What Are Backlinks?
A backlink is a hyperlink from another website to yours. Google uses these links as indicators of the relevance, authority, and validity of your sites on search engines like Bing or Yahoo!. You might hear the terms “incoming link” or “inbound link” used in place for “backlinks.”
If you have a lot of high-quality backlinks coming into your site (such as Forbes), then it will rank higher than other websites that do not get this many incoming links – perhaps even page one!
Backlinks are an important part of SEO. If you have backlinks from very low-authority sites, it could bury your site with Google ranking, and that’s not what we want! But don’t worry because there’s more to search engine optimization than just backlinking. You’ll need on-page activities too like keywords in the title or ensuring your website loads quickly for example.
In this blog post, I will tell you why quality links matter so much and provide a step-by-step guide that tells you exactly how to make them happen – without being spammy about it!
What does backlink look like?
One great way to see the quality of a site is by checking its DA. Developed by Moz, Domain Authority is not a ranking factor but it might help your link-building strategy and provide an accurate assessment of web page content. You can check out websites with this extension called Mozbar from Moz which you can download for Chrome or Firefox browser
Major Facts Of Backlinks
- Wikipedia is the world’s most popular and widely-read single reference work on all topics. In 2007, it took a bold step in protecting its users by adding a no-follow attribute to all backlinks . This meant that links to third party sites would not count towards search engine rankings as before when they could make or break your company ranking online with just one link!
- Google changed its blog comment spam policy in 2005
- Google’s Penguin update to the SEO world was a game changer. The first time, Google penalized black-hat link schemes
- After the introduction of USG (user generated) links, webmasters could tell if a link was for advertising or another perposes.
Why Websites Need Backlinks
Backlinks are a key strategy for every digital marketer because they provide an important boost to search engine rankings. Here are two key reasons for creating a backlink:
To Improve Rankings on search results
Backlinks act as a “vote of confidence” to let Google & other search engines know that users find the site.
Google sees backlinks as one of its major ranking factors. Backlinks act as signals to Google that it offers users quality experiences. So they will be increasingly important in our future with the latest update of google for page experience announced this May 2021.
According to recent research, there is a number of backlinks and where it ranks on Google. by data, ranking highest has 3.8x more backlinks than positions 2-10!
Moz scientist Dr. Matthew Peters recently showed that out of 200+ Google rank factors, 30% are explained by just one strategy: Backlinking!
Google also favors anchors because it reveals the content. It’s important to pay attention to this detail since you’re more likely to get a favorable ranking by using relevant text with high-value keywords throughout your site.
When it comes to search engine optimization, anchor texts can be the best way of describing a page.
To Increase Discoverability on search engines
As the number of searches increases, so does your audience.
With 7 billion searches per day in 2020 and an ever-growing need to conduct business online, we are likely to see a higher volume of queries that result in new leads! This is why another way you can increase discoverability for your site is by building backlinks which will also lead to more referral traffic as well as provide enhanced benefits when ranking on search engines like Google or Bing.
(Which traffic come via backlinks on third-party sites to your page is called referral traffic.)
By strategically placing relevant links within posts on other, high-traffic websites, you’re making it easier for users to find your website.
Types Of Backlinks
The different types of links you can use to increase your website’s online visibility are nofollow and dofollow:
More About Nofollow & Dofollow Links
Building a great backlink strategy requires an understanding of nofollow and dofollow links. The difference between the two types is that one contributes to your page ranking whereas the other does not; Google, for instance, includes do-follow links as contributing factors in its PageRank system while nofollow backlinks not going to count as a signal of ranking factors as itself indicating search engines not to count it.
Backlink Examples
In order to maximize your search engine ranking, it is important that you use a variety of different types of links. Natural link signals like press releases and guest blogging can be used in conjunction with paid campaigns such as article advertising or web directories.
Blogger Outreach
Blogger outreach is also known as influencer marketing or guest posting.
It is a way to reach out, collaborate with other website owners and offer them free content in exchange for some sort of mention or link back on their site. These links usually come from within topical posts they have written themselves.
Do you want more exposure? Do so much work that people can’t help but talk about it! Bloggers are looking at guest posting as the next big thing – not only does it give your company name recognition but also offers juicy opportunities to expand its horizons through collaboration and new partnerships.
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Niche Edits
Niche edits is a backlink-building strategy that adds links to already published content. This added info will contain contextual links which can boost the site’s age and authority, increasing your chance for success with higher-quality backlinks in an extremely competitive industry landscape.
Local Business Citations
A local business citation is the mention of a company’s information on directories. Citations could also include the description of a business’ services; opening hours; driving directions to their location as well as taglines that provide further information about what they offer and alternative contact methods such as email addresses for customers who prefer more privacy when making inquiries. Google collects this data which it then uses in its ranking system.
Proper citations can also help local businesses get discovered by new customers, which in turn brings more traffic and revenue. Tradespeople such as electricians, plumbers, painters for example could post their business information on high-authority sites like Yellowpages or Yelp while ensuring that the content is consistent across all channels to avoid any discrepancies from showing up when a customer checks out your services online.
Press Release Distribution
Press release distribution is an effective strategy for building brand authority and engagement with audiences. One way to do this is by distributing a press release about the benefits of your new product, which can include backlinks that direct readers to purchase or learn more about it. This helps increase organic traffic if you choose paid distribution as well since many media outlets will share these links in their own coverage on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter!
Infographic Promotion
When a business wants to promote themselves, they should consider creating an infographic. Infographics are visual representations that break down complex topics in simple ways and allow businesses with complicated industries such as software development or higher education to gain attention by presenting their information visually. They’re also shareable, which can create more natural backlinks for the company’s website when people reshare it on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter.
How To Get Backlinks
How many links do you need? How long does it take to get them? And what can be done in the meantime while we work on increasing our number of high-quality, relevant backlinks over time? Here is a breakdown:
On average, 10-15 good-quality external links from authoritative sites will help your site rank higher than competitors with fewer or less relevant ones.
Typically there are three ways to secure backlink:
- Other site will link if you create original content
- Site owners are likely to post your content and links if you outreach manually.
- You can use backlink services to make the whole thing easier by creating white-hat links on third party sites and boosting your search engine ranking in the process.
We’ll take you through some of our favorite strategies for saving money. We’ll discuss different methods and compare the pros & cons.
Earning Backlinks
There are many ways of earning backlinks, but the best way is to create high-quality content that can naturally attract other websites. In general, Google considers this method preferable and it’s a little more difficult because you have to wait for domains from third parties before your site will get links in volume.
This might be tricky if strong branding or quality isn’t enough, though sometimes these factors work just as well!
Designing a creative infographic to go alongside your content can help you get backlinks. Not only does it make the information more interesting, but also increases its visibility by being seen and shared organically.
Manual Outreach
Manual outreach is an effective strategy for building links. Here’s how to do it:
Research
Research is crucial in the world of manual outreach. Usually, there will be several blogs related to your niche popping up when doing this research!
When you will get a shortlist then focus on the quality of your backlinks which can make or break the success of a campaign. One way to determine if it will be worth your time is by looking at factors such as content depth, website traffic volume, domain authority and site relevancy.