If you are working on your SEO strategy, then a backlinks guide is necessary for you. Why? Because there are pretty good reasons behind it.

The foremost we can count on is that Google and other search engines use backlinks as a prominent ranking factor. Thus, the backlinks you are getting can play a significant role in your Search Engine Result Page ranking.

However, that's not the only reason why you should be using backlinks, and there are many more. In this backlinks guide, we will be discussing those reasons. In addition, we will also ponder over good and bad links and how to build links.

What Are Backlinks?

Let's start with the square and talk about backlinks. If you are a newbie in the field, then before anything else, you should know what a backlink is.

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Basically, what happens in backlinking is that another webpage links to your webpage. So, in backlinking, your webpage link is added to another website's webpage. Backlinks are a part of off–page SEO tactics as they are not related to the content of your webpage.

You can think of backlinks as a sort of recommendation or endorsement of your website by other websites. In this kind of endorsement, a website is referring your website and content to its users.

Thus, for search engines like Google, it is an indicator that your website and its content are good. That is why it is said that backlinks are essential for your ranking on search engines.

However, earlier, this was not the case, and search engines like Yahoo and Alta Vista were using content as a ranking factor. Then Google entered as a search engine in the scenario and changed everything.

It introduced the PageRank Algorithm for the first time, and instead of focusing on content, it only started emphasizing backlinks, too. And now, because of this algorithm, websites rank based on backlinks too.

The more they have high–quality backlinks, the higher their ranking will be on search engines. However, that doesn't mean content quality has lost its importance; it is still relevant.

Good and Bad Backlinks

In our backlinks guide we have discussed what backlinks are, but how to know what are good and bad backlinks. Now, you can ask why we need to discuss this, well there are good reasons for it.

When online businesses, digital marketers, and SEO professionals came to know about backlinks, they adopted several methods. Now, as you can guess, some of them were ethical, while some were just to fool search engines.

For example, you can make a side website, publish content on it, and link back to your main website. This will show search engines like Google that you are getting backlinks on your website.

Earlier, many such methods were used to just get backlinks, but now Google and other search engines have updated their policies. They have defined what good and bad backlinks are. They also specified that they care only about good backlinks, which are as follows:

Authority

The first thing that decides whether the backlink you got is good or not is the authority of the page. An authoritative page that is credible and has a good ranking on search engines is deemed best. It has an authority that it passes over to you when it links to you.

In a way, it shows search engines like Google that your website is credible and reliable, and that is why it has links to it. Some SEO experts even said that in their years of experience, this factor proves to be more effective than any other.

Now, you can use some tools available out there to check the ratings of a website. This will help you approach real authoritative websites.

Relevance

The next factor that determines the quality of your backlink is relevance. And it is equally important as the first factor. Why? Well, let's take an example to understand that.

Suppose you are an online recipe blog website, so that will be more relevant to you. Another relevant recipe or cooking-related website or a fashion blog website.

Even if the latter has more authority, it is not relevant to your website and its content. Hence, you need to get backlinks from the relevant websites.

Thus, you have to combine these factors to get good-quality backlinks. That is earning backlinks from an authoritative website relevant to your content and website.

Anchor Text

Another factor that decides the quality of your backlink is the anchor text. Generally speaking, an anchor text is a word or phrase from a sentence with a link. So, you can say that it is the clickable part of a sentence in your content.

Now, it is identified that Google and other search engines use anchor text as a ranking factor. This means that whenever you are using an anchor text, the link attached to it must be the same as what the anchor text means.

For instance, if your anchor text is "tiramisu dessert," the link attached to it must be about the tiramisu. Sometimes, people use keyword-rich anchor texts that are now classified as spammy.

When you are working on anchor text and backlinks, you should make them natural. If they have natural backlinks, then it's a good thing; otherwise, don't force it or overdo it.

Another thing worth noting here is the baby anchor text. They are words used around anchor texts. Search engines like Google use them to know more about the anchor text.

By this, it tries to find out whether you have used your anchor text naturally or forced it in the content. With your anchor text, you should also work on the entire piece of content.

Placement

By placement, we mean the position of your backlink. Is it in the middle of the content or added as a footer link? With time, it is revealed that the position of links is important when it comes to ranking.

The links that are embedded in the sidebar or footer of a webpage have less value than those used in the middle of the content. And the reason for this is pretty genuine; just think for yourself.

Will you scroll down for a link or go with the one placed in the top or middle portion of the content? The answer will be the reason why search engines regard the position of a link as an important ranking factor.

