Backlinks are important for SEO and have a significant impact on your website. They can bring a lot of benefits, but they can also have negative effects. That’s right – backlinks can either support or harm your site. So, it’s essential to understand their value and learn how to use them to your advantage.
What is a backlink?
A backlink is when one website links to another website. For example, say I want to tell you about this great blog about how to use social media scheduling tools and I use an anchor text to link it and make it easily clickable (like I just did), that’s a backlink. They’re important because if they’re from reputable sites then Google sees this as a vote of confidence from this website, and therefore ranks you higher. However, if your backlinks have little to no value, they can damage your website’s reputation.
How do you determine the value of a backlink?
Are the links from a unique root domain? Having links from unique root domains is essential. It means that the websites linking to you haven’t done so before. This matters because if you receive numerous links from the same website, it may not positively affect your credibility. Search engines, like Google, prefer to see diverse sources linking to your website, as it strengthens your credibility further.
What’s your domain rating? A high domain rating indicates that your site has many excellent links from reputable sources. On the other hand, a low rating suggests that your site either lacks links or has links from less reputable sources. Getting a link from a high-profile site can significantly boost your SEO ratings instantly.
What’s your spam score? Despite your best efforts, not all your links will be perfect, and some might even be considered spam by Google. According to Moz, “A high Spam Score for your site, or a site you’re looking at, doesn’t mean this site is necessarily spammy. It’s a sign that you should do some more investigation into the quality and relevance of this site.”
How many of your backlinks come from organic traffic? Organic traffic is huge in the SEO world. It means someone has found your website through their own search results rather than by clicking on a paid ad. It means you’re doing your job correctly! Using a tool like Ahrefs or Moz, you can easily determine if your backlinks are coming from organic searches.
Are you beating the competition? If you’re in direct competition with certain brands and you’re receiving more backlinks than they are, it clearly demonstrates that you’re ahead of the game. As a result, the value of those links is instantly elevated.
Backlinks are important, but they’re not all equal in terms of value. When you require a new backlink, it’s good to determine how much of an impact it’s having on your website. The best backlink is one that is coming from a new site that’s already big in the SEO game, through well-written content that’s high in quality. And how do you get someone to link to your website? Simple – through great optimised content. Give them a reason to want to link to you!
