What are backlinks?
Backlinks are simply links from other websites back to yours. They’re also called “inbound links” or “incoming links” and can be one of SEO's most powerful ranking signals.
Search engines like Google use backlinks as a way to measure the quality and relevancy of your content.
In general, the more high-quality, relevant backlinks you have pointing to your website, the higher your site will rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).
There are two types of backlinks: dofollow and nofollow. Dofollow links are the most valuable since they pass along “link juice” or link equity which helps improve organic search rankings.
Nofollow links don’t pass along this link equity but can still help drive traffic to your website.
Both types of backlinks are important, and you should aim to get a mix of both.
How do you get backlinks?
There are a number of ways to build backlinks, but the best way is to focus on quality over quantity.
Some common link building strategies include:
- Creating informative and shareable blog content
- Asking customers and partners for links back to your site
- Creating helpful resources like infographics and ebooks
- Participating in online and offline events related to your industry
Whatever link-building strategy you choose, make sure you’re creating high-quality content that will actually be valuable for other website visitors.
Why are backlinks important for SEO?
Search engines like Google use backlinks as one way to help determine where a website should rank in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
In general, the more high-quality backlinks you have pointing to your website, the higher your site will rank.
Of course, there are other important ranking factors like on-page SEO and keyword targeting. But backlinks remain an important part of any good SEO strategy.
Not only do backlinks give your website a boost in search engine rankings, but they also help increase brand awareness and drive traffic to your site.
A few key statistics about backlinks:
- 92% of searchers only click on links appearing on the first page of SERPs
- The top-ranked page in Google search results receives 33% of the traffic
- 75% of users never scroll past the first page of SERPs
As you can see, backlinks are a key part of SEO and should be a priority for any business looking to improve its organic search rankings.
If you’re ready to start building backlinks for your website, check out our ultimate guide below.
##Best practices for getting backlinks to your website
Now that you know what backlinks are and why they’re important, it’s time to learn about some best practices for link building.
Here are a few general tips to keep in mind as you start building backlinks to your site:
- Create great content that people will want to link to. This is the most important thing you can do when it comes to link building. If you create informative, well-written and shareable blog posts, infographics, ebooks, etc., other websites will be more likely to link back to your content.
- Focus on quality over quantity. It’s better to have a handful of high-quality backlinks than hundreds of low-quality ones.
- Make sure your backlinks are coming from relevant, authoritative websites.
- Diversify your link sources. Don’t just focus on one type of website or one type of content. Try to get backlinks from a variety of different websites and create a mix of different types of content.
- Monitor your backlink profile. Keep an eye on the number and quality of backlinks pointing to your website using a tool like Moz’s Open Site Explorer. This will help you catch any potential problems with your link building strategy.
- Don’t try to game the system. Don’t participate in link schemes or buy backlinks from shady websites. These practices will only get you penalized by Google.