How to get your first backlinks as a small business

If your site is new, it probably has few or no backlinks yet, and that's normal — it's not a sign you're doing something wrong. The mistake is trying to fix it by chasing volume: buying links, submitting to hundreds of low-quality directories, or cold-emailing strangers asking for a mention. None of that works well, and some of it actively hurts you.

The better starting point is a short list of sources that are already inclined to link to a business like yours, because a relationship or a reason already exists. Work through these before anything more ambitious.

Start where a link is easy and expected

1. 1
   Local directories and chambers of commerce

   Your local chamber of commerce, business improvement district, tourism board, and industry-specific directories (a legal directory for a law firm, a wedding vendor directory for a florist) are built to list businesses like yours. These links are low-effort, relevant by definition, and often free or low-cost.
2. 2
   Suppliers, partners and vendors you already work with

   If you sell a supplier's product, ask if they maintain a "where to buy" or "authorized dealer" page — most manufacturers do, and getting listed is usually just a form or an email. If you partner with other local businesses (a caterer and a venue, an accountant and a bookkeeper), a simple mutual mention is a natural, honest link.
3. 3
   Your own affiliations and memberships

   Trade associations, professional licensing bodies, certification programs and alumni networks often list members with a link. If you're certified, licensed or a member of something relevant, check whether that organization has a member directory you're not yet in.
4. 4
   Sponsorships and community involvement

   Sponsoring a local sports team, school event or charity run often comes with a mention and link on that organization's site. This is a genuine, low-pressure way to combine community goodwill with a relevant local link.
5. 5
   Journalist and reporter requests

   Services that connect journalists with expert sources (commonly called HARO-style platforms) let you respond to reporters looking for a quote in your industry. A useful, specific answer sometimes earns a mention and link in a real publication — and even when it doesn't, it costs only a few minutes.

Create one thing worth linking to

Every link ultimately points at something. If your site is only a homepage and a contact form, there's not much for anyone to reference. A single well-made resource — a genuinely useful local guide, an original data point from your own business, a clear explainer of something your customers always ask about — gives people something concrete to point to.

This doesn't need to be elaborate. A landscaper publishing a real seasonal planting guide for their specific region, or an accountant publishing a plain-English breakdown of a local tax deadline, is exactly the kind of page a local blog or community site is willing to link to.

Digital PR basics, kept realistic

"Digital PR" sounds bigger than it needs to be for a small business. At this scale it usually means: having something genuinely newsworthy (a milestone, a local first, a useful piece of data), and telling the right small number of people about it — a local reporter, a relevant blog, an industry newsletter — rather than mass-blasting a press release to hundreds of outlets that will ignore it.

What to avoid entirely

• •Paid link networks or "guaranteed backlink" packages
• •Mass directory submission services that list you on hundreds of low-quality sites at once
• •Link exchanges ("I'll link to you if you link to me") done at scale rather than as one genuine partner mention
• •Comment spam or forum-signature links
• •Buying an old, unrelated domain purely to redirect its links to you

• ✓Start with sources already inclined to link to you: directories, associations, suppliers, sponsorships.
• ✓Journalist request platforms can earn real press mentions for a few minutes of effort per pitch.
• ✓Publish at least one genuinely useful, specific page that gives people something to link to.
• ✓Keep digital PR proportional — local, real coverage beats a mass press release.
• ✓Avoid paid link schemes and mass directory submissions entirely.