September 17, 2024

We Promote the Site Through Submissions🦇 15 Types of Submissions + 137 International Sites

Elen Vedyorina (Turanova)

Content & Marketing Specialist Brandcitations.com

Successful website promotion requires proper technical optimization, quality content, and a strong link profile. Freelancers can handle the first two, but link building is not so easy to delegate.

Any low-quality link can harm the site’s reputation. That’s why increasing the number of backlinks can sometimes become overwhelming for a webmaster. We want to help you with this — we’ll tell you about 15 types of platforms where you can post a link to your resource for free on your own. Place them, and don’t forget to check the site’s backlinks periodically.

In addition to link building tips, you will receive a ready-made list of sites. All that’s left is to select the relevant ones and get semi-free links to your site from trusted sources. This will be enough for a successful start to promotion on Google.

Subscribe to the Brandcitations Telegram channel to be the first to learn about new link building strategies and site promotion life hacks.

Table Of Contents

What Are Submissions and What Tasks Do They Solve in Promotion
Links from Catalogs
Links from Job Search Sites
Links in Video Hosting Sites
Links from Podcasts
Links to Freelance Sites
Links from Documentation/Presentation Exchange Sites
Links from Site Analyzers
Links from PDF Directories
Links on Site/Blog Aggregators
Links from Social Media
Links on Maps
Links from Reviews (Review Sites)
Links on the Pages About the Recruitment of Interns
Links from Discount Pages
Discounts for Students and Employees of Educational Institutions

What Are Submissions and What Tasks Do They Solve in Promotion

Submissions (from the English word “submit”) are one of the most popular link building strategies, which involves posting a link to the target site on a site that allows you to do it yourself.

Submission placement is a universal strategy that can be used for both informational and commercial projects. In the first case, they help promote the brand faster online, and in the second case, they help secure the minimum number of links needed for promoting the site on Google.

In most cases, submissions allow you to be listed for free, but there are also paid directories with good Domain Rating (DR) metrics. The cost for one link ranges from $50 to $300, depending on the site’s trust level. If your promotion budget is minimal, you can use free platforms.

Submissions have many other benefits. They are available to every webmaster who can gather relevant platforms and correctly place the information to avoid deletion by moderators.

Unlike guest posting, link insertion, and other non-budget-friendly link building methods, the positive effects of submissions appear much faster. There’s no need to negotiate link integration terms with site owners. You register on the site, fill out the form, and soon the page is indexed.

Submits solve the following tasks:

Increase brand recognition. The more mentions of a company or project, the faster recognition grows within the niche. This is especially important for promoting online stores.
Build trust for companies. Placing links on authoritative sites signals to the audience that the company or project is trustworthy.
Set the natural growth of the link profile. You place backlinks on 5 sites, and later the number can increase several times without your intervention, thanks to sites that collect data from open sources.
Dilute the anchor sheet. In most cases, submissions are placed without anchors. They complement anchor links that webmasters and SEO specialists purchase from top resources.
Save money on link building. There’s no need to pay $200-300 for a link and worry that it might disappear in a few years.
Help bypass competitors. If other niche players don’t engage in link building, they may drop in rankings.
Protects against search engine penalties. Submissions are natural links that offset anchor SEO links, which could otherwise trigger a penalty.

Use the platforms below to place backlinks yourself on the company website or informational project. With the right approach, in a month or two, your link profile will have 100-200 natural backlinks or more.

Links from Catalogs

Directories (catalogs, local directories) are one of the oldest types of sites for posting links. Automatic submissions temporarily reduced the effectiveness of directories, but there are still enough moderated platforms in international markets that spammers haven’t completely ruined yet.

Directory listings are suitable for both informational and commercial projects. Almost any directory can be used for business, but informational sites should be approached with caution, as links from irrelevant sources could harm good rankings on Google.

Examples of sites:

Links from Job Search Sites

Job sites can be used not only to find new team members or post resumes. Experienced link builders know that valuable backlinks can also be obtained from job search sites.

Projects with job listings exist in every region, so you can get local backlinks from them. In some cases, these will be open to indexing. On larger sites, the option to place an active link is often unavailable, but even a redirect link can be beneficial.

Examples of sites:

Links in Video Hosting Sites

In addition to YouTube, there are many other video hosting platforms where you can do more than just watch funny cat videos. These platforms are excellent for link building. Links can be easily integrated into video descriptions, profile pages, or comments.

You don’t need to create long, high-quality edited videos to place a link. A slideshow, screencast, or a short vlog about the company or informational project will also work. It all depends on the creativity of the person handling the task.

Examples of platforms:

Links from Podcasts

Podcasts are audio programs, blogs, series, or any other content that can be downloaded or listened to online. Interest in podcasts has surged in recent years. With this increased demand, platforms for hosting audio content have also emerged. These platforms are usually not heavily moderated, as spammers rarely use them for automated link placement.

