Turn a mention into a link | Low | All plans |
| Lost link recovery | Restore a link that disappeared | Low | All plans |
| Competitor link copying | Get links from your rivals' linking pages | High | Growth and Agency |
| Link insertions | Add your link to an existing article | Medium | Growth and Agency |
| Guest posts | Write an article for another site | High | Growth and Agency |
| Digital PR and journalist requests | Give a quote or data to a writer | High | Growth and Agency |
One analysis, no signup. The first five targets with DR, strategy and why they fit.
Find my link gapsHow to get backlinks in six steps
Done by hand, these steps take hours per link. BacklinksBot runs all six for every prospect and shows each one on the pipeline board. You can read how it works on the how it works page.
- 1 List your top competitors and pull the pages that link to them but not to you.
- 2 Keep only pages on your topic, with real readers and a public contact.
- 3 Match each page with a strategy: a resource list, a dead link, a mention, a listicle.
- 4 Write a short email that names the page, explains the fit and offers your link.
- 5 Follow up once or twice if there is no reply, then stop.
- 6 When the link goes live, check the anchor and rel, and keep an eye on it.
Ways to get backlinks that can hurt you
Some shortcuts look cheap and fast. Google's spam policies treat links made to manipulate rankings as link spam, and sites caught in link schemes can lose rankings. Avoid these.
- Private blog networks built only to sell links.
- Bulk comment and forum links posted by scripts.
- Paid links without rel="sponsored", which Google asks for on any paid placement since 2019.
- Link exchanges at scale, where sites trade links for no reader reason.
How BacklinksBot gets backlinks for you
You enter your site and, on Growth and Agency, a goal such as ten DR50+ links a month under $2,000. The bot finds link gaps, scores targets on the BacklinksBot DR scale, finds public contacts, writes personalized emails and sends them from your connected mailbox. It sends up to two follow-ups, sorts replies, drafts answers, and confirms each link on the page. Every live link is monitored weekly on Starter and daily on Growth and Agency.
Every email carries a one-click opt-out and your sender details. You can approve each email, or switch to autopilot on Growth and Agency. We never charge per link, and the bot does not promise a link count. It shows you real progress instead.
How long it takes to get backlinks
Outreach moves faster than most people expect, and rankings slower. The first replies usually come within days of the first emails. Links from unlinked mentions and broken link fixes often go live within a few weeks, because the editor only needs to change one line. Listicle inclusion and guest posts can take longer, since they depend on the editor’s update schedule.
Ranking changes come later still, and depend on your niche, your content and your competitors. That is why it helps to see progress on a board instead of waiting for rankings alone. You can see each prospect move from Contacted to Replies to Links live, and know the work is happening.
The pace you can sustain matters more than a burst. A steady flow of relevant links each month is safer and more useful than a large batch at once.
Start with the pages you are missing
Run the link gap demo on your domain. It lists pages that link to your competitors but not to you, pages that list similar products, and pages that mention you without a link. The first five targets show their DR, strategy and why they fit. When you are ready to send, plans start at $199 a month, or $99 a month billed yearly, on the pricing page. Want to learn one strategy in depth first? Start with broken link building.
Questions people ask
How can I get backlinks to my website?
Pitch pages that already link to sites like yours: resource pages, "best X" lists, pages with dead links, and pages that mention you without a link. Personal outreach and a polite follow-up do most of the work.
How do I get backlinks fast?
Unlinked brand mentions and lost link recovery are usually the quickest, because the site already knows you. Other strategies take longer. Avoid paid shortcuts that break Google's spam policies.
Can I get backlinks without paying for them?
Yes. Most outreach links are earned by offering something useful, such as a fix for a broken link or a better resource. Some publishers ask for a fee, and those links should carry rel="sponsored".
How many backlinks do I need?
It depends on your niche and how strong your competitors are. The link gap analysis shows how many relevant pages link to them but not to you, which is a practical starting point.
Is it safe to automate getting backlinks?
Automating research, writing and follow-up is safe when contacts are public, every email has an opt-out and sending stays within daily caps. Automating spam links is not, and BacklinksBot does not do it.