If your website has great content but still struggles to rank, the missing piece is usually backlinks. This beginner’s guide shows you how to build backlinks step by step, from checking where you stand today to sending your first outreach emails and tracking the results. It is written for small businesses, startups and marketers in the US and UK who want to start building links without wasting money.
New to the topic? Read what backlinks are and why they matter first, then come back here.
What you need before you start building backlinks
Backlink building works best when your site is ready to receive links. Before you contact anyone, make sure you have:
- At least one page worth linking to. A detailed guide, a useful tool, original data or a strong service page. People link to pages that help their readers.
- A fast, secure website. Sites that load slowly or show security warnings get fewer links and lose visitors who do click through.
- A clear target. Decide which two or three pages you want to rank and which keywords they target.
- A simple tracking sheet. A Google Sheet with columns for the site, contact, date, status and live URL is enough.
- A backlink tool. Ahrefs or Semrush are the industry standard. If you are on a budget, start with Google Search Console and the free options covered in our guide to checking competitor backlinks for free.
Step 1: Check your current backlink profile
Start by understanding what you already have. In Google Search Console, open Links and look at “Top linking sites”. In a paid tool, check:
- Referring domains: how many different websites link to you.
- Which pages get links: often only the homepage, which is a sign your other pages need support.
- Anchor text: mostly brand name is healthy; lots of exact keywords is a warning sign.
- Spammy links: links from irrelevant or low-quality sites that you should not copy.
Write down your number of referring domains. This is the baseline you will measure against.
Step 2: Find out how many links you need
Search your main keyword on Google (set to the US or UK if that is your market) and check the top five results in your backlink tool. Note how many referring domains each ranking page has.
If the top pages have 20 to 40 referring domains and you have 3, you know the gap you need to close. If they have hundreds, start with less competitive, longer keywords first and build up.
Step 3: Create a page people want to link to
Outreach is much easier when you have something genuinely useful to offer. Content that tends to attract backlinks includes:
- Original statistics, surveys or industry benchmarks.
- Free tools, calculators and templates.
- Complete beginner guides that answer every question on a topic.
- Comparison pages and checklists that save readers time.
- Expert commentary on news in your industry.
This is your “linkable asset”. You can also point links at service pages, but most sites prefer to link to helpful content first.
Step 4: Build a prospect list
Prospects are the websites you will ask for a link. Good places to find them:
- Competitor backlinks: sites already linking to two or more of your competitors are your warmest leads.
- Google searches: search for your topic plus “guest post”, “resources”, “best tools” or “statistics” to find relevant pages.
- Industry blogs and publications that your customers read.
- Your own network: partners, suppliers, clients and associations you belong to.
- Vetted marketplaces: for example our guest post marketplace lists 1,900+ checked sites with their metrics.
Vet every prospect before you add it. Check that the site is relevant, gets real organic traffic, has most of that traffic from your target countries, and does not publish casino, CBD or other spam content. A short list of good sites beats a long list of weak ones.
Step 5: Choose your link building methods
As a beginner, focus on two or three methods you can do consistently:
- Guest posting: write a helpful article for a relevant site with a link back to you.
- Unlinked mentions: ask sites that mention your brand to add a link.
- Resource pages: ask to be added to “useful links” pages in your niche.
- Broken link building: suggest your page as a replacement for a dead link.
- Local and partner links: chambers of commerce, suppliers and associations.
For more advanced methods such as digital PR and linkable assets, see our full list of 15 link building strategies that work in 2026.
Step 6: Write outreach emails that get replies
Site owners get many pitches, so keep emails short and personal:
- Use their name and mention a specific article of theirs.
- Explain the benefit to their readers, not to you.
- Make one clear request or offer, such as a topic idea for a guest post.
- Keep it under 120 words and avoid attachments.
- Follow up once after five to seven days, then move on.
Send emails from a real business address on your own domain, and make sure your domain’s email settings (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) are set up so your pitches do not land in spam.
Step 7: Use natural anchor text
Anchor text is the clickable text of a link. To keep your profile natural:
- Use your brand name or URL for most links.
- Use descriptive phrases such as “this guide to local SEO” for many of the rest.
- Use your exact target keyword only occasionally.
Too many exact-match anchors is one of the easiest ways to make a link profile look manipulated.
Step 8: Track and measure your results
Update your tracking sheet every time a link goes live, with the URL, date, anchor text and the site’s metrics. Then review monthly:
- New and lost referring domains.
- Rankings for the pages you are building links to.
- Organic traffic and enquiries from your target countries in Google Search Console.
Most sites start to see ranking movement after two to three months of steady link building, with stronger results over six months.
Common backlink building mistakes beginners make
- Buying cheap bulk links. Hundreds of links for a few dollars usually come from private blog networks or spam sites. Google’s spam policies treat these as link schemes.
- Ignoring relevance. A link from an unrelated site helps far less than one from your niche.
- Only linking to the homepage. Your service pages and guides need links too.
- Building in bursts. Twenty links one month and none for the next three looks unnatural. Aim for a steady pace.
- Giving up too early. Link building compounds. The first replies and results take time.
How long does it take to build backlinks?
Doing it yourself, expect to spend several hours a week on research and outreach. Beginners often secure a handful of quality links per month at first, and get faster as relationships grow. If you need results sooner, a specialist partner with existing publisher relationships can place links within weeks.
Should you build backlinks yourself or hire help?
Building links yourself is a great way to learn and works well for small sites. Hiring help makes sense when you need a steady number of quality links each month, compete in a tough niche, or simply do not have time for outreach. Costs vary widely, so read our link building pricing guide before you choose.
Frequently asked questions
How can I build backlinks for free?
Ask partners and suppliers for links, turn unlinked brand mentions into links, get listed on relevant resource pages, and reply to journalist requests for expert quotes. These methods cost time but not money.
How many backlinks should I build per month?
There is no magic number. Look at how many referring domains the top-ranking pages for your keyword have, then build quality links at a steady pace you can keep up.
What is the fastest way to generate backlinks?
Guest posting on vetted, relevant sites is usually the fastest reliable method, because you control the topic and timing. Avoid shortcuts such as link farms or PBNs, which can harm your rankings.
Are backlinks still important in 2026?
Yes. Backlinks remain one of the strongest signals for ranking in Google, and links and mentions on trusted sites also help your brand appear in AI search answers.
Need help building backlinks?
Digital Designs SEO builds manual, white-hat backlinks on real US and UK websites and reports every live link in a Google Sheet. Explore our link building services, order individual guest posts, or get a free quote.