If you’ve just gotten started with SEO, then you may struggle to understand what backlinks are, what role they play, and how you can get more quality links to your site.
Let’s get right to it, shall we?
A backlink is simply a link from a website to another.
Here’s an example.
Let’s imagine that you own a local fashion store and write an article about an upcoming fashion event. The local newspaper finds your article interesting and links to your website, citing your work.
That backlink you just earned from an external site tells Google and other search engines that your content is useful and relevant and that it can show it to other searchers too. And, this bit right here takes us to the next part.
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Why Are Backlinks Important
Perhaps the most important reason backlinks are important is that they work as a vote of confidence that other websites give your niche. What that tells Google is that your content is useful and credible. The more backlinks you get from quality websites, the higher your website will rank in the search engine results. That’s because backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors Google uses.
But, there’s more than just ranking when it comes to getting backlinks to your website. One of the ways search engines discover content is by revisiting pages they’ve crawled before to see if there are any new links. And, because search engines revisit high ranking pages more often than new ones, you get a higher chance of being discovered if one of them links to your website.
Types of Backlinks
While earning backlinks is definitely important, you need to understand that not all backlinks are created equal.
In other words, a backlink from a high-authoritative source will weigh more than 50 backlinks from questionable sites. In fact, a low-quality backlink could affect your backlink profile instead of helping you improve your ranking or get crawled by the search engines.
Here are other things you should keep in mind if you want to build backlinks that actually help your business.
The Anchor Text Matters, But Don’t Go Overboard with It
Ideally, you would want the anchor text to include your target keyword. But, you shouldn’t go to extremes either. Google targets websites that build backlinks with exact anchor matches.
Quality, Relevance, and Domain Authority
This is the mantra that you need to remember when you are trying to build backlinks. You should try to get backlinks from websites that have domain authority, publish quality content, and are relevant to your industry. A backlink from a prestigious fashion website won’t be of much use if you run a parenting blog.
Nofollow vs Dofollow Backlinks
Nofollow links tell Google to ignore a link while dofollow links do, well, you’ve guessed it, the opposite.
So, if your link comes with a “nofollow” tag attached to it, then the search engines will simply ignore it and these links won’t affect your ranking in any way.
Tips for Earning More Backlinks
We could write an entire book talking about the best link building strategies, but for now, we’re just going to mention the most effective ones.
Check Your Backlink Profile
Google Search Console provides in-depth data on your keywords, traffic, ranking, as well as links. You can use this tool to see the top websites that have linked back to you as well as the top pages and the most frequently used anchor texts.
If you’ve found any broken links using the GSC or any other tool, you can reach out to the site owner and suggest a replacement.
Guest Posting
Writing guest posts is one of the most efficient ways of getting quality backlinks from authoritative sites.
The Skyscraper Technique
Instead of creating a guest post, you can look at the existing content on popular pages in your industry and try to make the better. Then, you can contact the site owners to tell them about your touch on the subject.
To Conclude
Backlinks are an important part of SEO as they can help you rank higher. But, building them is not always easy. If you need help with link building, our experts at Australian Internet Advertising can assist you.
