People often confuse backlinks with internal or external links.
Internal links connect web pages within the same domain. External links connect a web page from your website to another domain.
This article deals with backlinks, which are the opposite of external links.
We will explain their importance and how to earn high-quality backlinks for your domain.
What are Backlinks?
To do effective link building, we need to define what backlinks are clearly.
Backlinks Definition
Backlinks are links from one web page to another domain. SEO experts also call them “inbound links” or “incoming links.”
In other words, backlinks are votes from a website to a specific page. They inform search engines that this linked page is a credible source on the topic.
We can compare backlinks to expert testimonials. They indicate how popular and trustworthy the web page is.
When a domain links to another website, it suggests the destination page has high-quality content.
Why are Backlinks Important?
Earning backlinks is challenging.
Before investing time and resources in an outreach strategy, it is necessary to understand why backlinks matter.
There are five main reasons for building and earning backlinks:
- Backlinks are top-ranking SEO factors
- Backlinks improve organic search visibility and rankings
- Backlinks help search engines discover new online pages
- Backlinks are votes of confidence
- Backlinks send some referral traffic
Google continues to state that backlinks remain one of the most essential factors in organic search rankings. If businesses want their websites to appear on the first page, they must enhance their backlink profile. The page ranking at position #1 on the Google SERP (Search Engine Results Page) often gets the most backlinks.
A high number of quality backlinks is a positive signal for search engines like Google. They understand the website is worthy. Consequently, because search engines aim to deliver the best results to online users, such web pages benefit from increased visibility.
Additionally, web crawlers that continuously scan the internet use those backlinks to discover newly published pages. As we detailed in our article “What is SEO?”, those spiders crawl all sites worldwide, like a metro system. The more backlinks, the more connected the websites are.
In December 2022, Google released an algorithm update including the E.E.A.T. framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). It increased the impact of backlinks in evaluating the relevance and popularity of web pages.
Beyond the ranking signals listed above, backlinks also drive referral traffic. As we will see below, it should not be the primary reason to focus on the website’s off-page SEO. It only makes sense if the backlink comes from a high-traffic website. However, it is a small bonus that can sometimes be significant.
Not all backlinks pass the same value to the destination page. We explain this in the next section.
Types of Backlinks
A backlink starts from an external web page. We differentiate these two kinds of backlinks:
- Naked
- Anchored
A naked backlink is a raw Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that looks like https://your-website.com. It is one of the most common forms of backlinks.
An anchored backlink is a clickable hyperlink that links to a destination page. Here is an example of an anchor text redirecting to our blog category page.
Search engines do not treat naked and anchored backlinks differently. Both types pass the same SEO value.
All backlinks follow the same Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) code structure. Here is an example of an anchored backlink:
<a href=”https://your-website.com/”>anchor-text</a>
It is the classic method for coding backlinks. It means the “anchor-text” has a hyperlink redirecting the user to a website with this URL: https://your-website.com/
Backlinks Attributes
When there is no additional tag attribute, SEO experts refer to backlinks as “dofollow” links. They pass the domain value to the destination web page.
As we will see below, they are the most valuable type of backlink.
There are three main kinds of Rel attributes, which are:
- Rel=”sponsored”
- Rel=”ugc”
- Rel=”nofollow”
- If no Rel attribute, then the backlink is a dofollow
As its name suggests, the first tag relates to sponsored, advertising, or paid content links. Website owners must add this Rel attribute if the link is not organic.
The second tag is the acronym for User-Generated Content (UGC). Those are backlinks from forums, comment sections, reviews, or other post links.
A nofollow link indicates that the website owner does not want to pass link credit to the destination page. In other words, the website does not pass any link juice. NoFollow links don’t endorse the content of the web page.
If we take the HTML code of the previous anchored backlink example and transform this dofollow into a nofollow, then it will look like this:
<a href=”https://your-website.com/” rel=”nofollow”>anchor-text</a>
The same applies to Sponsored and UGC backlinks. Remember that if there is no Rel attribute, the backlink is dofollow by default.
What are Good Backlinks?
Not all backlinks are created equal. As we saw in the previous section, a few of them may not pass any “link juice.”
