The free sources you already have
- Launch platform listings (Product Hunt, directories with real audiences) — editorial when the listing includes a do-follow link to your site.
- Integration and partner pages — if you ship on another platform, their docs or marketplace often link to you.
- Communities you genuinely participate in — show notes, comparison posts, founder interviews.
- Your own content — comparison pages, data posts, and tools that others cite naturally.
Why most 'free backlink' lists are junk
Profile links, comment spam, and junk directories are indexed nowhere and weighted at zero — sometimes harmful. They feel productive because you can tick boxes, but they do not move rankings.
When you want links from other founders
Claim your domain on LaunchPact and join the Backlink Exchange. We match you with a founder in a related niche and write a sentence or a full article for your blog. Once your link is live, the next matching founder links to you.
It is still effort — one link published per link received — but no money changes hands.
What a founder-agreed link is worth
Owner-approved, in-content, do-follow, niche-matched, and crawl-verified at day 7, 30, and 90 — compared to junk-list alternatives that cost nothing and deliver nothing.
See also: SaaS link building, niche edits.
Frequently asked questions
Only if they are real editorial links from relevant sites — launch listings, integration partners, communities, or mutually agreed insertions on founder product sites. Profile and directory spam indexed nowhere does not count.
Use the free sources you already have (launch platforms, partner pages, communities). Then join LaunchPact's Backlink Exchange: give one link and get one back, free.
The free sources on this page are not. LaunchPact's Backlink Exchange is: a give-first A→B→C chain where you never swap links directly. See the backlink exchange guide for how it works and its risks.
Crawls check every placement when it is marked live and again at day 7, 30, and 90. A verified live link adds 5 Karma; pulling it later subtracts 10.
It costs effort, not money: you publish one link for every link you receive, within 5 days. Link exchanges also carry Google link-spam risk; LaunchPact keeps links relevant and avoids direct swaps, but cannot guarantee rankings.
Use the free sources first
Claim your domain and join the exchange when you're ready.
Claim your domain free