What are Backlinks in SEO? A Complete Beginner’s Guide

Page ranking will build or break a website. Studies show that the primary website on a search page gets over a third of web traffic for related topics. Clearly, the key to obtaining that enormous a share of visitors is well worth the effort to achieve the title of top page ranking or at minimum as close to first as possible. For that aim, a website has to build search engine optimization (SEO) as a priority, and to do that, backlinks are necessary.

Understanding backlinks is fundamental to mastering SEO. Without backlinks, even the most well-optimized website will struggle to rank on search engines. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about backlinks, from the basics to advanced strategies for building high-quality links that improve your search rankings.

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What Are Backlinks?

SEO optimization is content that promotes the visibility of various pages on the internet and is a well-known marketing maneuver. Folks knowledgeable in SEO recognize how websites work and how people search for things. This involves using vital keywords in a website’s content; however, it also includes the activity of creating backlinks.

Simply put, backlinks are links from one website to another website. When Website A links to Website B, Website B receives a backlink from Website A. The more backlinks a website has, the higher up the page ranking they are going. This is significantly true for popular search engines like Google, which consider those websites with more backlinks as more relevant for anyone searching for them.

Think of backlinks as votes of confidence from other websites. When a reputable website links to your content, they’re essentially telling search engines, “This content is valuable and worth checking out.” The more of these “votes” you have, especially from authoritative sources, the more search engines trust your website.

The key to obtaining backlinks that work is to make sure you’re building high-quality backlinks. Not all backlinks are created equal. A single backlink from a highly authoritative website in your industry can be worth more than dozens of backlinks from low-quality or irrelevant sites.

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How Do Backlinks Work?

Search engines like Google use complex algorithms to determine which pages should rank for specific search queries. Backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors in these algorithms.

When a search engine crawler discovers a backlink to your website, it follows that link and indexes your page. The crawler also evaluates the quality and relevance of the linking page. If the linking page has high authority and is relevant to your content, that backlink carries more weight in improving your rankings.

Search engines analyze several factors about backlinks:

Link Authority: Backlinks from websites with high domain authority pass more “link juice” or ranking power to your site.

Relevance: Links from websites in your industry or niche are more valuable than links from unrelated sites.

Anchor Text: The clickable text in a hyperlink provides context about what your page is about. Descriptive anchor text helps search engines understand your content better.

Link Placement: Links placed within the main content of a page are typically more valuable than links in footers or sidebars.

Number of Links: While quantity matters, quality matters more. Having 10 high-quality backlinks from authoritative sites is better than having 100 low-quality backlinks.

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Types of Backlinks in SEO

Understanding the different types of backlinks is crucial for developing an effective link-building strategy. There are two main types of backlinks that you need to know about:

Do-Follow Backlinks

Do-follow backlinks indicate to search engine crawler spiders that this is relevant content that’s associated with your website’s niche. These are the standard type of links that pass SEO value from the linking site to your site. The higher the page rank of the webpage providing the do-follow link, the better for your website.

Do-follow links are the most valuable type of backlinks for SEO purposes because they directly contribute to your website’s authority and search rankings. When a high-authority website gives you a do-follow backlink, it’s passing along some of its credibility and ranking power to your site.

Most backlinks on the web are do-follow by default unless the website owner specifically adds a “nofollow” tag to the link.

No-Follow Backlinks

No-follow links tell search engines that the link does not transmit any credibility and hence is not important to be crawled for ranking purposes. These links were created to help reduce spam for bloggers and to reduce the number of links inserted in the comments section of their blog.

While no-follow links don’t directly pass SEO value, they’re still important for several reasons:

• They can drive referral traffic to your website
• They contribute to a natural-looking backlink profile
• They can lead to brand awareness and exposure
• Some no-follow links from high-authority sites can still indirectly benefit your SEO

A healthy backlink profile includes both do-follow and no-follow links. Having only do-follow links can appear unnatural to search engines and may raise red flags.

