Five link building strategies for new websites with no audience

Executive overview

New websites can't rely on brand reputation to attract links. Without an existing audience, you need a systematic approach that builds trust first, then authority.

Start with citations and social profiles to legitimise the site, then layer in authority links and outreach. Each strategy scales with your growing credibility.

The key insight: build homepage trust signals before chasing page-level links — then use resource pages and skyscraper outreach to grow from there.

Homepage link strategies

• Citations (business directory listings with NAP: name, address, phone) legitimise the site for local SEO and organic rankings
• Use Ahrefs Link Intersect to find directories where competitors are already listed
• Create social profiles on primary niche networks, even if not actively used — claim the name
• HARO (Help a Reporter Out) connects you with journalists from Forbes, NYT, Huffington Post — respond quickly and concisely
• HARO rewards expertise over online visibility, making it the easiest route to authority homepage links
• Podcasts provide homepage links plus ongoing referral traffic — guest appearances are scalable and repeatable
• Find podcast opportunities via Google list posts, then use Ahrefs Site Explorer to discover further shows via backlink analysis

Page-level link strategies

• Resource page link building: target pages whose sole purpose is to curate external links in your niche
• Resource pages allow broader topic targeting — a CrossFit post can earn links from general fitness resource pages
• Find them via Google: inurl:resources.html intitle:fitness (adapt to your niche)
• Skyscraper technique: find a high-backlink page, publish a superior version, then pitch the sites already linking to the original
• Use Ahrefs Content Explorer with a referring domain filter (e.g. 50+) to find proven skyscraper targets
• After publishing, use the Backlinks report on the original to build your outreach list

Building a balanced link profile

• Homepage links and page-level links serve different purposes — do both in parallel
• HARO and podcasts can run concurrently with skyscraper outreach
• Avoid over-indexing on one strategy; a mixed profile reflects natural growth