3 Creative Link-Building Strategies to Get Backlinks for Free – Insights from Jabez Reuben

Backlinks drive SEO success, but here’s the truth: most businesses are wasting thousands on link building when the best links are actually free.

You don’t need a massive budget to earn high-quality backlinks. You just need the right strategy.

Jabez Reuben, founder of Link Validator, The Blueprints, and Link Building Mastery, discovered the art of getting free, powerful backlinks.

In this guide, we’ll break down three of the most effective tactics, so you can improve your link building strategy while your competitors empty their wallets. Let’s get started!

Why Free Backlinks Aren’t Really Free

Getting backlinks without paying money sounds great… but there’s always a cost.

From creating images to tracking brand mentions, these creative link building strategies require research, outreach, and follow-ups. It’s not just about producing content — it’s about strategically positioning it where it gets noticed and earns links.

So, while you’re not spending cash, you are dedicating valuable time and resources, making “free” backlinks anything but effortless.

How to Get Backlinks for Free

Image Outreach

Ever looked at a stunning header image on someone else’s blog and thought, “I could create something better than that”? Well, that thought could be worth hundreds of high-quality backlinks.

You can let others use your images while securing backlinks in return. Here’s how it works:

1. Create high-quality, purpose-built images.
2. Distribute them on free platforms:Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay.
3. Track where they get used
4. Contact site owners and politely request a backlink for proper attribution.

But (and this is a big BUT), there’s a specific way to do this effectively, and most SEOs get it completely wrong. First things first – your images need to be designed specifically for high adoption. Here’s what Jabez recommends:

“We create very simple images. Our goal is to create images that will be picked up as header images for new articles when they are published.”

Think about it: what do blog posts consistently need? Header images! When a writer is putting together an article on, say, “Benefits of a Vegan Diet,” they need a clean, professional header image that communicates the topic.

Before you create a single image, you NEED to research which topics have consistent demand. Jabez uses Content Explorer to check the trend of articles being published on specific topics:

“If the trend is declining, it means fewer writers are covering this topic, so I’ll avoid working on images for that keyword. I only want to focus on keywords that writers are actively covering.”

After publishing your images on platforms like Unsplash, Pixabay, and Pexels, you need to wait about 5-6 months before conducting reverse image searches to see who’s using them.

And here’s the beautiful part – once your images are out there, they continue to get picked up month after month, giving you a continuous stream of outreach opportunities.

Remember, these platforms operate under Creative Commons licensing, so you can’t demand credit. Your approach matters.

❌Don’t say: “Hey, you have to give me image credits!”

✅Instead, try: “I’m so grateful you’re using my image. I’m glad it was helpful. Would you be able to provide image credits? It would help me a lot in creating more images like this.”

With the quality images and the right approach, this strategy delivers powerful backlinks that most SEOs only dream about.

Brand Mentions

Here’s a goldmine hiding in plain sight: Your brand is already being mentioned across the web. Those mentions just aren’t linking to you yet.

Unlinked brand mentions represent pre-qualified backlink opportunities with a high conversion potential.

You’ve already done the hard work of getting mentioned. Now you just need to convert those mentions into links!

Step 1. Find Your Unlinked Mentions

There are several ways to track brand mentions:

• Google Alerts (completely free!)
• Mention.com (paid but affordable)
• Ahrefs (what Jabez uses most)

Jabez’s advice: “Use Content Explorer (Ahrefs) or just Google search the brand name. For example, when we checked Brian Dean, he had been featured in over 300,000 articles!”

Step 2. Send a Polite Outreach Email

This is the part most SEOs struggle with. Who do you actually reach out to?

According to Jabez, it depends on the size of the site:

• For big media sites: Contact both the writer/editor AND the compliance team (if the writer doesn’t respond)
• For smaller websites: Reach out directly to the owner
• For medium-sized companies: Try the editor first, then the owner

Step 3: Follow Up

You may need 2-4 follow-ups before getting a response. If one contact doesn’t reply, find someone else within the company.

Brand mentions work best for established brands with existing mentions. If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll need to build awareness first.

Testimonials

If you’re looking for high-authority backlinks, there’s nothing quite like a homepage link. And guess what? Companies are constantly looking for social proof. A good testimonial helps them convert more customers – and all it costs you is a few minutes to write something honest about a product you already use.

How it works:

1. Identify tools and platforms you use in your niche.
2. Offer to provide a testimonial about how their product helped you.
3. Ask for a backlink in return (many companies will feature your testimonial with a link to your website)

Here’s a psychological trick Jabez shared: Don’t reach out as yourself.

“Make it seem like someone from your team is contacting them. This helps position you as a bigger authority. Use a company domain email and reach out saying: ‘Hey, I’m reaching out on behalf of [Your Name]. He/She has been using your tool, really loves it, and would love to contribute a testimonial.'”

This strategy works best when you have a personal brand or your company is already well-known. It’s not ideal for anonymous affiliate sites or brand-new businesses.

Wrapping Up

Are these strategies more time-consuming than pulling out your credit card? Absolutely.

Will they take longer to show results? You bet.

The winning formula is using all three strategies together:

• Image Outreach creates a continuous flow of new link opportunities
• Brand Mentions helps reclaim unlinked new mentions and turn existing brand visibility into backlinks.
• Testimonials secure authority homepage links that boost trust and credibility.

By diversifying your approach, you’re building a sustainable link profile that doesn’t rely on your wallet.

Watch our full podcast episode with Jabez Reuben on the Collaborator.pro YouTube channel and blog, where he shares advanced link building hacks you won’t want to miss.