Internal vs. External Backlinks

Beyond do-follow and no-follow, it’s important to understand the difference between internal and external backlinks:

Internal Backlinks: These are links from one page on your website to another page on your website. While not traditionally called “backlinks,” internal linking is crucial for SEO as it helps search engines understand your site structure and distributes page authority throughout your site.

External Backlinks: These are links from other websites to your website. This is what most people refer to when they talk about backlinks. External backlinks are critical for building domain authority and improving search rankings.

A recent SEO study by Reboot shows that external linking is a powerful on-page SEO technique, and it does have a positive impact on SEO. When you offer good content with good and relevant external linking, Google considers your site as a good source of information.

Why Are Backlinks Important for SEO?

Backlinks are necessary for both search engines and end users. Understanding why backlinks matter will help you appreciate the effort required to build a strong backlink profile.

For Search Engines

Backlinks help search engines figure out how authoritative and pertinent your website is on the keyword or topic for which you rank. In addition, backlinks to your website are a signal to search engines that other external sites are endorsing your content.

If many websites link to the same website or page, search engines can interpret that material as deserving of linking to and therefore also worth ranking higher on the Google search engine result page.

For several years, the number of backlinks was a sign of a page’s popularity. But today, the focus is more on the quality of the backlinks. Search engines have become sophisticated enough to distinguish between natural, high-quality backlinks and manipulative, low-quality links created solely for SEO purposes.

Google’s algorithms, particularly their PageRank algorithm and subsequent updates, heavily rely on backlinks to determine which pages deserve to rank higher. Websites with strong backlink profiles consistently outrank competitors with weaker link profiles, even if the content quality is similar.

For End Users

Backlinks are likewise important for the end user due to the fact that backlinks connect searchers with information that resembles what is being composed on the same subject on other resources.

An example of this happens when an end user reads a page that discusses “how childcare expenses are driving women out of the labor force.” As they scroll down, they may see a site link with a research study on “how the rise in childcare costs over the last 25 years affected women’s employment.” In this case, a backlink establishes connection points for information that a searcher might be interested in clicking.

The link looks like a hyperlink with detailed text referred to as anchor text. This appears differently from the surrounding text, suggesting that there are more details beyond what appears on the page if the searcher chooses to follow the site link. This external link creates a strong experience because it directs the user directly to more relevant information if required.

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Key Benefits of Backlinks

Let’s break down the specific benefits that quality backlinks provide:

1. Backlinks contribute to the growth of domain authority: Domain Authority (DA) is a very important indicator for SEO optimization. The bigger the DA, the more likely your site is to get favorable positions in Google. Domain Authority is calculated based on multiple factors, with backlinks being one of the most significant. As you accumulate more high-quality backlinks, your domain authority increases, making it easier to rank for competitive keywords.

2. Backlinks also help increase traffic: They attract more visitors and potential customers to your site. If a backlink is placed properly, accompanied by quality content, it is likely that new visitors can buy from you or turn to your company’s services. Even no-follow backlinks can drive significant referral traffic if they’re placed on popular websites that your target audience visits regularly.

3. Last but not least, backlinks help build your brand awareness: All by spreading important information to your target audience. Authorized backlinks will make your brand truly an authority in the field! They will get you out of anonymity and will help you become a known brand on the Internet through the SEO optimization process. When reputable websites in your industry link to your content, it signals to both search engines and users that your brand is trustworthy and authoritative.

4. Backlinks accelerate indexing: When search engine crawlers discover links to your new content from other websites, they index that content faster. This is particularly valuable for new websites that might otherwise take weeks or months to get fully indexed by search engines.

5. Backlinks provide a competitive advantage: If you’re competing for rankings with similar websites, a strong backlink profile can be the deciding factor that puts you ahead of your competitors in search results.

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What Makes a Quality Backlink?

