SEO 101: Backlinks

Posted on 11/22/2022, 5:23:36 PM

Now that you have your keywords down, it's time to continue optimizing your website for SEO.

What is a backlink? A backlink is a link from one page to another. Websites link to other websites to enhance theirs. Google uses backlinks to determine a website's ranking. The more backlinks a website has from high authority sources, the higher its search engine ranking and the more organic search traffic it will get. Other prominent websites linking to your website indicate to Google that your website is a valuable resource.

Why are backlinks important?

Backlinks are like votes of confidence. The more links you get from prominent websites, the higher your search rank and the more organic traffic you will get. 

What makes a good backlink?

Backlinks are essential for SEO. If your goal is to rank highly on Google and get more traffic, you will need to get more backlinks to your website. But not all backlinks are the same. You want backlinks from prominent websites with high authority. 

These sites should be relevant to your content. For example, if your website is about jobs, you might want to avoid getting a link from a website about cats. If your audience is specific to a location, you should get links particular to that location. For example, you will want to rank highly in New York if you serve the New York area. 

Seek backlinks from websites with steady organic traffic and that offer follow links. No-follow links mean that a website does not want its authority passed on to the linked website. A no-follow link is when a website links to another website and adds metadata to that link to let Google know they don't want to pass any authority to that website. Focus on gathering follow links, as they will improve your ranking. 

You also want websites that link to only a few pages linking to you. When a website links too many pages, less authority is passed on to each link.

How to check backlinks?

How do you know that you have backlinks? One way to check your backlinks is by using Google Search console. In Google Search Console, click on "Links" in the Sidebar and check the "External" Links section. 

You can also use AHREF's free backlink checker to check your backlinks. This tool will give you the following information

• Referring page
• Domain rating of that page
• Amount of traffic to the linking page
• Anchor text 

How to get more backlinks?

Now that you understand what backlinks are, how do you get more backlinks to your website? 

One way to do so is to add more content. However, adding more content does not mean that people will find this content. 

You can submit your website to business directories, leave blog comments, and reply to forum threads.

You can contact site owners to ask them to link to your page.

You can ask site owners to submit a guest blog where you write for them.

You can check dead links to your website from other websites and contact site owners to fix these links.

Whenever a website mentions your website but does not link back to you, you can contact that website to have them link to you.

Obtaining backlinks from other websites is hard. Most often, websites will want you to pay for these backlinks. Google bans websites from buying links. However, there are ways to convince website owners to link to yours. Here are some tips:

1. Have a good reason.
2. Make your pitch personalized.
3. Exchange value, What do they get in return? You can suggest exchanging links.

You can also use HARO, a website that connects you with reporters looking to write stories. Find a reporter looking to write a story and pitch them your idea. 

When seeking links, quality and quantity are essential. Getting links from other websites is integral to SEO. In fact, according to Google's original page ranking docs, getting links from prominent websites is a good sign that a website is of high quality. If you need help with SEO, book a call with one of our SEO experts. They can help you get up to speed with SEO and set you up for success.