Backlinks (sometimes referred to as "inbound links," "incoming links," or "one-way links") are links from one website to another's page. Backlinks are regarded as "votes" for a given website by Google and other major search engines. Organic search engine ranks are higher for pages with a large number of backlinks.
What are backlinks, and how do you get them?
Here's an example of a Forbes link to my website.
backlink from Forbes
A "backlink" is a link that leads straight to a page on my website.
This is where you should go if you want to purchase some backlinks.
What Is the Importance of Backlinks?
Backlinks are essentially votes for your website from other websites. "This material is valuable, credible, and useful," each of these votes informs search engines.
The higher your site ranks in Google and other search engines, the more of these "votes" you have.
The total number of backlinks
It's nothing new to use links in a search engine's algorithm. Backlinks were, in fact, the backbone of Google's first algorithm (known as "PageRank").
Citation with PageRank
Backlinks remain a vital ranking signal, despite the fact that Google's algorithm has undergone thousands of adjustments since then.
For example, according to a recent industry research, links are still Google's most important ranking signal.
Total backlinks from other websites
Backlinks are still one of Google's three most significant search engine ranking variables, according to the company.
Factors that influence search rankings
What Kinds of Backlinks Are Beneficial?
Backlinks aren't all made equal.
In other words, focus on quality backlinks if you want to rank higher in the SERPs.
To put it another way,
A single high-quality backlink can outperform 1,000 low-quality links.
High-quality backlinks, it turns out, have a few common characteristics.
They Come From Trusted, Authoritative Websites (Tail #1)
Would you rather have a Harvard backlink... or a random guy's website?
Google, it turns out, feels the same way.
"Domain Authority" is the term for this notion. In other words, the more authority a site has, the more authority it may transmit on to yours (via a link).
The authority of a domain
For instance, here's a link I saw on TechCrunch.
backlink from Techcrunch
TechCrunch is an exceptionally authoritative domain, according to Ahrefs.
Google gives the link a lot of weight because it originates from an authoritative site. In fact, once TechCrunch linked to me, I noticed an increase in organic search engine traffic.
Is it difficult to obtain these links? Definitely.
Is it really worth it? Absolutely.
Trait #2: They Use Your Target Keyword In The Anchor Text Of The Link
Anchor text is the visible text portion of a link, in case you forgot.
What are anchor links, and how do they work?
In general, you want anchor text that incorporates your target term in your links.
Indeed, a recent industry study discovered a link between keyword-rich anchor text and higher keyword rankings.
Anchor text with a lot of keywords
Now for a word of caution:
You don't want to use too many keywords in your anchor text. In truth, Google's algorithm includes a "Google Penguin" filter.
Google Penguin penalizes websites that employ black-hat link-building tactics. And it concentrates on sites that employ exact match anchor text to build backlinks.
Trait #3: The Site (and Page) That Is Linking To You Is Topically Related To Yours.
When one website links to another, Google looks to check if the two sites are connected.
When you think about it, this makes sense:
Assume you've just finished writing an article about marathon running.
In that instance, Google will value links from sites about marathons, running, and fitness far more than links from sites about fishing, unicycling, and digital marketing.
Backlinks in context
The link is a "Dofollow" link, which is trait #4.
Links with the "nofollow" tag are ignored by Google and other search engines.
Nofollow links are links that are not followed.
(In other words, nofollow links aren't taken into account by search engine algorithms.)
Fortunately, "dofollow" links make up the great majority of web links.
The majority of links with the nofollow tag aren't particularly valuable to begin with. For example, nofollow links from these sources are common:
Comments on a blog
Publications
Advertisements that are paid for
Because these links aren't really useful for SEO, the fact that they're nofollow isn't a major concern.
Trait #5: This is the first time a domain has linked to you.
Assume you receive a link from Website A.
Great.
Let's say Website A connects to you once more. And once more. And once more.
Are the second, third, and fourth links as effective as the first?
No.
Links from the same website, it turns out, have diminishing returns.
The ability to rank
Another way to say it is:
Getting 100 links from 100 distinct websites is usually preferable to 1,000 links from the same domain.
In fact, the number of sites linking to you (rather than the total number of backlinks) linked with Google rankings more than any other element, according to our search engine ranking correlation study.
The total number of referring domains is
Now that you've seen which types of backlinks are the most beneficial to your Google rankings, I'll show you how to get started.
Guidelines for Best Practices
Make a Linkable Assets list.
You need something worth linking to on your website if you want others to link to it.
(Also referred to as "Linkable Assets.")
A Linkable Asset can be anything that people will want to link to, such as a blog post, a video, a piece of software, a quiz, or a poll.
Your linkable asset will almost always be a fantastic piece of content (which is why search engine optimization and content marketing are so closely tied together).
For instance, when I first started my site, I released a list of more than 200 Google ranking variables.
Google Ranking Factors – Backlinko
Google utilizes 200 ranking signals, according to a report I read the other day. This piqued my interest, and I wondered, "What are these 200 signals?"
Of course, Google wasn't going to let the world know about them. As a result, I began accumulating statements from Google as well as patents that I discovered online.
It takes a long time to compile these 200 factors (it took me over 2 weeks). But, in the end, I generated a list of 200 ranking indicators that Google's algorithm might consider.
To far, nearly 25,800 backlinks from 5,870 domains have been produced by this single piece of content.
Backlinks and referring websites – Ahrefs – Google ranking factors
Let's take another example.
My definitive guide to YouTube SEO is one of my most effective pieces to date (in terms of backlinks and organic traffic).
How to Rank YouTube Videos on Backlinko
I was having some success with YouTube marketing when I started writing this post. As a result, I decided to gather and share what I'd learned in the form of an all-encompassing guide.
In my tutorial, I also decided to give a lot of examples:
Steps to Rank YouTube Videos
(This is something that the majority of the other content on the subject lacked.)
Despite the fact that this piece hasn't gotten quite as many backlinks as my Google Ranking Factors post, it has gotten quite a few.
Backlinks and referring domains – Ahrefs – How to rank YouTube videos
Link Roundups can help you build backlinks.
Consider what would happen if people just wrote blog posts to link to good information.
(The type of high-quality content you already have on your site)
Wouldn't that be fantastic?
That is, fortunately, a real thing. They're known as link roundups.
Here's an illustration:
Roundups of links
Connect roundups are blog entries that link to great information on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
Here's an example of a backlink from a roundup that I recently created:
Roundup
Here's how to do it step by step.
Locate Link Roundups in Your Industry: Use search words like "Keyword" + "link roundup" in Google.
Pitch Your Resource: (Gently) request that your linkable asset be included in the roundup.
You'll get a high-quality link if your post is a good fit for that person's roundup.
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