How do you get high-quality backlinks from authoritative sites for free? The answer is simple: create outstanding content that solves people’s problems or entertains them, and then show it to industry influencers. It’s that easy!
Creating outstanding content, however, can be daunting. Professional bloggers publish hundreds of thousands of new articles each day. So, what are regular business owners supposed to do—people like you and me, who have a real business, a decent-looking website, but only a handful of blog posts?
The solution is to have your site listed on the best manually reviewed business directory sites. It’s the safest, fastest way to get high authority backlinks for free, and it doesn’t require any content creation effort.
Here are the best linking opportunities to improve your rankings and send targeted visitors to your website. I ensured that the sites below can be used by pretty much any business out there.
I have also listed each site’s domain authority (DA), page authority (PA), citation flow (CF), and trust flow (TF). If you are familiar with search engine optimization, you will see that these are high authority backlink sources.
Yelp: DA95, PA95, CF74, TF77
Most people have a verified Google My Business account. It is crucial to have one if you want to rank in Google’s local SEO results. However, many business owners don’t know that they can include their companies in Yelp’s database as well. This way, they lose the opportunity of getting high-quality leads and a powerful backlink.
To get started, go to:
Type in your business name and city, and then click the “Get Started” button. If your business is already listed, you can claim it; otherwise, you will be given the opportunity to create a new listing, which includes a website URL link as well.
Each listing is manually reviewed and approved or rejected, so you need to be the owner of a real business. For example, you won’t be able to get a Yelp link for an obscure niche site project.
The verification process takes 12 to 48 hours, and then you will be able to set up an email address and password combination, allowing you to edit the listing as needed.
Flipboard: DA82, PA86, CF61, TF59
Flipboard is a “social magazine” that aggregates content from various online sources, including blogs, social networks, and image-sharing sites.
To get started, go to:
and then click the “Get Started” link.
To get your content included, you need to tweak your blog’s RSS feed to display full articles, not just content snippets. Your RSS feed may already be set up that way, but if it isn’t, you can find more information at:
https://about.flipboard.com/rss-spec/
Manta: DA85, PA88, CF61, TF40
Manta, a hub for small business owners, helps companies connect with their customers and potential partners.
Visit the URL below to get started:
Then, click the “Add Business” link to create your account. To get the most out of your listing, you will need to verify your account over the phone. This step is optional but straightforward, with friendly operators.
Bing Places: DA36, PA46, CF50, TF42
Just like Google My Business, Bing Places for Business allows entrepreneurs to list their companies, which will then be displayed in Bing’s search results.
First, go to:
Then, scroll down until you see the three listing types:
The first option is appropriate for most business owners. Log in using your Microsoft account – create one if you don’t have it – and then add your company info.
You can choose up to 10 categories for your business, but don’t go overboard.
Next, set the primary category, the one that best describes your company. Add the needed details and photos, and then verify your account. You will get the verification pin over the phone or by mail.
About Me: DA91, PA89, CF63, TF71
This powerful website brands itself as “your address on the web.” It’s one of the strongest sites that allow people to post their profile info online. You will have the option of adding links to your website and social networks. Begin by pointing your browser to:
The process is easy and step-by-step, so you won’t get lost. Choose your “Spotlight” carefully. What do you want people to do when they see your profile? Visit your website? Read your blog articles? View your portfolio? Hire you?
Don’t forget to check out your account’s “Email Preferences” section, and then choose the types of emails/notifications that you’d like to receive from about.me.