Hyperlinks are everywhere online. But have you ever wondered how they appear?
This guide explains how SEO backlinks work in simple terms, why Google pays close attention to them, and how a smart link-building plan can improve your online presence.
What Is a Backlink?
Backlink Definition
A backlink is a link from one page on a website to another. Also known as an inbound link, a backlink can bring visitors to your site from places like news sites, blogs, online directories, or paid sponsorships.
Run a link report in Google Search Console to see all the websites that link back to yours.
Why Are Backlinks Important?
Each backlink is like a vote of confidence in a page’s quality. They:
- Help search engines decide how valuable a page is and where to rank it in search results.
- Help search engines find and index your pages faster.
- Can sometimes bring visitors directly to your site.
A website’s collection of backlinks shows how trustworthy other websites think it is. This is why Google considers backlinks in its PageRank algorithm.
However, not all backlinks are good. Quality backlinks come from reputable websites and are related to the topic. Natural, relevant backlinks build trust and authority.
5 Key Benefits of Backlinks
Checking your backlinks, evaluating the quality of the sites linking to you, and getting good links to improve your online presence takes work, but it’s worth it.
1. Improve Ranking in Search Results
Search engines regularly check websites and decide where to place them in search results. As your pages get more backlinks, they move up in the rankings, leading to better visibility and more traffic.
2. Help Google Find New Pages
Just like you find new websites by clicking links, search engines follow links to discover new pages.
The crawling process begins with pages that have already been indexed. So, if you have a new page, a backlink from a well-known site can help Google find it faster.
3. Boost Credibility
Search engines trust reputable sites. When a trusted site links to your page, it boosts your credibility. Google sees these links as a sign that your content is valuable.
4. Encourage Referral Traffic
Although link building is usually not meant to generate direct traffic, it can happen. If people click on links to your site from relevant sites, make sure you are ready to use the conversion strategy and convert those visitors into customers.
5. Boost Return on Investment (ROI) of SEO
Link building supports your overall SEO strategy and content efforts. Backlinks last longer than ads or email campaigns and continue to benefit your site over time.
AN EXAMPLE OF BACKLINK ROI
This is a screenshot from a SaaS SEO campaign we ran for a customer
In December, HawkSEO did a technical audit for a customer’s website, improving their search results by 250 positions for certain keywords. The customer paused link building, and without backlinks, their rankings stalled and then declined in January.
Google already considered the site to be trustworthy, but it looked for other sites to confirm this by linking to it. Without these backlinks, Google doubted the site’s trustworthiness.
In early February, we got approval to start building links to specific pages. Once the new links were active, the site’s rankings improved. Google saw these links as proof of the site’s authority.
With 16 months of link building, our customer experienced:
– 106% increase in overall ranking keywords
– 171% year-over-year growth in organic sessions for targeted pages
– 5 to 1 return on SEO investment
We’ve seen this happen many times.
This shows that while initial SEO efforts improve rankings, without backlinks, a site may lose its position in search results.
How to Get Backlinks
How do you get the right backlinks to increase traffic and credibility?
Submit Your Site to Directories
Submit your website to high-quality directories related to your industry or community. Focus on directories from trade associations, professional organisations, networking groups, and industry leaders.
Avoid low-quality directories that link to random businesses without checking their quality, as Google might see these as part of link schemes.
Ask for Backlinks
Reach out directly to reputable sites and request a backlink. You’re more likely to succeed if you offer something valuable in return.
- Guest blogs: Suggest an article idea that would be useful to the site’s readers.
- Skyscraper technique: Improve an existing linked article and offer yours as an alternative. Make sure your content is clearer or more detailed.
- Link inserts: Find points in blog posts or articles where your content could add value, and suggest they link to your site for more detailed information.
- Resource page link building: Find online lists of resources relevant to your business and ask to be included.
Broken links: Identify dead links on sites and suggest they replace them with links to your relevant content.
Claim unlinked mentions: If your business is mentioned without a link, ask the site to link to your webpage.
Earn Your Backlinks
Use your knowledge and expertise to create reasons for sites to link to you.
Create value by providing
HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT
Provide useful content like blog posts, infographics, and video tutorials. Use keyword research to identify what users are searching for.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Conduct surveys, gather statistics, and create case studies. Real-world data is valuable and can position your brand as an authority, and earns you high-end backlinks whenever someone uses your data.
EXPERT QUOTES
Offer your expertise to journalists. Sign up for services that notify you when media members need expert insights.
But Remember, Don’t Buy Backlinks
You might find services offering to sell you bulk links cheaply. Avoid these, as Google is strict about quality and may penalise you for having backlinks from suspicious sites.