Not all backlinks are beneficial. Some can even harm your website’s rankings if they come from spammy or low-quality sources. Understanding what constitutes a quality backlink is essential for effective link building.

Relevance

The linking website should be relevant to your industry or niche. A backlink from a website that covers similar topics to yours carries more weight than a link from an unrelated site. For example, if you run a fitness blog, a backlink from a health and wellness website is more valuable than a link from a website about automotive repair.

Authority

Links from high-authority websites pass more ranking power to your site. Authority is typically measured using metrics like Domain Authority (DA), Domain Rating (DR), or Trust Flow. Websites with high authority have earned their reputation through quality content and strong backlink profiles of their own.

Traffic

Backlinks from websites that receive substantial traffic can drive referral visitors to your site. Even if the SEO value is similar, a link from a high-traffic website can help potential customers or readers discover your content.

Editorial Placement

Links that are editorially given (meaning the website owner chose to link to you because your content is valuable) are more valuable than links you create yourself. Editorial links indicate genuine endorsement of your content.

Natural Link Profile

Your backlink profile should look natural, with a mix of do-follow and no-follow links, various anchor texts, and links from different types of websites. An unnatural link profile with too many exact-match anchor texts or links from similar sources can trigger Google penalties.

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What Are the Best Backlinking Practices?

You may have heard the term “backlink” before, but what does it actually mean? A backlink is simply a link from another website to your own.

In terms of SEO, backlinks are a really important part of your overall strategy. That’s because Google takes them into account when ranking your website. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the higher you’ll rank.

So how do you get more backlinks? There are several proven strategies you can implement:

1. Guest Posting

This is a great way to get high-quality backlinks from authority websites. Guest posting involves writing articles for other websites in your industry. In exchange for providing valuable content, you typically receive one or more backlinks to your website.

When guest posting, focus on:

• Targeting websites with high domain authority
• Writing genuinely valuable content that serves the host website’s audience
• Including natural, contextual links rather than forced promotional links
• Building relationships with website owners for ongoing opportunities

2. Link Building Through Content Creation

Creating exceptional content that people naturally want to link to is one of the most effective long-term strategies. This includes:

• Original research and data studies
• Comprehensive guides and tutorials
• Infographics and visual content
• Interactive tools and calculators
• Industry reports and whitepapers

When your content provides unique value that can’t be found elsewhere, other websites in your industry will naturally link to it as a resource.

3. Social Media Promotion

Share your content on social media, and make sure to include links back to your website. While social media links are typically no-follow, they can lead to increased visibility, which can result in more organic backlinks as people discover and share your content.

Social media can also help you:

• Connect with influencers who might link to your content
• Participate in industry discussions and share your expertise
• Promote your best content to a wider audience
• Build relationships that lead to backlinking opportunities

4. Broken Link Building

This strategy involves finding broken links on other websites and suggesting your content as a replacement. Website owners appreciate it when you help them fix broken links, and they’re often willing to link to your content if it’s a suitable replacement.

The process involves:

• Finding websites in your niche with resource pages or content-heavy articles
• Using tools to identify broken links on those pages
• Reaching out to the website owner with a helpful message
• Suggesting your relevant content as a replacement

5. Resource Page Link Building

Many websites maintain resource pages that list helpful links for their audience. These pages are excellent opportunities for backlinks. Find resource pages in your industry and reach out to the website owners, explaining why your content would be a valuable addition to their list.

6. HARO (Help A Reporter Out)

HARO connects journalists with expert sources. By responding to relevant queries with helpful insights, you can earn backlinks from major publications and news websites. These high-authority backlinks can significantly boost your SEO.

7. Competitor Backlink Analysis

Analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles to identify opportunities. If a website links to your competitor, they might be willing to link to your content as well, especially if you can offer something more valuable or comprehensive.

Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz can help you:

• Identify who’s linking to your competitors
• Find gaps in your backlink profile
• Discover link building opportunities you might have missed
• Monitor your competitors’ new backlinks

8. Create Linkable Assets

Develop content specifically designed to attract backlinks. This might include:

• Industry statistics and data
• Original research findings
• Expert roundups and interviews
• Comprehensive “ultimate guides”
• Free tools and resources

There are lots of other ways to get backlinks, but these are proven starting points that consistently deliver results when executed properly.

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Backlink Example – Illustration

Website X is a digital marketing company, and if it gets a link from another website, Y, which is a famous blog for digital marketers, then it will be considered a valuable and natural backlink that a website has. They can be in the form of an image or text.

Let’s expand on this example to make it clearer:

Imagine Website X publishes an in-depth article about “Advanced Google Analytics Techniques for Digital Marketers.” Website Y, a well-established digital marketing blog with high domain authority, reads this article and finds it exceptionally valuable. They decide to reference Website X’s article in their own piece about “Essential Tools for Digital Marketing Success.”

The backlink from Website Y to Website X provides several benefits:

• It passes authority from Website Y’s high-authority domain to Website X
• It drives referral traffic as Website Y’s readers click through to learn more
• It signals to search engines that Website X produces valuable content
• It increases Website X’s visibility within the digital marketing community

The more quality links like this that your website has, the more authoritative your website will be considered by search engines. This example demonstrates how backlinks work in a natural, valuable way, one website genuinely recommending another’s content because it provides value to their audience.

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Common Backlink Mistakes to Avoid

While building backlinks, it’s important to avoid practices that could harm your website’s rankings:

Buying Backlinks

Purchasing backlinks violates Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and can result in severe penalties. While it might seem like a quick way to build links, the risks far outweigh any potential benefits.

Link Schemes

Participating in link schemes, such as link exchanges or link farms, can result in penalties. These manipulative tactics are easily detected by modern search engine algorithms.

Low-Quality Directory Submissions

Submitting your website to hundreds of low-quality directories provides little to no SEO value and can actually harm your rankings. Focus on quality over quantity.

Over-Optimized Anchor Text

Using exact-match anchor text too frequently looks unnatural to search engines. Vary your anchor text with branded terms, generic phrases, and natural variations of your target keywords.

Ignoring No-Follow Links

While do-follow links are more valuable for SEO, completely ignoring no-follow link opportunities is a mistake. A natural backlink profile includes both types of links.

Not Monitoring Your Backlink Profile

Regularly audit your backlink profile to identify and disavow toxic links. Use Google Search Console and third-party tools to monitor who’s linking to your site.

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Tools for Backlink Analysis

Several tools can help you analyze and monitor your backlink profile:

Ahrefs: Comprehensive backlink analysis tool with extensive link database and competitor research features.

SEMrush: All-in-one SEO platform that includes backlink auditing and link building tools.

Moz Link Explorer: Provides domain authority metrics and backlink analysis.

Google Search Console: Free tool from Google that shows you which websites are linking to yours.

Majestic SEO: Specializes in backlink analysis with unique metrics like Trust Flow and Citation Flow.

These tools help you:

• Monitor your existing backlinks
• Identify new backlink opportunities
• Analyze competitor backlink strategies
• Track your link building progress
• Identify and remove toxic backlinks

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Conclusion

Backlinks remain one of the most important ranking factors in SEO. Building a strong backlink profile takes time, effort, and strategic thinking, but the results are worth it. Focus on creating high-quality content that naturally attracts links, build relationships within your industry, and consistently implement white-hat link-building strategies.

Remember that quality always trumps quantity when it comes to backlinks. A few backlinks from highly authoritative, relevant websites will do more for your rankings than hundreds of low-quality links. Be patient, stay consistent, and always prioritize providing value to your audience and the websites you’re trying to earn links from.

As search engine algorithms continue to evolve, backlinks will remain a critical component of SEO success. By understanding how backlinks work and implementing the strategies outlined in this guide, you’ll be well-positioned to improve your website’s search rankings and drive more organic traffic to your site.