A backlink is simply a link from one website to another. Search engines use backlink as a ranking signal because when one website links to another, it means they believe the content is noteworthy. High-quality backlinks can help increase a site’s ranking position and visibility in search engine results (SEO).
How Do Backlinks Work?
Backlinks play an important role in search engine algorithm, SEO, and your overall strategy for growing your website.
- The easiest way to think of backlinks is as conversations among websites
- Example: John is a blogger, and he writes an interesting article about a sports event. Another blogger, Samantha, links to John’s article when sharing her perspective on her well-known online magazine site. This creates a backlink which increases the online magazine’s authority.
How Can I Check My Backlinks?
Google Search Console, SEMRush, Ahrefs, etc.
- Keeping an eye on your backlinks is very important. Google Webmaster Guidelines require you to ask toxic website owners to remove their links from your site. If you do not, Google can penalize your website and your page rank will begin to drop.
Types of Backlinks
There are two basic types of backlinks: nofollow and dofollow
- Nofollow: they don’t pass any value from one site to another and are not helpful in improving your search rank or visibility
- Dofollow: those coming from respected sites hold the most value and can help improve your search engine rankings
- Some people consider dofollow links to be bad or ‘toxic’
How to Get Backlinks
7 simple ways to start building quality backlinks for your website
- Add links to your site on your social media profiles
- Do a Google search for a post that’s already ranking well and then improve and expand it
- Write the ultimate guide posts
- Guest posts on other blogs and websites
- Interview influencers in your industry and send them a link
- Begin doing competitive backlink research
