What are backlinks and why do they matter for SEO?

What is a backlink?

Backlinks are arguably one of the toughest parts of SEO, so if you can master link building you are well on your way to success. Backlinks are essentially a "vote of confidence" from one website to another. When a site links to your content, it is telling search engines that your page is trustworthy and valuable. These backlinks are one of the biggest factors to increase ranking so they should be in every SEO campaign.

why do backlinks matter?

Backlinks are not just just helpful when it comes to ranking on search engines, they are essential. Think of a backlink like a recommendation, the more quality websites "recommend" your content the more search engines like Google will trust your site.

More reasons as to why backlinks are important:

• They boost your ranking

Search engines use backlinks as a signal of credibility, the stronger their backlink profile is the more likely they will trust the site and rank it hire in the search results.

• They bring in referral traffic

A well placed backlink on a high quality site can bring in loads of traffic from that link into yours site - not just visitors from your SEO skills.

• They help search engines discover your site

When a search bot crawls the website with a link pointing to your page, they will follow it. this helps new pages get discovered and indexed.

• They build authority over time

building high quality backlinks will increase your domain authority, this will help all of your content rank better.

In short backlinks are essential to every SEO campaign and shouldn't be forgotten about. The more backlinks you gain from high quality, relevant sources the more trustede your site will become.

Dofollow vs Nofollow links

link building will usually consist of two types of links - Dofollow and Nofollow. Knowing the difference is key to building your backlink profile.

Dofollow:

Dofollow links are your default type of backlinks are the most valuable when it comes to link building, when a site has a dofollow link directing to your site it passes on something commonly refered to in the SEO world as "Link juice" which is basically SEO value, This tells the search engines that "hey, we trust this site and you should too.

Example:

If a relevant blog likes your content and they set up a dofollow link to it, they have basically just given google a thumbs up to trust it - and that will rank your content higher.

Nofollow:

These links have a small code (rel="nofollow"). This tells the search engine not to pass on link juice. They still link to your site but doesn't play any role in improving your ranking.

However, this doesn't mean that they are useless! Nofollow links can still:

• Increase brand visibility.

• Bring in referral traffic.

• Lead to dofollow opportunities later.

Common places you will find Nofollow links:

• Blog post.

• Forum boards.

• Social media links.

• Some news sites or directories.

In short:

Dofollow = SEO boost

Nofollow = valuable traffic and trust but no ranking gain (nofollows are just as important)

What makes a good backlink?

When it comes to backlinks, quality always beats quantity. One great quality backlink can and will beat dozens of low quality ones. But what actually makes a backlink "good"? Lets discuss.

Relevance:

A backlink from a site that is similar or more relevant to your niche or topic carries more weight.

For example, if your blog is about coffee, then getting a link from a well established coffee brand will be in relevance to your content unlike getting a link from a paint supplier.

Authority of the linking site:

Links from well trusted, established sites with (high domain authority) pass more SEO value.

If your content is about cars think: Backlinks from Porsche, Volkswagen, Toyota or any other reputable industry blogs/sites.

Anchor text:

Anchor text is the clickable text in the hyperlink. Ideally this should consist of a relevant keyword or context about the page the link is directing to. But it should always feel natural, over optimizing the anchor text can result in "keyword stuffing" which is harmful to SEO.

Placement on the page:

Backlinks placed in the body of the page has more impact than if it was placed in the header or footer. Context matters - search engines look at where and how a backlink is being used.

Dofollow and Nofollow:

As we discussed earlier using a mix of the two is just as important. Dofollow are the best for SEO however including Nofollow links makes your site look more natural to search engines and can protect you from spam penalties.

unique domains:

Getting backlinks from multiple different websites is better than getting multiple links from the same site. Google values diversity in your backlink profile.

In conclusion a good backlink is relevant, comes from a trusted source and is placed naturally in useful content. Focus on building relationships and creating content people want to link to, rather than just adding numbers.