Backlinks (SEO) - White Paper
BACKLINKS (SEO)
What are Backlinks?
Backlinks are external hyperlinks used to link from one website to another. They form
an integral part of search-engine optimization, often touted as the main ranking factor
search engines use to rank pages.
Other Names: Inbound Links, Incoming Links.
Not Confuse With: Outbound Links, Internal Links, External Links.
Via Backlinko
Why are Backlinks so Important?
Backlinks are one of the main ranking factors search engines use to rank webpages.
They are a critical tool for Search Engine Optimization (SEO): a system of driving more
traffic to your website from the search results on the 'Search Engine Result Pages'
(SERPs). A backlink acts as a vote of confidence that signals search engines that other
websites vouch for your content.
Via Backlinko
How Backlinks Improve Ranking of a Webpage?
If many websites or a few trusted (high domain-authority) websites backlink to your
webpages, search engine algorithms deduce that your content is link-worthy. As a result,
your website ranks higher on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
Via Moz
What are Valuable Backlinks?
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From a trusted source, an authority website, having a high ‘Domain Authority.’
'Anchor Text' contains a target keyword.
The linking source is topically related, i.e., it writes about similar stuff.
The backlink is a ‘do-follow’ link (a link that doesn’t have a ‘no-follow’ tag).
The backlink is from a new source (different domain).
How to Get Backlinks?
1. Create linkable assets like videos, articles, infographics, etc.
2. Guest-post for different reputable sites and blogs in the same niche to generate
backlinks.
Using Backlink Checker Tools
3. Use backlink checker tools to analyze the backlinks of your competitors who rank
higher for the same target keywords and try to get backlinks from these sources.
4. Some online tools give you a list of all the mentions of your website (even without
backlinks). Contact them individually and ask them to change mentions to backlinks.
5. You can search for 'Broken Links' for target keywords using these SEO tools or "404
NotFound" filter. You can contact these referring sites to inform them that their links
are outdated, and you can provide them with your replacement links.
Personalized Outreach
6. You can try reaching out to writers, bloggers, and website owners with many
followers that write about the same target keywords. Send them quality content that
they might be interested in and request them to mention you or backlink to your site.
Are you looking for an SEO provider to do Backlinking for your business? Try our
matching service. Who knows, you might get matched with us.
Some Tips for Backlinking:
1. Backlinks should be natural and not contrived. Websites should not create artificial
backlinks for their websites. These practices can bring more harm than good because
search engines have algorithms that can detect such activity.
2. The quality of backlinks matters more than their quantity. Authority websites have
enormous traffic and higher domain authority, which increases the value of
backlinks from them.
3. Backlink checker tools help you track the number of backlinks to your website. You
can improve the quality of backlinks by finding backlinks that you should target or
avoid.
4. Search engines do not recommend buying or selling backlinks and becoming a part
of link-exchange networks. You can get linking penalty for following such practices.
Some Relevant Terminology for Backlinks (SEO):
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Internal Links: Links from one page to another page within the same domain.
Outbound Links: Links from your website to other websites.
Anchor Text: Text used for hyperlinks. Using keywords is good for ranking.
Domain Authority (SEO Ranking Factor): A ranking metric that predicts
how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). The more
'authority' a site has, the more authority it can pass (through backlinks).
Link Juice: The perceived SEO value of a hyperlink for a specific website.
External links pass through ‘Link Juice,’ which helps in the ranking of articles
and domain authority.
Do-Follow Link: Without a no-follow tag, it's the default backlink.
No-Follow Link: Links with a no-follow tag don’t pass the Link Juice. It doesn’t
help the ranking but can be used to link to unreliable sites.
Linking Root Domains: No. of unique root domains backlinking to a site are
called linking root domains.
Low-Quality Links: Links from harvested sites, automated sites, or spam sites
are low-quality links, and they do more harm than good.
For Software Recommendations:
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BuzzSumo
NeilPatel Digital
BackLinko
Moz
Useful Links for 2020:
https://backlinko.com/seo-this-year#backlinks-are-still-key
// Some other screenshots for this article:
Via Moz
Via NeilPatel Digital
Via Ahrefs