A backlink is any link on another website that points to yours. For a startup or SaaS, the most common backlink examples are listings on directories, launch platforms, review sites and alternatives sites, plus links people choose to give you in articles, newsletters, roundups and podcast show notes. Some are followed and can pass ranking credit; many carry nofollow, ugc or sponsored and are worth having for the visitors.
- Listings you submit: directories, launch platforms, review and alternatives sites.
- Things you post: developer community posts, forum threads.
- Relationships: integration pages, partner pages, badges.
- Links you earn: show notes, roundups, guest posts, editorial mentions.
- Links to avoid: bought links, link swaps, automated links, link-dump directories.
Disclosure: DirPilot sells directory submissions, so the directory examples below are our business. Every DR, link type and price comes from our own directory pages, as of our last check in October 2026.
What a backlink looks like
Search Console's help defines a backlink as "a link on a page from another site that links to a page on your site." Why links matter and how they're counted is in our backlink glossary entry. Here's a backlink example as a crawler reads it, in a reply on a forum thread:
<a href="https://yourproduct.com/pricing" rel="ugc">YourProduct pricing</a>
Four parts matter:
- The linking page: the forum thread. Its topic, its readers and whether Google indexes it decide most of what the link is worth.
- The anchor text: "YourProduct pricing", the words people click. Google's link guidelines say good anchor text is "descriptive, reasonably concise, and relevant to the page that it's on and to the page it links to".
- The target URL: your pricing page. A backlink can point at any page, not just the homepage.
- The rel attribute: ugc, for links users post. Without nofollow, ugc or sponsored, it would be a dofollow link.
12 types of backlinks, with real examples
The list runs from links you get by filling in a form to links someone else has to choose to give you. "Usual link" is a pattern, not a promise, so check yours once it's live. How to go after them is covered in our first backlinks playbook.
1. A startup directory listing
A profile on a site that lists new companies or products, with a "Visit website" link. F6S (DR 83) was free and dofollow when we last checked. A listing isn't always a backlink, though: EU-Startups (DR 79, free) is still unchecked for link type in our data, and on the sample profiles we looked at, the website address was plain text, not a link. Our best startup directories ranking compares 30 of them.
Usual link: often followed; sometimes nofollow or none. Effort: low.
2. A launch platform page
A product page on a Product Hunt-style board, with launch-day votes and comments. Product Hunt (DR 91, free) puts rel="ugc" on its visit links, so the value is the audience. Fazier (DR 84) was dofollow on the listing we checked; its free launch requires a link back to Fazier, and paid launches start at $29. Dev Hunt (DR 66) says free listings are nofollow and its $19 paid launch is dofollow. Google asks for paid placements to be marked sponsored, so pay for the date and the audience, not the link. We compare 13 boards in Product Hunt alternatives.
Usual link: mixed; free tiers are often nofollow or ugc. Effort: low to list, medium to launch well.
3. A software review site profile
A vendor profile where B2B buyers read reviews and compare tools. G2 (DR 91) is free, with paid plans from $299 a month, but its link type is unchecked: its pages blocked our automated check. You go to review sites for buyers and reviews, not for the link. Our SaaS directories guide covers G2 and its peers.
Usual link: often unchecked or nofollow. Effort: medium: the reviews take work.
4. An alternatives site listing
A page that lists you as an alternative to a better-known tool, where people leaving a competitor look. AlternativeTo (DR 81) was free and dofollow when we checked, with an optional $5 priority review, but it declines many submissions. SaaSHub (DR 80, free) lists you on competitors' alternatives pages with a nofollow link.
Usual link: mixed. Effort: low to medium.
5. A post on a developer community
A build story or launch post on a developer platform, linking to your site or repo. On DEV Community (DR 91, free), links in the body of a sample post had no nofollow, comment links were nofollow, and one of 11 new posts we checked carried a page-wide noindex, nofollow tag. DEV's terms rule out content "designed primarily for the purposes of promotion or creating backlinks", so write for developers.
Usual link: followed in the post body on DEV; varies elsewhere. Effort: medium.
6. A forum or community thread
A post or reply on Reddit, Hacker News, Indie Hackers or a niche forum that links to you. Google recommends marking "user-generated content (UGC) links, such as comments and forum posts" with ugc (see qualifying outbound links), and many communities do. The payoff is visitors, feedback and readers who may write about you later. Pasting keyword links into threads is on Google's spam list: "Forum comments with optimized links in the post or signature".
Usual link: ugc or nofollow. Effort: low to post, high to do well.
7. An integration, partner or marketplace page
If your product connects to another tool, that tool's app marketplace may have a page about your integration. Partner pages and "built with" showcases work the same way, and they're relevant by definition. Keep them real: Google's spam policies name "partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking".
Usual link: depends on the platform. Effort: medium to high: you need the integration first.
8. A badge or image link
A logo or badge that links to you, like a "Made with YourProduct" badge on your users' sites. Google reads the image's alt text as the anchor, so use your brand name, and let users remove the badge: Google's spam policies name "Keyword-rich, hidden, or low-quality links embedded in widgets that are distributed across various sites". The "featured on" badges directories ask for work the other way: they link from your site to theirs.
Usual link: followed unless qualified. Effort: low once you have users.
9. A guest post, contributed article or press release
An article you write for another site, with a link in your bio, or a press release on wire sites. Both can reach readers; the anchor is the risk. Google's spam policies list "links with optimized anchor text in articles, guest posts, or press releases distributed on other sites". Link with your product name, and if you paid, the link should be sponsored or nofollow.
Usual link: varies; the publisher decides. Effort: medium.
10. Podcast or interview show notes
The episode page of a podcast or interview, where hosts usually link to the guest's company in the show notes. One episode on a show your customers listen to can bring a link, some visitors and something to point to later.
