Backlinks are web links that originate from other websites and can be clickable text which leads to your website. The search engines view every backlink as a vote of confidence for you, so the more quality-driven, relevant ones there are pointing at your site, the higher authority it will have in its niche.
Backlinks, also called link building, is an essential component of successful search engine optimization (SEO). In this blog post, readers will gain insight into the importance and value of backlinks to their Google ranking. We’ll cover how you can build them and why they are part of SEO efforts. It should take no more than 5 minutes to read through!
Why are backlinks so important?
Backlinks are one of the oldest ranking factors in Google’s search engine algorithm. In earlier days, they viewed backlinks as a website’s most precious asset. The maximum number of relevant backlinks on a site would boost its rating and consequently improve its position in the SERPs.
- Backlinks are not only a measure of the value of a website, but they also reflect its popularity and how useful the content on it is.
- No other site will reference your website if the content presented has nothing to offer visitors. Initially, Google’s algorithms heavily weighed backlinks but since the 2013 Penguin update, relevance and quality of inbound links are more critical than having a large number of them.
Google supposes this to be the case, but in reality it’s more a question of striking an equilibrium between amount and quality. All the same, both need to be applicable! If you cannot get either characteristic into your backlinks then unfortunately your website won’t make its way up Google’s ranks. Obviously, we can help you out with this matter, check out the buy backlinks guide to find out how this works.
What do backlinks do?
If we were to compare backlinks and their effect on a website to an election, each link would be similar to a vote for the page. This increases its chances of achieving top search engine rankings with Google. By building more links, you can effectively boost your domain’s authority.
What is a good backlink?
To determine the quality of a backlink, it’s important to bear in mind several factors. Firstly, the linking site must have relevance with your website. For example, if you run a construction business then a link from another construction-related source would be much more relevant than one from an ecommerce store that sells shoes.
It’s essential to remember that backlinks should be accumulated in the most natural way possible, yet this is often difficult. That being said, when it comes time for link building, we always strive for accuracy and use techniques that emulate a natural process as much as feasible.
A crucial factor that is often overlooked when building a good backlink is the anchor text. An anchor text helps direct readers to where you want them to land by providing context and direction with just a few words or phrases.
Domain authority (DA) or Domain rating (DR)
The Domain Authority or Domain rating metric will clue you in to the strength of your website’s backlink profile, ranging from 0-100. A higher domain authority increases the chances that a website will be ranked favorably on search results.
Backlinks from trusted and reliable websites hold more “authority” than those from untrustworthy sources, so it is best to strive for external links on strong sites with high DA scores if you want your ranking to soar! Low-authority domains can even carry negative implications, something no business wants so avoid them at all costs!
Follow and nofollow backlinks
A successful transfer of link value from an external webpage through a backlink requires the inclusion of rel=”do-follow” in its source code. If you see rel=”no-follow,” that implies no direct link value will be passed to another page via this connection. To comprehend why these attributes were developed, we must reflect on how links were traditionally constructed years ago.
Anchor text placement
The anchor text, also known as the link label or title of a hyperlink, is what makes it stand out from all other texts. Its blue lettering indicates to users that it’s clickable and can lead them elsewhere. Search engines pay attention to which words are linked with particular website addresses and utilizing relevant keywords in your anchor texts will make you more findable when people search for those terms.
Relevance
Quality backlinks are those stemming from sites that operate within the same industry. An online beverage retailer linking to a children’s toy store would not be applicable in this case, but rather something like a link coming from a toy manufacturer connecting directly with the toy store could bring relevance and value.
Traffic
The more visitors who come across a Web page that has an established backlink, the higher the likelihood of successful clicks.
The position of the link
The position of the backlink is integral to its success. That being said, a center-placed external link carries significantly more weight than one located in the footer area of a page. Thus, when you can place your backlinks in an article’s upper- or central area go for it!