What is a backlink? This word is a word that every online business owner and website administrator should know about. Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. They are one of the most important factors in SEO (search engine optimization). If you want your website to rank high in search engine results pages, you need to have many high-quality backlinks. In this article, we will discuss what backlinks are and how to build more of them!
A backlink is a hyperlink from one web page to another. So your backlinks are links from other websites that point back to your own site. They are also known as inbound or incoming links because they come into the website instead of going out. The site that's being linked to is the "target" of the backlink, while the site doing the linking is the "source".
Search engines use backlinks as one of many factors in their ranking algorithms. In other words, backlinks are important for SEO because they help to show Google that your site is a quality resource worth ranking high in its search engine results pages (SERPs). Meaning the number and quality of the backlinks pointing towards your site will have a big effect on how well it ranks.
As I already mentioned, backlinks help you rank higher in search engines. When someone conducts a search, the engine looks at many factors - including the number of links to a website - in order to determine where the website should rank in the search results. The more high-quality links you have, the higher your website will rank and so the more you will attract potential visitors.
Another good reason to create backlinks is that they help you build trust with your audience. When people see that other reputable websites are linking to yours, they are more likely to believe what you have to say and trust your content.
In other words, websites with good content and a variety of helpful links from other websites will always do better in the search engines than those that just don't have any backlinks. Be careful though, not every backlink is good for your business...
Before we talk about how to create backlinks, it's important to note that not all links are good for your website. This is why it's crucial to ensure that the links you are getting are high-quality. In fact, some of them can be harmful to your reputation and even get you penalized by Google.
You want to avoid creating backlinks on sites or pages which exist for the sole purpose of listing links for other sites like ¨Link farms¨. These are low-quality sites that have a ton of content with little value.
Also, backlinks from websites that are not related to your niche are not always well perceived. If for example your website is about herb teas and you get links from another website that sells phones, this will look spammy to Google and might harm your rankings.
So it’s not just the number. The onsite location of those linking pages as well as their authority level and do-follow versus no-follow status will all impact how valuable they are for building up traffic or rankings in Google's eyes.
Now that you know what backlinks are and why they are important, it's time to learn how to create them for your website.
Of course, the best and most natural way to get more high-quality backlinks is to create content that others will want to link to. This means writing content that is interesting, informative, and useful. Those unrequested and unpaid links are called ¨editorial backlinks¨. They take a lot of time to build but are well worth it.
However, there are a few other ways you can build more such as :
1 - Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is a great way to get backlinks from authoritative websites. Find other blogs in your niche and offer to write a guest blog for them. For example, if your niche is related to sciences or tech, you could submit an article on medium.
Most of the time, they will allow you to include links to your website in the article. So while they will receive free relevant content, you will get a valuable backlink. To help you write better blogs, you can also take a look at our separate article 9 Blogging Mistakes To Avoid.
2 - Skyscraper content
This is a more advanced technique that can help you get high-quality backlinks. The idea behind skyscraper content is to create a very long and detailed article on a topic (it could be 5000 to more than 10 000 words long!) that will outrank all the others in terms of quantity and quality.
For example, if you are a gardening business selling original lawnmowers, you could write something like ¨How To Choose Your Lawnmower: The Ultimate Guide¨. Also, try to check on google which topic has already a specific ¨Guide article¨ on it and which doesn't so you can be the first one to publish it.
It takes a lot of effort to produce this type of content, but the results are worth it. Have a look at quality content on popular blogs, make it even better, and create something so amazing that people will naturally want to link to it on their website.
3 - Social Media
Social media can be a good way to get backlinks. Create professional profiles for your business on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Pinterest especially is a recommended platform because every pin has its own do-follow URL which can link to your original website. You can share your content on social media, which will help you get more exposure. Be careful not to overdo the advertising though. The content you share should be genuinely interesting and useful to your audience.
Also, note that this strategy will only work if your social media profile is relevant to your website, you post on it regularly and you have an active following. Those factors are a sign for Google of your website authority.
4 - Online Directories
Business and websites owners can submit their sites to directories. There are many online directories where you can submit your website for free. This method is easy and doesn't take much time to execute.
However, I would recommend you choose to register to reputable directories such as Google my business for local businesses or Blogarama for blogs. Because just like farm links, unreliable online directories are also something that can end up penalizing you.
5 - Backlink Checker Tools
A Backlink Checker is a kind of spying tool that helps you monitor backlinks for a specific domain. It’s like having an eye on what's going down in any given industry.
Whether you want to check out your competitors to see where they get their backlinks or just need some help with link building, a Backlink Checker is an easy way for both beginners and pros alike. And FreeSeoTools happens to have one! You can try it for free here.
6 - Answering Quora Questions
Answering questions on the Quora forum is actually very helpful for people and yourself. When you provide a valuable answer to a question, you can include a link to your website as a kind of attribution. This is a great way to drive traffic and potential leads from people who are interested in the topic of your answer.
But be careful not to spam! Instead, find questions that you genuinely can answer as an expert in your niche and provide a useful, authentic response.
7 - Wikipedia
I know Wikipedia’s goal is not link building but accurate information. It's not so easy to get an editorial backlink from the site. You will need a well-researched and well-written article with primary data if you want to get your link on Wikipedia.
But it's worth trying because Wikipedia has a high Domain Authority score. That means that your website will benefit from the backlink, as Google sees it as a vote of confidence. In fact, you can aim to become an editor yourself by looking for Wikipedia topics related to your field of expertise and adding some valuable information.
In a nutshell, backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. They’re important because they tell Google and other search engines that your website is an authority on the topic you’re writing about. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the higher your site will rank in search engine results pages.
Of course, getting high-quality backlinks is not always easy... You can start by creating great content that people will want to link to. You can also increase the chances of getting editorial links by being active on social media and engaging with other bloggers and website owners in your niche.
if you still have more questions about this subject, leave a comment below! We would love to help answer any lingering questions that could be holding you back from getting the most out of your digital marketing efforts.
