PocketSEOHow to get your first 100 backlinks (without paying for them)
Okara @askOkara
Reviewed Jul 2026
Key Takeaway
Getting your first 100 backlinks comes down to repeatable outreach, not luck. Submit to relevant product directories, get added to competitor listicles, offer case studies to tools you use, and write guest posts for niche newsletters. Publishing original research or data earns citations over time. Broken link building — finding dead links on resource pages and offering your content as a replacement — has a low response rate but a high conversion rate on replies. Each of these tactics compounds slowly, but they do compound.
Why do most early-stage sites struggle to get backlinks?
Because they skip the boring, repeatable work and wait for links to appear organically. They don't. For a new site, you have to go and get them — one by one. The good news is that the first 100 are more systematic than creative.
According to a 2023 Ahrefs study, over 66% of pages have zero backlinks pointing to them. Most of those pages simply never tried.
What are the most reliable link sources for a new site?
Start with the channels that have a clear, predictable path to a yes:
Product directories and listings
Submit to every relevant directory in your space. Product Hunt, G2, Capterra, Crunchbase — whatever fits your category. These links are low-authority but they're fast, and they establish your site's existence to crawlers early.
Listicles where competitors already appear
Search for "best [your category] tools" or "top [your niche] software" in Google. Open the top 10 results. If three of your competitors are listed and you're not, email the author and make the case for inclusion. Keep it short: who you are, what you do, why you belong on the list.
Case studies with tools you already use
Most SaaS companies have a customer stories program. If you use a tool and have a measurable result to show for it, reach out to their marketing team. They get a story, you get a backlink from a domain that usually has real authority.
Guest posts for niche newsletters
Email newsletters that publish written content often have websites where that content lives. A guest post for a newsletter with 5,000 subscribers in your niche will drive more relevant traffic and links than a post on a generic blogging platform.
How does original research earn backlinks at scale?
Publishing something nobody else has — a survey, a benchmark report, a dataset, an experiment — gives other writers in your space something to cite. This is slower to set up but compounds fastest.
If you run a tool, you likely have data others don't. Even a small sample (50-100 responses) produces something citable. Writers need statistics. Give them yours, and they'll link back.
What is broken link building and does it still work?
Yes. Find resource pages or blog posts in your niche that link to pages that no longer exist (returning 404 errors). Tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or even the free Check My Links Chrome extension can surface these quickly.
Email the page owner, tell them the link is broken, and suggest your relevant content as a replacement. Response rates are low, but the conversion rate on replies is high because you're doing them a favor.
How do you make this work without burning out?
Batch the work. Spend one afternoon submitting to directories. Block another session for listicle outreach. Schedule one guest post pitch per week.
None of these tactics produce overnight results. But each link you earn makes the next one easier — both because your domain gains credibility and because you get better at the outreach itself.
The sites that end up with strong backlink profiles didn't get lucky. They did this exact work, repeatedly, over months.
Want the full playbook? Read our guide on Image Backlinks: The Underrated Link-Building Play for 2026.