How to build your first 100 backlinks using proven tactics

Executive overview

Low-quality backlinks (comment spam, PBNs, forum links) can wipe a site off Google. Quality beats quantity. 100 referring domains is enough to drive meaningful organic traffic in most low-to-mid competition niches.

Five tactics cover the full spectrum from near-zero effort to content-driven outreach — ordered by ease.

The fastest way to get quality links is to leverage relationships and platforms where journalists, podcasters, and site owners are already looking for you.

Start with communities and organisations you already belong to

• Any organisation you're part of (professional associations, nonprofits, school boards) is a candidate
• Team or advisory board pages often link naturally to members' sites
• Ask directly — it's the lowest-effort link you'll ever get

Use HARO to earn editorial links

• HARO (Help a Reporter Out) connects sources with journalists at outlets like Business Insider, NYT, and USA Today
• Set a Gmail filter: From = haro@helpareporter.com, Subject = [HARO], Has Words = your keywords
• Prioritise queries looking for multiple experts — higher chance of being included
• Respond with unique, specific insights; move on quickly to the next relevant query
• No outreach needed — journalists are soliciting you

Guest posting on mid-authority sites

• Target sites with domain rating 30–60 — avoid very low and very high authority
• Use Ahrefs Content Explorer: filter by DR range, one page per domain, published in last 90 days
• Switch to the Websites tab; sort by number of authors to identify sites with guest contributors
• Most sites allow self-linking within content as long as it adds value
• Secondary benefit: exposure to an established audience builds trust and credibility

Podcast interviews

• Most podcast episode pages link back to the guest's homepage — links are near-guaranteed
• To find prospects, reverse-engineer backlinks of known podcast guests in your niche via Ahrefs Site Explorer
• Set search mode to URL (podcast links typically point to the homepage); filter results by "podcast" in URL/title
• An hour of time yields a link, audience exposure, and network connections
• Hosts often link to resources mentioned mid-interview — potential to earn links to inner pages too

Email outreach for your best content

• Reserve outreach effort for content that is unique or data-driven, not generic informational posts
• Example: proprietary data on pandemic credit score impacts is linkable; a "what are credit cards" explainer is not
• Approach varies by content type — start with Ahrefs' link building tutorials for structure