How Do You Build Backlinks to a Brand New Website?
Building backlinks from zero feels impossible. It is not — but the methods that work at launch are different from the ones that work at scale. Here is where to start.
Building backlinks to a brand new website starts with the sources that link to products regardless of domain authority — directories, community resource pages, and personal mentions from founders who already know you. The playbook for a new domain is different from the playbook for an established one: you are not competing for guest posts on high-DR publications; you are earning your first 20–30 links from sources that do not require prior credibility.
Directories are the fastest first step
Product directories accept new submissions from day one and typically index your listing within 24–72 hours. Each listing creates a new indexed page pointing to your domain with an anchor text describing your product. Submitting to 20–30 relevant directories in your first month creates a foundation of real backlinks from real indexed pages — which is what Google needs to begin treating your domain as credible.
Focus on directories with genuine editorial standards: those that review submissions, show real products, and have their own organic search presence. Automated link farms add no value and can actively harm your rankings.
Community resource pages and "tools for X" lists
Most active online communities — Slack groups, Reddit communities, Discord servers, and niche forums — maintain pinned resource lists or wiki pages. These are high-value link placements because they come from active, moderated communities that Google treats as genuine. Identify the top 5–10 communities where your target customer is active and find where tools are listed. Contribute genuinely to the community before suggesting your product for the resource list.
Guest posts on founder blogs
Guest posting on high-DR publications is not realistic for a new domain — your pitch will not be accepted. But guest posting on the blogs of founders in adjacent spaces is very realistic. A 1,000-word post on someone's personal blog or company blog gets you a real backlink, exposes you to their audience, and starts a relationship that may compound over time. Pitch with a specific post idea that is genuinely useful to their audience — not a thin mention of your product.
HARO and journalist queries
Help a Reporter Out (now Connectively) sends daily emails with journalist queries looking for expert sources. When a journalist covers a topic in your domain, a well-written 100-word response can earn a link from a publication with a DR of 70+. The success rate is low — expect to respond to 20 queries to earn one link — but the quality of link you get when it works is difficult to replicate by any other method at this stage.
Your own profiles and public properties
Every social profile, forum bio, and community account that allows a URL is a potential indexed backlink. LinkedIn company page, Twitter/X profile, GitHub organisation profile, Hacker News profile, Indie Hackers profile — these are low-authority links individually, but as a cluster they contribute to Google's understanding that your domain is a real, active entity. Set them up on launch day and keep them updated.
The compounding effect of early links
The first 20 links are the hardest. Once your domain has a DR of 10–15 and several indexed pages, subsequent link-building efforts become easier — your guest post pitches get accepted more often, your directory listings rank higher, and your content starts to attract links passively. The work you do in the first three months of link building has an outsized effect on the trajectory of your organic growth for the following two years.
Every quality backlink in the first 90 days compounds harder than any link you earn later. Launchstag is a weekly indie product directory where every listing is a permanent indexed page with a dofollow badge — a foundational first backlink for any new SaaS domain, with the added benefit of ongoing referral traffic from an active builder community. tools.cafe is a curated tool directory with a badge-for-backlink model that adds a second quality link from a separate indexed domain. LaunchBuff is a fortnightly bracket competition with 16 products across 4 rounds over 14 days — participation generates a listing and community mentions that contribute to the cluster of early links every new domain needs to begin ranking.
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