// FREE BACKLINKS
Free backlinks cost more than you think.
On paper they look great. DR 90, big brand, no invoice. In practice they sit on UGC sections, free subdomains and directory listings that Google ignores. Here's why and what works instead.
// THE TRAP
These look amazing. They aren't.
A typical free backlink list reads like a Fortune 500 directory. Microsoft DR 96. Stanford DR 92. United Nations DR 95. The problem: none of those placements pass weight to your site.
// WHY THEY FAIL
Four reasons free links don't rank you.
reason_01
DR without traffic is meaningless
A DR 95 directory page with zero organic traffic on the URL passes zero referral weight. Google looks at the page, not just the domain.
reason_02
User-generated content is discounted
Comments, forum posts, profile descriptions and UGC sections are filtered out of the ranking calculation. Google has been ignoring them for over a decade.
reason_03
Free placements get cleaned up
Most free directories run quarterly purges. Your link disappears, your effort evaporates, your ranking drops back.
reason_04
Footprints get flagged
The same set of free domains is sitting in every spammy backlink profile online. Google has the footprint indexed. You don't want to be near it.
// THE CHECKLIST
What a backlink should actually look like.
A link that moves rankings is editorial, contextual, on a relevant page, and on a site with real organic traffic. The placement looks natural inside the article. The anchor fits the sentence.
Strip those properties and you're left with a directory entry. Directories haven't ranked anyone since 2012.
- Editorial placement inside an article
- Niche relevance to your business
- Real organic traffic on the linking page
- Healthy outbound link ratio on the site
- Anchor that fits naturally in the sentence
- Directory profile or business listing
- Forum signature or comment section
- Free subdomain on a hosting platform
- User-generated profile field
// OUR GATEKEEPING
17% of applicants make it in.
The other 83% are filtered out.
We require real organic traffic measured in Ahrefs or Google Analytics, an editorial publishing model and a clean outbound link ratio. Every site re-audited every 30 days.
Largest backlink platform in the Netherlands.
// QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions.
Are free backlinks bad?
They're rarely worth the time. Most free placements come from directories, profile pages and UGC sections that Google discounts or ignores. A handful of brand citations are fine. Building a campaign around free links is not.
What about DR 90+ free sources?
Those numbers refer to the root domain. The page you actually link from usually has zero organic traffic and zero passing weight. A high root DR doesn't make the placement valuable.
Can I get any free links that work?
Brand citations and a few editorial mentions you earn through PR or genuinely good content do work. They're hard to scale. If you need consistent ranking movement, paid editorial placements deliver more per hour invested.
What does Backlink accept on the marketplace?
Only 17% of sites that apply get accepted. We require real organic traffic measured in Ahrefs or Google Analytics, an editorial publishing model, and a clean outbound link ratio. We re-audit every site every 30 days.
How much do paid links cost on Backlink?
Dutch links start at €75. International markets sit between €65 and €95. Premium DR 70+ publishers price higher. The price is fixed and visible before you order.
What if my budget is small?
Start with one €75 link instead of fifty free ones. One contextual editorial placement on a real publisher outperforms a hundred directory submissions for almost any keyword.
Skip the free-list rabbit hole.
One €75 contextual editorial link outperforms a hundred directory submissions. Send us your domain and we'll show you which placements actually move your rankings.
// 17% acceptance · real traffic only · re-audited monthly