Here is a list of the top factors that make good backlinks:
- Authority
- Relevance
- Website traffic
- Anchor text
- Domains variety
- DoFollow
Backlinks from authoritative websites are more valuable than links from random personal blogs. Unfortunately, no one knows exactly how search engines rank websites. We can still make estimations from various free and paid tools. Check the domain authority or domain rating to evaluate your backlinks.
If backlinks pointing at your web page are irrelevant, they won’t help rank your domain on search engines. You must review the content topic and language to ensure they are relatable.
Unless the linking site has a large audience, backlinks don’t drive significant traffic to the destination page. We should continue monitoring website traffic history. If it decreases, the backlink value may drop as well.
Websites need a balance of naked and anchored backlinks. The anchor text must be diverse and not over-optimized for your keywords. If you sell smartphones, having all your backlinks come from the anchor text “smartphone-model” doesn’t look natural.
Regarding anchor texts, receiving many backlinks from unique domains doesn’t send a positive signal to search engines and web crawlers. One hundred backlinks from 100 different websites boost rankings more than 100,000 backlinks from a single domain.
DoFollow links have no Rel attribute. They pass more value than other kinds of backlinks (sponsored, UGC, and nofollow). Ensure you have sufficient dofollow backlinks to your website profile.
In case a domain sends you several backlinks, keep in mind that the first one has more weight than the others, for which the value continuously decreases.
How to Check Your Backlink Profile?
To review their backlink profile, businesses must audit their websites.
This analysis will identify weaknesses and opportunities to prepare the outreach campaign.
Backlink Tools
Many tools support checking website backlinks. Here are the best ones:
- Google Search Console (free)
- Ahrefs (paid)
- Semrush (paid)
Those three tools are straightforward to use.
In Google Search Console, select the “Links” tab, which is just above the Settings tab.
In Ahrefs, choose the domains or backlink pages to get an overview.
In Semrush, go to the Link Building section to view referring domains.
Backlink Quality
The backlink quality profile of a website depends on these factors:
- Total number of backlinks
- Total number of domains
- Number of backlinks per domain
- Backlink quality
- Anchor text
- Top linked pages
A healthy backlink profile features a high number of high-quality backlinks from relevant domains. Beware of spammy websites linking out to you or sending tons of backlinks at once.
The anchor texts must be diverse. Brands have little control over them because the website owner who sends the backlink controls the anchor text. Ideally, there should be a good balance between “keyword-related” and “natural.”
Review the pages receiving the most backlinks on your website. They have the potential to bring you more benefits. Ensure no domain points to a 404 status code page on your website. If it happens, you are losing the opportunity to capture link juice. To fix this, consider implementing a 301 redirect.
Toxic Backlinks
Toxic backlinks come from poor-quality domains, such as:
- Fake link directories
- Gambling, casino
- Irrelevant websites
- Etc.
Consider removing those toxic backlinks. They may harm your website over time.
Contact the domain owners and ask them to stop linking to you. If they refuse or remain silent, use the Google Search Console disavow tool to remove them.
How to Attract (Good) Backlinks?
White hat SEO experts are unanimous on this subject. The best way to attract backlinks is to create value for online users.
Delivering useful content to people is the main purpose of search engines like Google. Publishing such content should be yours.
We shortlisted seven top practices to generate beneficial backlinks to your website.
#1 Publish Linkable Pages
To meet search engine and online user expectations, businesses must create web pages with actionable key takeaways.
If the content is good enough to be quoted as a source, website owners will naturally link to those pages.
In addition to text, consider formats such as videos or infographics. Visual content is most effective at attracting backlinks.
AI tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity love to quote relevant “linkable” web pages. In short: publish useful content!
#2 Share Your Content With Relevant Websites
Contact other websites in the same niche to propose relevant sources of information. You can provide value by inviting them to link out to your content.
If your business is geolocated, such as a brick-and-mortar shop, local backlinks provide an additional visibility boost.
To help search engines index the internet, some people also create online directories.
Those websites list the best domains from their niche. For example, it can be the “Best digital marketing agency in Vietnam.”