Nofollow and Dofollow Links

One more factor that makes backlinks good or bad is this. As you can understand from the name itself, nofollow links are not the purpose of following. Generally speaking, when a website adds a tag of "nofollow," it tells search engines that the link is not for endorsement.

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According to Google, "nofollow" doesn't pass authority. However, it still offers brand recognition. So, you should be working on getting more "dofollow" links.

Why You Should Use Backlinks?

Till now, in our backlinks guide, we have studied backlinks in detail. So, now we should be discussing why they are important for your website.

Websites that rank #1 on Google have 3.8x more backlinks than the rest of the top 10 sites.

The reasons are as follows:

1. Establishing Authority and Trust

We have talked about this reason in detail in the above sections. When you get a backlink from a website, it tells search engines that your webpage is worth recommending. That indirectly points out that your content is of good quality, and other websites are referring to it.

What matters here is that the websites that are linking back to you are authoritative and relevant. When a genuine website with a good ranking will link to you, then only you can get high rankings on search engines.

2. Improve Visibility in Search

Getting backlinks is not only good for your SERP ranking but also improves your visibility in search. To understand this, let's take an example.

Suppose you have a nutrient supplement business. Now, when authoritative and high-ranking related websites use your link, they are recommending your products indirectly.

You can think of it as a promotion of your products and enhance your visibility in searches. The more websites link to you, the more you will appear in searches.

3. Attracting More Traffic on Your Website

With backlinks, you can not only get higher rankings on search engines but also translate another webpage's traffic to yours. Now, you know that when a website is using your link in their content, they are generally your website and content to them.

So, they will use the links provided in the content and land on your webpage. If the quality of your webpage is good and the content is relevant to the anchor text, then they will engage with your website. In this way, you can attract more traffic to your website using backlinks.

4. Stay Competitive in Your Niche

Many competitors are likely utilizing backlinks to strengthen their online presence. By building a solid backlink strategy, you can stay competitive and ensure your website is visible within your industry.

This approach not only safeguards your website's visibility but also establishes it as a prominent player in your industry. By strategically building and nurturing backlinks, you create a strong digital footprint that can elevate your brand and attract a wider audience.

Top Tactics to Use for Link Building

This is an important section of our backlinks guide and will tell you some proven tactics for link building. You can use the following methods to build backlinks:

• Become a source of publishers or other bloggers. So you will get more backlinks from other websites that are relevant to your website and use your content or data as quotes.

• Create linkable web pages and assets. Whenever you create comprehensive and highly researched content, it will naturally attract backlinks.

• Another way to build backlinks is to get featured on resource pages. There are plenty of resource pages available, and you can use any of them related to your website.

• Fix the broken links. Many times, a website gets broken links. In that case, you can replace your updated links and earn backlinks.

• One proven strategy is to use the Skyscraper technique. In this method, you have to find the successful content that has more backlinks. Then, you need to create better content than that and promote your content among those linked to the original page.

These are just some prominent ways to build backlinks that we discussed in our backlinks guide. There are plenty of effective backlinks tactics you can use.

FAQs

Are backlinks important for SEO?

Yes, backlinks are very important for SEO and come under Off–page SEO tactics. It shows search engines that your website has authority and your content is reliable.

How can I build backlinks?

There are many ways in which you can build backlinks. You can become a source for bloggers and reporters, or you can build backlinks from outdated resources. There are many more methods that you can use.

Are paid backlinks good?

Well, we can't deny the fact that people use paid backlinks; however, according to Google, they are not very helpful. Search engines value organic backlinks more than paid ones.

Are there any tools for backlinks?

Yes, there are various tools available for backlinks out there. You can even hire or use some digital marketing agencies that can handle link building of your business.

How to get backlinks for free?

As Google has said, paid backlinks are not authoritative, and it emphasizes organic backlinks more. They are free to get and have more power than the paid ones. There are many ways in which you can get free backlinks.

Conclusion

In this article, we have seen what backlinks are and why they are important for your SEO. Well, we can't say that they are the only factor to rank high on search engines. However, they indeed play a significant role in your ranking on SERPs. That is why you can't afford to miss them and lose the opportunity.

Link building is a considerably lengthy yet important part of an SEO strategy. Hence, you have to work on it efficiently.

You need to get quality backlinks from authoritative pages relevant to your page or content and have a good ranking on search engines. Also, while you are working on backlinks, work on their components like anchor text or baby anchor text, as they are important too.

To sum up, when you are working with link building for your SEO, you can't just take it lightly. You have to pay your utmost attention to it and work on building a robust and effective backlink structure.