Pay-per-link marketplaces
Paid placements that pass through link farms. Google’s guidelines call these out by name. One algorithm update and the rankings they bought disappear.
Backlinks you earn, not buy.
Most backlinks are paid for (risky) or begged for (ignored). Fokal is a free tool that earns you real ones, from brands inside its network and relevant sites beyond it.
Free to join No credit card Leave anytime
Claiming for
Trusted by 200+ brands
The problem with link building
You can pay for backlinks. You can beg for them. Both fail.
Paid links are risky and vanish with the next update. Cold outreach gets ignored. Fokal earns them the third way, the one that actually holds.
Cold outreach at scale
A thousand templated emails to editors who never reply. No relevance, no relationship, a sub-1% hit rate, and your weekend gone.
Earned, relevant, verified
Real brands cite each other where it genuinely fits. Free to join, and every placement is verified live before it counts. The kind of link that holds.
How you earn them
Give a mention. Earn them back.
A give-to-earn loop between relevant brands, free to join. Every placement verified before it counts, and you approve everything. No swaps, no spam, no risk.
Join and get classified
Tell us your brand. Fokal maps your niche and works out exactly what you’re genuinely relevant to, so every future match makes editorial sense.
Give a mention
When your content cites a brand that truly fits, you contribute to the network. New here? Fokal seeds you a first mention from one of its own properties to get you started.
Earn them back
Relevance-matched brands mention you inside their content. Every placement is verified live before it counts toward your standing. You approve everything.
- Relevance-matched
- Editorially earned
- Verified live
- You approve everything
Verified outcomes
Earned coverage that shows up.
Real brands, real numbers. Every card traces to a live source. If we can’t verify it, it doesn’t go here.
via Fokal
3mentions
Earned, not bought.
Zerentry earned three editorial mentions in a fintech blog’s articles, each where it genuinely belongs. Google’s AI Overview now cites the comparison page Fokal wrote for them.
Google Search Console
+183%
Google impressions in 28 days.
PropSpotter joined and let Fokal run the content. Nine articles and a clutch of earned mentions later, the whole site’s Google footprint moved. Clicks up 136%.
Analytics
Search Console
+250%
AI queries per page. Google traffic up 53%.
“I’ve paid agencies before. The aha moment with Fokal was how straightforward it is.” Coverage plus content, compounding together.
What earned coverage looks like in AI search
Reyourrun, a Fokal customer, cited as a primary source after earning editorial coverage. Captured April 2026.
It’s free
Everything you get. Nothing to pay.
Free to join. No card, no trial, no catch. You earn links from brands inside the network and from relevant sites beyond it.
The backlink network Free
No credit card. Leave anytime.
- Join the network and get classified by niche
- Relevance-matched mentions from real brands
- Plus links earned from relevant sites beyond the network
- A starter mention to seed the loop
- Every placement verified live before it counts
- See your standing and who’s citing you
Common questions
Is this a link scheme? Will Google penalise me?
No. The network is editorial and relevance-gated. A mention only happens where your brand genuinely fits the article, it is earned through real content, and you approve everything before it goes live. That is exactly the kind of link Google's guidelines are fine with: editorially placed, relevant, not bought. We never sell links and never guarantee a specific link type for money.
Do I have to pay?
No. The backlink network is completely free to join, no credit card, leave anytime. You earn mentions by giving them, and new members get a starter mention to begin.
How are matches chosen?
By relevance. Fokal classifies your brand’s niche and only matches you with brands where a mention makes genuine editorial sense. A running-gear brand gets mentioned in running content, not in a fintech article. Irrelevant placements help no one and we don’t make them.
What do I have to give?
A mention, where it genuinely fits, in content you publish. That’s how the network stays editorial rather than transactional. New members get a starter mention from a Fokal property to seed the loop, so you earn before you’ve given.
Do the mentions actually help with AI search?
Yes. Earned editorial mentions are a signal both Google and AI engines use to decide who to cite. After joining, Zerentry earned three editorial mentions in a fintech blog and Google’s AI Overview now cites the comparison page Fokal wrote for them.
Free tool
Submitting to directories instead?
Most "high-DA directory" lists are recycled and half-wrong. We independently graded 863 of them on real authority, do-follow, hidden link requirements, and link-farm risk, so you can skip the junk.
Backlinks you earn, not buy.
Join a network of real brands citing real brands. Free, no credit card.
Join the network