How to get backlinks for a new website is a first-links problem, not a guest-post marketplace. You have a live URL, Ahrefs shows zero referring domains, and every “DR 70 niche edit” email is a scam. The honest 2026 answer: earn a handful of crawlable, dofollow hrefs from indexed pages, then stop buying junk.
This page is the new website / new domain playbook. If you already have listings and they are missing from Site Explorer, use dofollow backlinks Ahrefs can see - that is the verification article. This one starts at zero.
TL;DR
- How to get backlinks for a new website: make the destination crawlable, earn one canonical dofollow you control, then 10-15 Free + Dofollow directories.
- How to get backlinks for a startup is the same list. Skip PBNs, “500 DA50 links,” and blast SEO submission software.
- First links should look boring: launch listing, directories, a useful tool or post people can cite. Not 80 homepage mentions from expired domains.
- Check target Domain Rating with the Ahrefs DR checker before you spend an afternoon on a DR 8 farm.
- Wait 1-3 weeks, then verify in Ahrefs. If it is missing, view-source the listing - usually
nofollow, nohref, or the page never indexed.
Why New Websites Get Zero Backlinks
Ahrefs (and Google) need four things:
- A bot can fetch the linking page.
- The page has a real
<a href="https://yoursite.com">. reldoes not saynofollow/ugc/sponsoredif you want equity.- The destination is the canonical host you watch in Site Explorer - not a Webflow.io subdomain or a stale
http://.
New sites fail step 4 more than founders admit. You launched on a preview URL. You 302 to a different host. You noindex the homepage. Then you ask how to get backlinks for a new domain while blocking the benefit.
Fix your own house first: SEO It Is, robots tester, sitemap checker. A weekend marketing site is faster on SuperFast than a rebuild after you already submitted 40 directories to the wrong host.
Key point: “We listed you” is not a backlink. “Ahrefs can see a dofollow
hreffrom an indexed URL to your canonical host” is a backlink.
How to Get Backlinks for a New Website - The Order That Works
Step 1 - Freeze the destination URL
One host. HTTPS. Sitemap submitted in GSC and Bing. IndexNow on. No accidental noindex. If signup is not live, you are not ready for directories - you are ready for a waitlist page and an owned list.
Step 2 - Earn one canonical dofollow you control
Launch on ScrollLaunch. /products/[slug] holds the outbound dofollow instead of splitting equity across feed cards. Free stays dofollow while a real badge or product-page link is on your site. Premium skips that check. Pricing.
That is the first answer to how to get backlinks for a new website when you cannot get a journalist to care yet.
Step 3 - 10-15 directory dofollows (not 150)
Open the directories archive. Filter Free + Dofollow. Sort the DR leaderboard. Three listings per day. Customize the first sentence.
How to pick the rows: best SaaS directories. How to promote around them: how to promote a SaaS. Coverage later: list on 100+ websites. Out of hours: submit for you.
Step 4 - One page worth citing
A useful free tool, a narrow data post, or a honest build log. People link to pages that save them time. They do not link to “We are the leading AI-powered platform.” If you need a public shipping cadence while you wait for crawlers, MakeItLast is a better URL than a private doc.
Step 5 - Optional second board, never the same hour
Product Hunt or Show HN for humans. Those links are often nofollow UGC. Take them for traffic and quotes. Do not count them as the DR play. Show HN tactics: how to launch on Hacker News.
Step 6 - Verify, then stop
Wait 1-3 weeks. Ahrefs → Site Explorer → Backlinks. Confirm source URL, dofollow, target host. Anything missing: view-source. Then stop. Velocity from 0 to 80 junk domains in a week looks like a network, not a startup.
What to Skip When the Site Is New
| Offer | Why it fails |
|---|---|
| “500 DA50 backlinks” | Expired domains, scraped sites, or nofollow |
| Guest post networks | Irrelevant sites; sometimes paid-link signatures |
| Homepage-only link inserts | Thin pages, no traffic, easy to drop |
| Comment / profile links | Nofollow, and you look like 2012 |
| Review catalogs with zero reviews | Empty G2 is worse than no profile |
Foundational links from relevant, indexed directories plus one useful page beat a spreadsheet of mystery referring domains.
How to Get Backlinks for a Startup (Same List, Different Panic)
Founders add “startup” to the query when they want users and SEO. Directories can do both if you pick live products and customize the blurb. Communities (Indie Hackers, HN) do users. They rarely do dofollow.
Sequence for a live indie SaaS:
- Canonical host + GSC
- ScrollLaunch product page
- 10-15 Free + Dofollow rows
- Spike surface the same week, not the same hour
- One cite-able page
- Verify in Ahrefs
That is also how you get your first backlinks without pretending you have a PR agency.
How to Check Whether the Link “Worked”
| Question | Where |
|---|---|
| How strong is the linker? | Domain Rating checker / bulk DR |
| Is it dofollow on the live page? | Dofollow checker + view-source |
| Did Google index the listing? | site: and GSC URL Inspection |
| Did Ahrefs attach it to you? | Site Explorer, 1-3 weeks later |
DR is Ahrefs’ 0-100 Domain Rating. Always attribute the score to Ahrefs. A dofollow from DR 50 in your category beats ten dofollows from DR 8 link farms.
Key Takeaways
- How to get backlinks for a new website: crawlable destination, one controlled dofollow, 10-15 real directory hrefs, one page people can cite.
- How to get backlinks for a new domain fails when you submit the wrong host or a
noindexhomepage. - Skip blast software and DA packages. They are how new sites look like spam.
- Verify in Ahrefs. Then stop for two weeks.
Ready? Launch on ScrollLaunch, then filter Free + Dofollow. Need the promotion calendar around the links? How to promote a SaaS.
Related guides
- Dofollow Backlinks Ahrefs Can See - why a listing never appears
- How to Promote a SaaS (2026)
- Free SEO Submission in 2026
- Best SaaS Directories to Submit (2026)
- List Your Product on 100+ Websites (2026)
- How to Get Your First 10 Customers (2026)
- Startup directories · DR leaderboard · Submit for me
- Domain Rating checker · Dofollow checker · All tools
- ScrollLaunch pricing
FAQ
How do I get backlinks for a new website with no authority?
You do not get NYT links. You get foundational links: a ScrollLaunch product page, 10-15 hand-checked dofollow directories, and one useful URL people can cite. That is enough to look like a real site.
How to get backlinks for a new domain in the first 30 days?
Week 1: GSC + canonical host + ScrollLaunch. Weeks 2-3: three directories per day to 15. Week 4: verify. Do not buy a package to “look busy.”
How to get backlinks for a startup without paying?
Free ScrollLaunch tier (badge-gated dofollow), Free + Dofollow filter on the archive, Show HN / Indie Hackers for humans (usually nofollow). Paid extras come after the free wave is indexed.
Are directory backlinks enough for a new website?
They are the start. They will not rank you for a head term. They give crawlers other hosts that mention you. Add a cite-able page if you want links that are not listings.
Why don’t my new backlinks show in Ahrefs?
Usually nofollow, no real href, unindexed listing, or wrong destination host. Walk the Ahrefs verification checklist.
Should I build 50 backlinks in week one?
No. Ramp. Five to fifteen real ones beat fifty from a network. Google has seen this movie.