There are directories for all fields, and they are free.
#3 Identify Outdated Competitor Pages With Good Backlinks
As the purpose is to publish valuable content, no one wants to link out to outdated pages.
If a domain you would like to earn a backlink from is pointing to an old or irrelevant page, you should contact the owner.
Ask this person to link to your web page instead.
Yes, it is backlink stealing. But it is for a good cause!
#4 Identify 404 Pages With Good Backlinks
404-code pages offer easy wins for backlinking.
If a web page used to attract high-quality links but no longer exists (e.g., a new URL or a deletion), you still want to retain the old backlink juice.
Implement a 301 redirection from the 404 URL to the new one. You will keep the value.
If the 404 is from your competitor, ask the referring domain to point to your web page instead.
#5 Consider Guest Posting
Guest posts are articles that you produce yourself and publish on someone else’s website.
The other website benefits from top-notch content. Your website gets a backlink in return.
This kind of mutual agreement works well in long-term partnerships.
#6 Reverse-Engineer Competitor Backlinks
Your competitors are getting backlinks.
The websites linking out to them may also be interested in your web pages.
It is good practice to reverse-engineer their backlinks and try to earn them.
Identify the best opportunities and contact the referring domains to propose your web page content.
#7 Claim Your Brand Mention Backlinks
Popular brands can benefit from easy backlinks.
Monitor the internet for mentions of your company name, products, or services (e.g., via Google Alerts).
Every time this happens, if no backlinks are pointing to you, request link reclamation.
6 Backlink Myths
Backlinks are a hot-trend topic. There are many misconceptions about them.
Based on our experience, here is a list of the worst backlink myths.
#1 Backlinks Bring Traffic
They do, but not as much as you can expect.
Many businesses believe that backlinks will bring them significant website traffic. After all, when online users visit a page that links to another page, a small percentage should land on our domain.
In real life, marketers do not build backlinks to get extra traffic. It is not a sustainable option.
There are many other ways to increase online traffic. Backlinks primarily help improve a website’s ranking and page authority.
#2 The More Backlinks, The Better
In the 2000s, websites with the most backlinks dominated online rankings thanks to the PageRank algorithm.
Since the 2010s, search engine algorithm updates stopped this, for good.
The number of backlinks remains a signal, but it is less prevalent than before.
Backlink quality became much more critical.
#3 Irrelevant Backlinks Are Better Than No Backlinks
Non-related backlinks can harm websites by sending a negative signal to search engines.
In most cases, domains are better off without backlinks than with irrelevant ones.
#4 Purchasing Relevant Backlinks is Okay
Purchasing backlinks, relevant or not, is never okay.
There is no acceptable reason for doing such a thing.
Check the link schemes from Google to understand more.
All backlinks must be natural, and websites must earn them.
#5 Google Does Not Penalize Websites Getting Black-Hat Backlinks
Public Link Networks (PLNs) and Private Blog Networks (PBNs) were also a popular trend in the 2000s.
Today, the community considers them as black hat practices, trying to cheat search engine algorithms.
PLN and PBN owners get penalties. Backlink buyers are also responsible for this.
Google can rank them lower or even completely de-index their web pages from search results.
#6 Rel=”nofollow” Links are Useless
As we mentioned earlier, dofollow links pass some value, while nofollow links are mostly ignored.
The rules are unclear regarding the last ones.
From experience, SEO marketers know that search engines still consider nofollow links as “hints.”
NoFollow backlinks may boost the brand if they come from a high authority domain.
Earn Your Backlinks
There are many factors to consider when it comes to backlinks. Therefore, businesses should stay open to any outreach opportunities.
There is no perfect link. When aiming for the best fits or setting too many constraints, web pages may not have enough backlinks to rank in search engines.
Earning backlinks is a long and challenging process. As a rule of thumb, the harder it is to get a backlink, the more valuable it is.
Receiving relevant dofollow backlinks is great because we get some link juice.
On the other hand, sending out dofollow backlinks to other domains also passes the value to them. You do not want your page value to decrease. Consider adding the rel=”nofollow” attribute.
Contact Prodima Vietnam for professional link-building services.