Is Building Backlinks Bad?
Buying bulk links is a bad idea, but you can build links the right way. The best way to get high-quality, relevant links from other sites is to create unique, valuable content that people want to share.
Placing links without considering their value to users, whether bought or not, is a short-sighted SEO tactic. It sacrifices the authority you could build with high-quality links.
There’s a big difference between paying for professional link-building services and buying thousands of backlinks cheaply from a gig website.
Strategically placing high-quality links on sites that relate to yours takes time and effort, and the cost reflects the value these services bring to enhancing your topical authority in your field.
Discover more about the real SEO cost and how they can increase your business profits, or explore our SEO director’s thoughts on the importance of link building.
NEED SEO HELP?
Let’s talk about how our SEO services can help you get found online and crush your traffic goals.
FAQs About Link Building
How long do backlinks take to work?
Generally, you’ll begin to see inbound links in your backlink list about 30-45 days after they’re placed. They can affect your search engine rankings within two weeks of being indexed. However, the impact they have depends on how relevant the backlink is to your content and how competitive your target keyword is.
What matters more, the quantity or quality of backlinks?
While many say quality matters more than quantity, the real answer is more detailed.
If there’s a large gap in referring domains to your site compared to the top three competitors for a keyword, focusing on quantity can help bridge that gap. Quality is important, but having relevant domains linking to you is more crucial than just domain authority signals, which are often misunderstood.
Is Domain Authority the best measure of link quality?
Metrics like Domain Authority (Moz), Domain Rating (Ahrefs), and Authority Score (SEMrush) predict how well a site might rank compared to others. These metrics can give you an idea of a site’s trustworthiness, but remember Google doesn’t use them. Only Google knows how much a backlink is worth. As Search Engine Journal notes, this metric doesn’t always reflect value. Sites with a low DA score can still be credible and perform well.
Do links from unknown but trusted sites help SEO?
A link from a popular site, such as the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, is a strong endorsement from a reliable source. While these links are valuable, they’re also highly competitive. Links from smaller, trustworthy sites can still improve your backlink profile. Though they may seem less impressive, they still show credibility, relevance, and authority.
Should I worry about links with a high spam score?
One backlink with a high spam score isn’t a major concern. However, having many links with high spam scores could be problematic.
Spam score, created by Moz, evaluates potential risks from a backlink using 17 factors called “spam flags” that might endanger your site.
Regularly check your site’s overall backlink health to avoid penalties. Tools like SEMRush’s Backlink Audit can quickly assess your backlinks and help you remove harmful ones.
Does anchor text matter, and if so, how much?
Anchor text used in backlinks should ideally include relevant keywords, but not excessively. If many different websites use “landscaping experts” to link to your lawn care business, Google will think your site should rank well for related keywords. However, too many exact matches might violate Google’s linking rules.
Websites linking to yours don’t always use exact match keywords, and that’s okay. Google understands natural language well, so pages often rank for many different specific keywords. It’s good for your backlink collection to include some links with generic anchor text like “click here” because that’s a common way websites link to each other.
What are Private Blog Networks, and will using them get my site penalised?
Private Blog Networks (PBNs) are groups of sites made to sell backlinks. They often contain low-quality content and try to trick algorithms. Using PBNs violates Google’s guidelines and may lead to manual action penalty.
Can press releases help build links?
Press releases promote your brand and can include backlinks to your site. Be cautious, though, as syndicating press releases with keyword-rich anchor text may be seen as over-optimisation. Save press releases for real news and consider working with an agency to secure editorial links.
Do more backlinks mean higher rankings?
Yes, but only if they’re quality links. Your credibility improves when respected sites endorse you. Backlinks from poor or suspicious sites won’t help your SEO.
Are nofollow links valuable?
Nofollow links don’t directly affect your page rank, but they can boost exposure and brand awareness.
Does it matter which page a backlink points to?
According to a study by Ahrefs Pages without backlinks get little organic traffic. Focus on acquiring quality backlinks to pages with conversion opportunities. Use a strategic internal linking structure to pass equity from pages with more backlinks to those with fewer.
Does the age of a referring page affect backlink quality?
The age of a page doesn’t directly impact backlink quality. However, when an old page adds a backlink to your site, it can signal endorsement strength to Google.
Partner with a Link Building Expert
A well-executed link-building campaign can enhance your search visibility, drive qualified traffic and get your closer to your goals. In a competitive digital landscape, consider our unique broken backlink strategy with our other SEO services to help your business stand out. Contact us for a free SEO consultation today.
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