Search Engine Optimization and its success depend on the overarching strategy of various techniques and methods to build visibility, credibility, and traffic. A key element of SEO is undoubtedly backlinks. Google attaches considerable importance to backlinks – high quality backlinks, to gauge a site. Let’s take a deeper look into the world of backlinks and how one can build impressive ranking and visibility with backlinks.
What Are Backlinks?
In plainspeak, backlinks, also known as inbound links or incoming links, are links from other websites that lead to another website. When websites link to a site, it kind of signals search engines that the destination site is valuable and trustworthy. This indicates that the site is a good source of information, and this results in higher search engine rankings and site visibility. Additionally, backlinks offer the advantage of referral traffic to your website, as users clicking on the links are redirected to the site. However, the quality of the backlinks is critically important, and it is not the quantity that matters. Backlinks from high-quality, reputable websites are far more valuable than multiple backlinks from sites that are regarded as low-quality or spammy in nature.
How Do Backlinks Actually Benefit A Site?
Various benefits accrue from high quality backlinks; some of the benefits are highlighted below:
Impact On Search Engine Rankings: Without exception, search engines, look at backlinks as a way of assessing a site’s credibility and authority. When more high-quality backlinks lead to a particular website, this has the result of boosting rankings on SERPs.
Referral Traffic: Users clicking on backlinks are redirected to the site, and this referral traffic is a terrific opportunity to introduce the site’s offerings, and increase brand awareness. This could ultimately result in a business outcome of conversion of leads and visitors into potential customers/clients.
Credibility And Trust: In a world where it is difficult to make out the difference between sites that offer similar services in a domain, it pays to stand tall with credibility and trustworthiness. Backlinks from reputed websites increase credibility and trust and such links trigger positive signals to users about the reliability of the site.
Brand Awareness: Branding is intrinsic and backlinks help increase brand awareness. When a website is repeatedly on multiple other websites, visitors and potential customers gradually become aware of the brand, adding to the marketing/sales funnel.
Additional Sources Of Traffic: Everyone is aware of the potential downsides of placing eggs in a single basket – and this applies to backlinks. When multiple websites are traffic sources, it eliminates dependence on any single source. This helps websites become more resilient to changes in search algorithms and the manner in which changes impact the ranking of the linking websites.
What Indicates High Quality Backlinks?
Various characteristics help identify high quality backlinks, separating the low quality links. Some of the notable points include the following:
Relevance
This shares space with authority as the most important aspect of high quality backlinks. Websites need to be relevant to the referring website in terms of niche, industry, or the topic bearing the link. This will indicate to search engines that the link is relevant and not just another paid campaign or manipulative practice.
Authority
Websites that are regarded as having a high level of authority, will contribute to consideration as high quality backlinks. For instance, a reputed media outlet, any government website, or university websites/research sites are all regarded as authoritative. This is also indicated by the domain authority (DA) score of the website, which is essentially a measure of its ranking.
Content
Content is certainly king, and it pays to be linked to a website with original content. A website that is known as syndication sites or aggregators pale into insignificance when compared with authoritative sites.
Link Placement
The placement of links is also important. For instance, a manipulative practice may be to have content that is not relevant, with links that are surreptitiously placed in some remote location away from the content. This may make it difficult to understand the relevance and is considered manipulative. The links are to be in the body of the content, especially in a portion of text that is highly contextual.
Anchor Text
Descriptive anchor text that fits naturally with the narrative contributes to high quality backlinks rating. Anchor text needs to accurately describe the content being linked to the page/site.
Follow Link
High-quality backlinks are followed links, and this means that it moves link juice and authority to the referred website. It is important to ensure that backlinks are not nofollow links, as such links do not pass any link juice and do not contribute to search engine rankings.
How Can High Quality Backlinks Be Created Or Built?
It’s time to answer a question that is centric to this piece. It goes without saying that the best option is to ensure that the criteria mentioned above about high quality backlinks are met. This can be achieved through various options, some of which are listed below:
High-Quality Content
Ensure that the content is high-quality and original, and this would nudge administrators into placing the link as requested. Remember, who would want to link to a site that does not have valuable information, even if for monetary considerations? Types of content can include blog posts, articles, infographics, videos, and other informative forms of content. The goal should be to offer readers content that is informative, valuable, and relevant.
Guest Posting
Administrators of other websites in the same niche can be contacted, with an offer to write a guest post for the site. This will automatically offer an opportunity to include a link back to your own website, and this could be either in the content or in the author bio. It would help to have it in the content, but if this is not agreeable, then links in the author bio will work.
Broken Link Building
Another effective method is to identify broken links on other websites and reach out to the website administrators with an offer of replacement with their own content. This will also give an automatic opportunity to insert a backlink in exchange for valuable content. There are tools that can be used to identify broken links on a site.
Outreach And Relationship Building
A key factor in the success of SEO is to be a part of an ecosystem with websites that are of good quality and in the same niche. Build relationships with other websites and influencers and this can ultimately result in the placement of backlinks. This could be like a barter or exchange option, where a site hosts the content of other sites with backlinks, in return for content on the other sites with backlinks.
Online Communities
Online communities are a great source for generating interest and can act as a gateway to the site. Experts may participate in forum discussions, and social media groups, by sharing knowledge or answering questions, with the option of including a link to the website in the profile portion.
The quality of the backlink is of primary importance, and these backlinks are to be acquired organically. Tactics such as link buying may be frowned upon as unethical methods. Search engines penalize websites engaging in black/gray hat SEO practices, which can impact site rankings.