Link building is still one of the most important parts of SEO.
Whether you’re building a brand from the ground up or trying to stay ahead of your competition, having a solid link profile can make a big difference.
But it’s not always about throwing money at expensive tools. There are plenty of free (or mostly free) resources that can help you get the job done properly. These tools won’t build links for you, but they’ll give you the data and support you need to make the right decisions.
Below are ten free tools to use when working on ethical link-building campaigns.
Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker
Ahrefs is known for its powerful SEO tools, and while the full version of their platform comes with a price tag, their Free Backlink Checker offers great insight for no cost.
With this tool, you can see the top 100 backlinks pointing to any URL or domain. It also shows you key metrics like domain rating, the number of referring domains, and anchor text. This makes it a solid starting point for checking your own site’s link profile or taking a peek at what your competitors are doing.
If you’re running a quick audit or trying to find link opportunities based on what’s working for others in your niche, this is a tool worth having bookmarked.
Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest by Neil Patel has come a long way in recent years. Its backlink checker is free for a limited number of uses per day and provides some valuable data.
It lets you analyse a domain and see its backlink count, referring domains, and even link growth over time. The feature that really stands out is the breakdown of follow vs nofollow links, which can help you prioritise where to focus your attention.
One reason I rate Ubersuggest is that it gives newer link builders a user-friendly experience without skipping on the essentials. You won’t get overwhelmed, but you’ll still walk away with a clear plan of action.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is not just for tracking site performance and indexing. It’s also one of the most reliable tools for discovering backlinks to your site.
Inside the “Links” section, you can find a full list of external links pointing to your pages, along with top linking sites and the most linked content. This information comes straight from Google, which means it’s about as accurate as you can get.
While it doesn’t show competitor data, it’s an excellent tool for checking the health of your own link profile. I often use it to identify broken or lost links so I can take steps to recover them.
SEO Review Tools Backlink Checker
SEO Review Tools offers a free backlink checker that uses data from Majestic to give a decent overview of a site’s link profile. You’ll be able to see up to 100 backlinks, including anchor texts and link types.
The tool also gives a basic domain authority score and link trust metrics. For a free tool, it’s surprisingly detailed and doesn’t bombard you with ads or push upgrades constantly.
This one is useful when you need a second opinion or want to double-check links that appear in other tools. It’s also helpful for outreach planning if you want to analyse a potential site before reaching out.
HARO (Help A Reporter Out)
If you’re serious about building links through genuine mentions, HARO is one of the most effective platforms out there. It connects journalists looking for expert sources with people who have something useful to say.
Once you sign up as a source, you’ll receive daily emails listing queries across various industries. If one of them matches your area of knowledge, you can respond with a short pitch. If the journalist uses your input, they’ll often include a link to your site.
There’s no cost to join, and many high-authority websites use HARO. It does take time and consistency, but the quality of links you can earn is well worth the effort.
Hunter.io
Hunter.io is mainly used for finding email addresses linked to specific domains, which makes it perfect for link outreach.
You can search a company’s domain and get a list of contacts, job titles, and their likely email addresses. There’s also a Chrome extension that works directly on websites, saving time during prospecting.
The free plan gives you 25 searches per month, which is more than enough for small campaigns or highly targeted outreach. When I’m building links through guest posts or broken link building, Hunter helps cut down the time spent chasing email contacts.
LinkMiner (Free Trial)
LinkMiner by Mangools offers a 10-day free trial, which is more than enough to run a few deep dives into your or your competitor’s backlink profiles.
The interface is clean and simple, showing you metrics like citation flow, trust flow, and link strength. What makes LinkMiner stand out is that it highlights live and lost links separately and even shows a preview of the linking page.
This is particularly handy for spotting broken links or understanding why certain pages are linking out. Use it during the free trial to gather data and build your list of targets for outreach.
BuzzSumo (Freemium)
BuzzSumo is well known for content research, but its freemium plan also includes a handy backlinks feature.
By entering a domain or specific URL, you can view the sites that have linked to it, along with social share metrics and domain authority indicators. The free version is limited in searches per month, but even that’s enough to uncover some golden opportunities.
BuzzSumo works best when you’re trying to identify what content has earned the most links and why. I use it often when I’m planning link-worthy content or trying to replicate success from top-performing pages.
Google Alerts for Brand Mentions
Not all brand mentions include links, but they should. Google Alerts is a free way to track when your brand, products, or key staff members are mentioned online.
Once set up, you’ll receive email alerts whenever new pages include your chosen keywords. If you spot a mention without a link, you can politely reach out and request one. It’s a simple tactic that often works, especially if the content is positive and the site is relevant.
This tool is also useful for reputation monitoring, but from a link-building point of view, it’s mainly about converting mentions into backlinks with minimal effort.
OpenLinkProfiler
OpenLinkProfiler is a completely free backlink analysis tool by SEOProfiler. It allows you to see up to 200,000 backlinks for any website, which is impressive considering there’s no paywall.
You can filter by link age, anchor text, industry, and more. One feature I find useful is the “Link Influence Score”, which gives you an idea of how valuable each backlink might be.
It’s not as polished as some premium tools, but if you’re on a tight budget or just want to scrape a large dataset quickly, this tool gets the job done.
You don’t need an expensive software suite to build quality links. With the right mix of free tools and some consistent effort, you can develop a strong backlink profile that supports your SEO goals and earns genuine results.
At Fly High Media, we focus on ethical link building that’s based on relevance, authority, and value. These tools are part of our everyday process, helping us stay efficient and effective. If you’re looking for support with your link-building campaigns, our team is here to help you grow the right way.
