Other Terms
Backlink
Table Of Contents
What is a Backlink?
A backlink is a hyperlink from an external website to your own. It serves as an indicator of content quality and influences search engine rankings. It’s one of the most critical elements of SEO.
Backlinks in Details
In the eyes of Google, backlinks are endorsements for your website. Each backlink tells a search engine that another resource finds your content valuable enough to link to.
Google rates these links highly, using them as a critical ranking signal.
The more high-quality backlinks a website has, the more favorable its position in search engine results pages (SERPs) tends to be. The quality of backlinks matters significantly: links from authoritative and relevant sites carry more weight than those from less reputable sources.
Moreover, the context is crucial: links embedded in content related to your niche are more beneficial than those from unrelated or catch-all sources.
Moreover, the context is crucial: links embedded in content related to your niche are more beneficial than those from unrelated or catch-all sources.
How to Use Backlinks Right
To enhance your backlink profile the whitehat way, prioritize creating top-quality content that naturally attracts links. Something that other sites are likely to use as a reference or as a source.
Aim for backlinks that are not just numerous but authoritative and contextually relevant to your niche.
We do not recommend buying bad-quality backlinks en masse: it’s not 2015, and Google is perfectly aware of this practice. It will do little good. You need an expert to build your backlink profile to look as close to natural as possible, even if money is involved.
Aim for backlinks that are not just numerous but authoritative and contextually relevant to your niche.
We do not recommend buying bad-quality backlinks en masse: it’s not 2015, and Google is perfectly aware of this practice. It will do little good. You need an expert to build your backlink profile to look as close to natural as possible, even if money is involved.
Types of Backlinks
Backlinks are not a monolith – they come in different types that can impact your SEO performance.
Natural Links
These are given without action from the page owner, typically because the content creator believes your content is valuable.
Manually Built Links
Created through deliberate link-building activities, like asking influencers to share your content, talking to your competition in the niche on backlink exchange, and so on.
Self-Created Links
These come from practices like adding a backlink in an online directory, forums, blog comment signatures, or a press release with optimized anchor text.
Each type has its place in an SEO strategy, but someone must balance correctly to avoid penalties. Google is a bit too conscious of backlinks in recent updates.
Each type has its place in an SEO strategy, but someone must balance correctly to avoid penalties. Google is a bit too conscious of backlinks in recent updates.
Quality of Backlinks: Good vs. Bad
The quality of a backlink is pivotal in determining its impact on your SEO. Good backlinks come from sites that have:
- Relevance
- Authority
- Traffic
Another factor is the placement itself. Links should appear within the main content of a page and be contextually relevant to surrounding content.
Also, consider the follow vs nofollow aspect. “Follow” links tell search engines to count the link for SEO ranking, whereas “nofollow” links do not (though they can still be valuable in driving traffic). Bad backlinks come in all shapes and sizes as well:
Also, consider the follow vs nofollow aspect. “Follow” links tell search engines to count the link for SEO ranking, whereas “nofollow” links do not (though they can still be valuable in driving traffic). Bad backlinks come in all shapes and sizes as well:
- Irrelevant links can dilute your website’s topical authority;
- Links from spammy or not trustworthy sites;
- Buying links in bulk can lead to Google penalties as it’s against Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.
As with pretty much anything in SEO, it’s all about balance. If all your inbound links have perfectly optimized anchors, it may look unnatural to search engines. Gaining a large number of backlinks in a short time can signal manipulative practices.