Talmyn 500: The 500 Backlink Challenge

What this offers

Who this is for

SEO practitioners, marketers, and founders willing to build one real piece of content or resource and track, honestly and publicly, how many legitimate referring domains it earns. This is not for anyone planning to buy links or use link farms — see the rules below.

How it works

1. Build something worth linking to. One real page, tool, dataset, or resource — not a farm of thin pages.
2. Submit your starting entry below. Your current referring-domain count and a public proof link (Search Console, Ahrefs, or similar).
3. Update any time your number changes. Resubmit with the same email and your new count — we update your existing entry, not create a duplicate.
4. Track your rank on the live leaderboard. No editorial review gate — the board reflects what's submitted, with proof links so anyone can check.

Rules & eligibility

• This is free to enter, and always will be — we never charge a submission fee.
• Referring domains must be earned legitimately — genuine editorial links, real mentions, real citations. No purchased links, link farms, PBNs, or reciprocal-link schemes. We remove entries we find evidence of this for.
• Your proof link must be genuinely public and checkable — a private screenshot with no way to verify it isn't accepted.
• You can resubmit and update your entry as often as your real progress changes — this leaderboard is meant to move.
• The 500-domain target is the named goal, not a requirement to appear on the board — entries at any stage of progress are shown, ranked by current count.
• Talmyn reserves the right to remove any entry that turns out to be fraudulent, including after it's been live — a public leaderboard only works if the numbers on it are real.

How do I actually apply?

I submit my current referring-domain count honestly, along with a public link — a Search Console property share, an Ahrefs report link, or similar — that anyone can use to actually check the number, not just take my word for it. As that number changes, I come back and resubmit with the same email address, and my existing entry updates instead of a new one being created.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it cost anything to enter?

No. Talmyn 500 is free to enter and free to update, with no submission fee at any point.

Does my entry go through editorial review before it appears?

No — unlike Talmyn's other campaigns, challenge entries publish immediately to the leaderboard, since the point is a live, current standing. We do remove entries later if we find evidence of fraudulent or purchased links.

What counts as a "legitimate" referring domain?

A genuine editorial link, mention, or citation from a real site — not a purchased placement, a link farm, a PBN, or a reciprocal-link arrangement built purely to game a count.

How do I update my progress?

Resubmit the form with the same email address and your new number — we match it to your existing entry and update it, rather than creating a duplicate row.

What if I never reach 500?

Your entry stays on the leaderboard regardless — the 500 figure is the named target, not a cutoff for being shown. A documented, honest attempt is itself a useful public case study.