Natural Backlinks for Beginners: How to Earn Your First 10 Links

Why Natural Backlinks Matter (And How to Get Them)

Google ranks websites with high-quality backlinks higher, but as a new site, you can’t compete with established players. The solution? Natural backlinks—links earned without outreach.

✅ More trustworthy (Google favors organic links)
✅ Long-term value (They keep working for years)
✅ No link-building fatigue (No endless outreach emails)

(Source: Google’s Link Spam Guidelines)

The “Link-Worthy Content” Strategy

Most beginners focus on asking for links instead of earning them. Create content that naturally attracts backlinks:

Types of Content That Get Links:

Original research (Survey data, case studies)
Definitive guides (E.g., “The Ultimate [Niche] Handbook”)
Local business spotlights (Interview local entrepreneurs)

Example: A bakery blog could publish “2024 Cake Trends: Survey of 100 Bakers”—local news sites might link to it.

Harness Unlinked Brand Mentions

Many sites mention brands without linking. Find these with:

Google Alerts (Set up for your brand name)
Mention.com (Free plan available)

How to Politely Request a Link:

“Hi [Name], thanks for mentioning us in your [article]! Would you consider adding a link so readers can learn more? Here’s a suggestion: [URL]”

(Source: Ahrefs’ Unlinked Mentions Guide)

Broken Link Building (The Underrated Hack)

Find broken links on relevant sites and suggest your content as a replacement.

Step-by-Step:

Find broken links: Use Check My Links (Chrome extension).
Find the site owner’s email: Use Hunter.io.
Email template:“Hi [Name], I noticed a broken link on your [page]. My guide on [topic] might be a good replacement: [URL].”

Success rate: ~15-30% (higher than guest post pitches!).

Get .edu & .gov Backlinks (Easier Than You Think)

Links like .edu and .gov sites pass strong link equity. Find opportunities via:

Scholarship pages (Many universities link to relevant resources);
Government resource lists (E.g., “Small business tools”)

Tool: Use Google search:
site:.edu "[your niche]" + "resources"

(Example: A fitness blog could target “site:.edu ‘student health resources’”)

The “Skyscraper Technique” Lite

Instead of creating 10x better content, just 10x more useful content:

Add a downloadable checklist to existing posts.
Turn a 500-word post into a step-by-step video guide.

Why it works: People link to practical resources.

(Source: Backlinko’s Skyscraper Technique)

Track Your Backlinks (Free Tools)

Use these to monitor new links:

Google Search Console (Under “Links” report)
Ubersuggest (Free backlink checker)

Key metric: Look for referring domains, not total links.

Final Checklist for Natural Backlinks

✔ Published link-worthy content (research/guides)
✔ Claimed unlinked brand mentions
✔ Fixed broken links on relevant sites
✔ Targeted .edu/.gov resources
✔ Added upgrades to old posts (checklists, videos)

Need help? Try these tools:

Ahrefs’ Backlink Checker (Free version)
LinkWhisper (Internal linking plugin)

The New Profit