As with videos, you don’t need to record lengthy podcasts, invite experts, or spend a whole day on preparation. A short podcast about your company or a brief discussion on how you create your informational project will suffice.

Examples of platforms:

Links to Freelance Sites

There aren’t many popular freelance platforms, but we’re interested not just in site traffic but also in other metrics. Many niche sites provide technical opportunities to post links to your site or blog.

This link building method is somewhat similar to job search sites. Register as a freelancer or client, set up your profile, and add a few links in different sections of the site. Before registering, it’s a good idea to check user profiles to avoid wasting time if active links are prohibited.

Examples of platforms:

Links from Documentation/Presentation Exchange Sites

Experienced link builders have long recognized the value of links from these resources. They are typically not spammed, as moderators remove irrelevant content. You need documentation or a presentation on any topic, and access to the desired link will be available.

The advantage of using document sharing sites is that they attract a targeted audience. For example, posting a useful SEO presentation and linking to an SEO blog can consistently drive free traffic.

Examples of platforms:

Links from Site Analyzers

Site analysis services not only identify errors in technical optimization but also often generate a pool of backlinks to the reviewed resources. They cache the results, and search engines are happy to index them and display them in webmaster consoles.

In addition to SEO analysis services, some sites check loading speed, project hosting, usability, and other parameters.

Examples of platforms:

Links from PDF Directories

Google has long indexed PDF files. You can use a presentation or documentation to add to a PDF directory and obtain backlinks to your project.

Placing backlinks in PDF directories is usually straightforward, but it’s advisable to check the donor’s metrics before publishing the file. If the directory is heavily spammed, the links may not be beneficial.

Examples of platforms:

Links on Site/Blog Aggregators

Site aggregators are often underestimated in link building, but with the right approach, they can provide not only backlinks but also a steady stream of targeted traffic. By adding the RSS feed of a news project to a relevant aggregator, your site may attract several dozen or even hundreds of visitors over time.

To ensure a successful listing, you’ll need a site that is ready for promotion, an error-free RSS feed, and a list of aggregators. Aim to submit to platforms relevant to your site’s topic to build a genuinely interested audience over time.

Examples of sites:

Links from Social Media

Links from social media profiles can help diversify the link profile and, in some cases, provide targeted traffic.

However, they are frequently used in automated processes, so it’s crucial to thoroughly analyze the platform before placing backlinks. Excessive reliance on links from profiles is not advisable, as search engines have been scrutinizing these types of links for some time.

Examples of sites:

Links on Maps

In addition to Google Maps, there are dozens of similar projects online. Some of these are not as popular as search engine services, but they are excellent for posting business information. The more mentions, the faster the company’s recognition grows.

Even if the platform does not generate calls or service requests, the link to the site will remain for a long time. Information projects can also be added to map services; this will not cause harm, and a backlink will be beneficial.

Examples of sites:

Read about how to link to Google Maps

Links from Reviews (Review Sites)

Reviews are a way to assess the reliability of a company. Users often rely on them to learn about others’ personal experiences, whether it’s worth working with a bank or buying products from certain brands.

Whether to purchase positive reviews or not is up to each individual, but reviews are useful for placing backlinks. There are large international projects where business information is posted and considerable attention is given to reviews.

Examples of sites:

Need recommended comments in niche communities to promote your site on Google? Try Brandcitations. Quality links from trusted sites with strict moderation in English, Spanish, German, Italian, Polish, and French in over 10 countries around the world.

Links on the Pages About the Recruitment of Interns

This method of obtaining backlinks is suitable for real businesses. If you are expanding your company abroad and are open to taking on one or more interns, you can use this as a source of free backlinks.

All you need to do is create a page about internships and detail the conditions. Then, compile a list of educational institutions with relevant talent and contact the organizations responsible for employment.

Examples of sites:

Links from Discount Pages

Everyone loves to save money, and you can take advantage of this. This method of obtaining backlinks is suitable for both local offline businesses and online projects. You can offer discounts on products and services to everyone or specific groups.

There are many sites in international markets with local offers tailored to specific cities. You just need to devise the promotion’s terms and publish the information on relevant sites.

Examples of sites:

Discounts for Students and Employees of Educational Institutions

This link building strategy is rarely used at scale, but when executed properly, it can generate numerous backlinks from highly valued resources. We are referring to .edu and .gov sites that do not sell backlinks for money.

Create a loyalty program or an ongoing promotion for students and employees of educational institutions. Send a newsletter to a database of educational sites and discuss the terms for listing.

Examples of sites:

Know of more quality submission platforms for placement? Share in the comments. We’ll review them and add the relevant ones.

Submissions are not links from spammy directories, as often assumed by webmasters and SEO specialists. With the right approach, you can find trustworthy sites and build a solid backlink profile for free or at a minimal cost within a few months.

Needed links from submissions but don’t have time to select platforms, register, and post links with the necessary supporting information? Register at brandcitations.com, and we’ll handle all the routine work for you.

Also check out our link building case studies and reviews about Brandcitations from our clients.

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