The internet works on the concept of linking webpages together, so that a user can move from one piece of content to another. There are essentially two types of links, internal and external. Internal links are links between pages on a single website, while external links are links from one website to another. These external links are more commonly called backlinks. So, a backlink is simply the name given to a link from one website to another. Search engines like Google use backlinks as a ranking indicator because when one website links to another, it tells Google that the website believes the content to be credible and of value. Its kind of like a word of mouth referral in real life. Both high quality, and a good quantity of backlinks will help to increase a websites ranking position and visibility in search engine results pages (SERPS).
How Do Backlinks Work?
Backlinks play a very important role in building and growing your website, and therefore your business. Backlinks help get people to your site in an organic way, without you having to pay to get them there with ads. Backlinks are important factors in search engine algorithms and search engine optimisation (SEO), as they help you stand out in the internet crowd.
The easiest way to think of backlinks would be as word of mouth referrals between websites.
To give you an example, Steve is a blogger, and he writes a very interesting article about backlinks. 😊
Another blogger, Tracey, thinks Steve’s article is a great fit to refer to in an article she is writing now, as it has great content that others would like or benefit from reading, as it compliments and supports her information. So Tracey links to Steve’s article from within the article she has written on her own popular blog. This creates the backlink.
Because Tracey’s blog is so popular, not only will Steve’s article get more organic traffic from people wanting to read the supporting information on Traceys article, many other bloggers and website owners will also link back to her article, as they too find her information valuable. This increases Tracey’s reputation, or authority, and Steve’s article also gets valuable credibility through a backlink from Tracey’s reputable site.
Types of Backlinks
There are two basic types of backlinks, Dofollow and Nofollow, with Dofollow backlinks more valuable than the Nofollow.
A backlink is setup as a Dofollow or Nofollow backlink when its created, using tags on the link.
The Nofollow tag at the end of the link tells search engines to ignore the link. It tells the search engine not to pass any value, or credibility from one site to another. As such, they aren’t don’t really improve your search rank or visibility on their own, but are considered good to have in a balanced SEO strategy. Nofollow links still allow organic traffic to follow the link to your site, so they are still a good way to bring customers and business to your site without having to pay for ads. Typically, links from social media sites like Facebook, Instagram etc are Nofollow links.
Dofollow links are the good backlinks to get if you can. Why? Because these links pass the credibility/reputation value through from the website where the link is, helping your site improve your rankings on Search Engine Results Pages, and allowing your website to be seen more often by potential customers.
As discussed in the blog post SEO for Beginners, your ranking position will dramatically impact your ability to get people to click through to your website. The following table gives you the estimated click-through rate on any search result.
Google Search Position 1: Click through rate of 43.32%
Google Search Position 2: Click through rate of 37.36%
Google Search Position 3: Click through rate of 29.90%
Google Search Position 4: Click through rate of 19.38%
Google Search Position 5: Click through rate of 10.95%
Google Search Position 6: Click through rate of 10%
Google Search Position 7: Click through rate of 5.28%
Google Search Position 8: Click through rate of 4.13%
Google Search Position 9: Click through rate of 4.13%
Google Search Position 10: Click through rate of 3.11%
The top 10 positions are on the first page of the results, and as you can see, unless you are on page one, your chances of having your link clicked on becomes significantly less likely.
A word of warning here, there are backlinks that are considered bad or ‘toxic’ when it comes to search engines, and it is important to avoid these at all costs. These links come from suspicious sites or are gained by breaking the search engine terms of service. The most common source of toxic backlinks is to buy your backlinks from people who offer large quantities of backlinks for a price.
White hat SEO is the phrase used to refer to good quality backlinks gained through building genuine and honest backlinks. These are best obtained by writing good quality content that other people want to share.
Black hat SEO is the phrase used to refer to poor quality backlinks gained by trying to circumvent a sites search engine credibility or reputation.
Black hat SEO may cause Google, and other search engines, to penalise or even de-index your site. Remember, what makes the difference in ranking, is not just about the number of backlinks, but making sure the backlinks acquired are done so in a way that shows a genuine growth of credibility and reputation.
How to Get Backlinks?
Building backlinks to your site with a white hat strategy takes time and effort. Here are a few ways to start building quality backlinks to your website.
1. Write great content on your site. When writing the content, consider the keywords that you want to use to rank for. Keyword research is vital in making sure you are writing content that people will be searching for. Each piece of content should be at least 800 words and offer the reader some sort of value. Having great content will entice people to keep coming back, and eventually people such as influencers and others in your niche will link to your content.
Add links to your content from your social media profiles. Generally these will be Nofollow links.
Find forums in your niche. Get involved in the forum by contributing to other people’s posts. Don’t just jump in and tag your website as this will get you kicked out of the forum very quickly. Become a regular that other members of the forum will begin to trust. Use links to your content as examples of “how to do” stuff, rather than just a sales pitch.
Create how to videos and post them on YouTube. People like to see stuff rather than read it. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world.
Write “the ultimate guide” content. Typically, these are longer articles that contain a few thousand words, like an ebook or mini course. They are quite detailed in relation to their topic, and provide significant value to the reader. These are very long posts containing several thousand words and cover every angle of the topic.
Write guest posts on other blogs and websites.
Contact influencers that are relevant to your business, ie: they are influential in your niche or industry. Let them know about an article you have written that they may find interesting and want to link to.
Build relationships with influencers in your niche, by offering to interview them. Once done post the interview on your site as a blog post, and send them a link. They will jump at the chance to link back to the interview.
Do some backlink research on your competitors. Backlink research is about understanding what sites your competitors are getting their backlinks from. In order to do this, you’ll need to be able to see the backlinks of your competitors. There are a number of software tools like Google Search Console, SEMRush and AHRefs that allow you to see your competitors backlinks. If the wheel has already been invented, no point reinventing it. Figuring out what websites your competitors are using for backlinks gives you access to sites that already see value in linking to other sites in your niche. Some will be free, some you may have to pay for. Don’t be concerned if you have to pay for a one off link or two, it’s the mass produced links that are the ones considered toxic.
Check Your Own Backlinks
There are various backlink software tools that let you check yours, and your competitors backlinks including Google Search Console, SEMRush, and Ahrefs.
Managing and monitoring your backlinks is important. Googles guidelines recommend you ask toxic website owners to remove their links to your site. If you cant get your toxic links removed in this manner, you can always “disavow” these links in Google Search Console. This is a delicate process, and needs to be done properly, so I recommend you get someone to do it for you if you are unsure.
If you don’t get these toxic links removed, then Google can penalise your website, and your ranking will begin to drop in search results.
Keeping track of your backlinks will tell you a lot about the value and credibility of your site, and is considered one of the most important parts of your site’s SEO strategy.
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