Did you know that organic search brings in over 53% of all website traffic? If your SEO strategy doesn’t include link building, you’re missing out on a lot of potential traffic.
Google considers backlinks as one of its top three ranking factors. Generally, the more backlinks a page has, the more organic traffic it gets from search engines.
Backlinks are crucial for SEO, and that’s why we’ve put together this guide to show you how they can boost your rankings.
In this guide, we’ll cover:
➡️ Why backlinks are so important for SEO.
➡️ What makes a good backlink.
➡️ How to optimize your website to get better rankings.
Why Are Backlinks Important for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is all about making your website rank higher than your competitors’ by using different strategies. One key strategy to include in your SEO plan is link building.
Google uses backlinks to gauge how trustworthy and authoritative a website is. Generally, the more high-quality backlinks a page has, the higher it will rank in search results.
Studies show that Google sees backlinks as important trust signals. When deciding where to rank a website for a particular search term, Google’s algorithm looks at the site’s backlink profile.
Your backlink profile is made up of the number and quality of links pointing to your site. A page with more backlinks usually ranks higher on Google. However, remember that backlinks are just one factor among many that influence your search engine ranking.
Links are a confidence signal for search engines
You might be curious about why search engines like Google place so much importance on backlinks when deciding a website’s ranking.
Backlinks were a key factor in the PageRank algorithm, which was central to Google’s original search engine. Even though Google now uses more advanced algorithms, backlinks remain crucial.
The main reason backlinks are still important is that they serve as a trust signal. Websites typically don’t link to low-quality or spammy content unless they’re trying to promote it, so Google sees a lot of backlinks as a sign that a website is valuable and trustworthy.
For the best results, focus on getting high-quality backlinks from reputable sites with strong metrics, like high domain authority.
Backlinks are important for other reasons too
Backlinks do more than just boost your website’s ranking—they offer several other important benefits too.
First off, they can drive traffic to your site. If you get a link on a popular page, you might see a lot of visitors coming to your site from that link. This is known as referral traffic.
Backlinks also help with brand exposure. The more links you have, the more people will see your brand as they click on those links.
Plus, working to get backlinks can help you build better relationships with other sites in your industry. It’s a great way to connect with others and expand your network.
Also Read: Toxic Backlinks: Spotting and Fixing for Better SEO
Not All Backlinks Are Equal
You might be thinking that to boost your SEO and grow your backlink profile, you need to get as many backlinks as possible.
While it’s true that having more backlinks can help, it’s important to remember that not all backlinks are the same.
Instead of just grabbing any link you can, focus on creating great content and getting high-quality backlinks from reputable sites. Quality matters much more than quantity.
Links from web directories or low-quality sites might not really help your SEO efforts.
In fact, some backlinks, especially spammy ones, can even hurt your business.
Google frowns upon anything that looks like a “link scheme.” This means trying to manipulate your search rankings with fake or artificial links is a no-no.
So, be careful with your link-building. Choose methods that Google supports, and you’ll be on the right track.
Low-quality links, spammy backlinks, and black hat SEO tactics can damage your site and reputation, especially if you end up with a Google penalty.
What Should You Look for in a Backlink?
Let’s dive into what to look for when you’re building backlinks, now that you know how important they are for SEO and boosting your website’s ranking.
A good backlink should be:
- Natural: It should fit naturally into the content of a website and not be a trick to manipulate search engine rankings.
- Reputable: It should come from a trustworthy and well-regarded website.
- Relevant: The site where the link appears should be related to your audience, brand, and niche.
You should also consider a few other factors. We’ve put together a guide to help you find quality websites and avoid bad ones.
Editorial links from reputable media sites are usually the best. These are genuine, reliable, and highly relevant.
Think of top-tier sites like the BBC or the New York Times. They have high domain metrics, lots of traffic, and consistently publish excellent content.
Getting backlinks from such sites can be tough, so starting with guest posting is a great way to get links that are:
- Relevant to your niche
- High-quality
- Authoritative
- From websites with strong metrics like high domain authority
On the other hand, here are some less valuable types of links:
- Directory websites: Often have little traffic, don’t create their own content, and let almost anyone create a profile.
- Link farms: Created mainly to sell links. They might have high domain authority but usually have low traffic and poor content.
- New websites: Typically have low domain metrics and traffic. While their links aren’t as strong initially, they can become more valuable as the site grows.
Remember, not all links fit neatly into these categories. Even if they’re not from top sites like the New York Times, links from blogs, niche websites, local news sites, and similar sources can still be valuable for your website.
Also, just because a site charges for links or has high domain authority doesn’t mean it’s automatically a link farm.
Other Relevant Factors
There are other factors to take into account than the website’s authority when choosing a link. The kind of link you get and the anchor text you use both affect how highly your website ranks.
Anchor text
The text in the article to which a link is associated is known as the anchor text. This is how Google’s algorithm determines the topic of the page.
Google can tell that a link about “best smartphones” is related to the best smartphones topic.
When you get organic links to your website, you don’t get to choose the anchor text (the clickable part of the link). But if you’re using techniques like guest posting or making changes yourself, you do have some control over it.
Here are some good practices for using anchor text:
- Don’t overstuff with keywords: Make sure your link text reads naturally and doesn’t feel forced.
- Be specific: Use clear and descriptive text for the link.
- Keep it relevant: Make sure the link text matches the content around it.
- Mix it up: Vary the keywords you use in your anchor text.
Follow vs. nofollow links
The follow or nofollow status of the link is another crucial consideration.
Links that the owner of the website has instructed Google’s algorithm not to crawl are known as nofollow links. They are therefore not as beneficial as dofollow links.
Can You Rank in Google Without Backlinks?
You can still rank on Google without building backlinks, but you’ll usually only make it for less competitive terms.
There’s usually a reason why some terms have little competition:
- Low search volume: They don’t attract a lot of traffic.
- Low value: Even if they do bring in traffic, it’s hard to make money from those visitors.
If you’re aiming for terms like these, backlinks might not be essential.
But if you want to rank for more competitive keywords, you’ll need to include backlinks in your SEO strategy.
Improved SEO Is Not Guaranteed
Absolutely, Google does use your website’s backlink profile to help determine its ranking, but it’s just one of many factors they consider.
No one knows all the exact factors Google looks at—some say there are over 200!
But most people agree that these key factors affect your ranking:
- Links
- Content
- Search intent
- On-page experience
To get a good ranking, your website needs to excel in all (or most) of these areas, not just in backlinks.
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