Usual link: often a plain link; the host's site decides. Effort: medium: you pitch, then record.
11. A "best tools" roundup or resource page
A curated list such as "best invoicing tools for freelancers", or a resource page a community keeps for its readers. Someone chose what's on it, which is what gives the link its value. If a site charges to include you, it's a paid placement: Google lists "Exchanging money for links, or posts that contain links" as link spam unless the link is qualified.
Usual link: usually followed if editorial. Effort: medium.
12. An editorial mention in an article or newsletter
A writer links to you because it helps their readers: a founder's newsletter linking to your launch post, a news story about your funding, a blog post citing your data. It's the hardest backlink to get on demand, and it usually follows something worth citing, like a free tool or original data. If someone mentions you without a link, asking for one is fair.
Usual link: usually followed. Effort: high.
Backlink examples at a glance
| Example | Typical link | Effort | Main value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Startup directory | Often followed | Low | Discovery, brand searches, ranking signal |
| Launch platform | Mixed | Low to medium | Launch-day traffic, feedback |
| Review site | Often unchecked or nofollow | Medium | Buyers, reviews |
| Alternatives site | Mixed | Low to medium | Traffic from people switching |
| Developer community post | Often followed in the body | Medium | Developer traffic |
| Forum thread | ugc or nofollow | Low to high | Traffic, feedback |
| Integration or partner page | Depends on the platform | Medium to high | Relevant buyers, ranking signal |
| Badge or image link | Followed unless qualified | Low | Discovery |
| Guest post or press release | Varies | Medium | Readers |
| Podcast show notes | Often followed | Medium | Credibility, ranking signal |
| "Best tools" roundup | Usually followed | Medium | Buyers, ranking signal |
| Editorial mention | Usually followed | High | Ranking signal, traffic, credibility |
Bad backlink examples to avoid
Google defines link spam as "creating links to or from a site primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings". Its spam policies list examples, and each has a familiar startup version:
| Bad example | What it looks like | What Google's policy says |
|---|---|---|
| Bought links | Paying mainly for a followed link | "Exchanging money for links, or posts that contain links" |
| Product for a post | A free account for a review with a link | "Sending someone a product in exchange for them writing about it and including a link" |
| Link swaps | Trading links across many sites | "Excessive link exchanges" |
| Automated links | "1,000 backlinks" packages | "Using automated programs or services to create links to your site" |
| Link-dump directories | Sites that list anything, unreviewed | "Low-quality directory or bookmark site links" |
| Keyword anchors | "Best invoicing software" as the link in a press release | Optimized anchor text in guest posts and press releases |
| Footer and widget links | A keyword link in a theme used on many sites | "Widely distributed links in the footers or templates of various sites" |
Paid links aren't banned outright: Google says they're fine when marked rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". For directories, paying for a faster review or a featured spot is normal; paying only for a followed link is what the policy describes. Sites that break the policies "may rank lower in results or not appear in results at all". Our dofollow vs nofollow study looks at where directories draw the line.
What separates a good backlink from a weak one
The same type of link can be strong or nearly worthless:
| What to look for | Stronger example | Weaker example |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | An AI directory listing for an AI product | A general web directory that lists anything |
| Editorial choice | A writer picks your tool for a roundup | A listing that goes live instantly, unreviewed |
| Real readers | A newsletter your buyers read | A directory page nobody opens |
| Indexed and followable | A followed link on an indexed page | A followed link on a page set to noindex |
| A new referring domain | The first link from a new site | The tenth link from a site that already links to you |
Domain Rating isn't in that table on purpose. It's Ahrefs' estimate of a whole site's link strength, not a Google metric, and it says little about one link: Product Hunt (DR 91) and SaaSHub (DR 80) were nofollow when we checked, while F6S (DR 83) and AlternativeTo (DR 81) were dofollow. More in what a good domain rating is. And nobody outside Google can confirm whether a given link counts.
How to see your own backlinks
- Google Search Console: the Links report shows your top linking sites, most linked pages and top linking text, grouped by root domain. It's a sample, not every link, and it doesn't say whether a link is nofollow.
- One link's status: paste the linking page into our free dofollow link checker to see whether its link to you is followed, and whether noindex, robots.txt or a canonical cancels it. Our guide on how to check dofollow backlinks covers the manual methods.
FAQ
What is an example of a backlink?
The "Visit website" link on your startup directory profile is one. So is a link to your pricing page in a newsletter, or to your site in a podcast's show notes. Followed or not, each is a link from a page on another site to a page on yours.
Are directory listings real backlinks?
Yes, if the listing page actually links to your site. Some show your address as plain text, some use nofollow, and some are the low-quality directories Google warns about. Our free dofollow directories list only includes directories where we've seen a followed link on a live listing.
Is a nofollow link still a backlink?
Yes. It's still a link from another site, and it still sends visitors. Google treats nofollow, ugc and sponsored as hints, so don't count on ranking credit, and Ahrefs leaves nofollow links out of Domain Rating.
What are Google backlinks?
There's no special kind. Google doesn't sell or give out backlinks; the phrase usually means the links Google knows about, and the Search Console Links report shows a sample of them. Link counts and DR in SEO tools come from those companies' own crawlers, not from Google.
What's the difference between URL backlinks and domain backlinks?
A URL backlink points at one specific page, like a blog post or your pricing page; a homepage link points at your root domain. SEO tools also count referring domains: one blog linking to you from ten articles is ten backlinks from one referring domain.
How many backlinks does a new startup need?
There's no fixed number, and Google publishes none. Compare yourself with the sites ranking for the searches you want. Links do matter: in Ahrefs' search traffic study, only 2,997 of about 20 million pages with no referring domains got more than 1,000 search visits a month, though Ahrefs notes that correlation isn't proof.
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