Backlinks – The Importance Of Quality Backlinks

Backlinks are an essential part of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). They play a vital role in a website’s performance and ranking on Search Engine Results Pages (SERP). The more backlinks a website generates, the more popular it will be on the SERP. Although SEO has undergone multiple changes over the years, backlinks remain an important building block for it.

What is a backlink?

Backlinks are links from one website to a page on a different website. Backlinks are also called inbound or incoming links. The process of obtaining links is known as link building. Backlinks are vital for a website’s search visibility and ranking.

Google’s search engine algorithms have become increasingly complex. However, backlinks are still relevant to a website’s strength and authority. More backlinks equate to the greater authority of the website and higher ranking on the search engines.

Not all backlinks are created equal. Backlinks from trustworthy, high authority websites are more desirable as such inbound links have a greater impact on domain and page authorities. High-quality backlinks from authoritative websites can improve the domain authority of the other website.

There are two types of backlinks:

• Dofollow links- Dofollow links are the links that allow google and other search engines to follow them and reach other websites. Dofollow links pass link equity to the hyperlinked pages.
• Nofollow links- Nofollow links are the links that do not allow search engines to follow them and reach other websites. Nofollow links do not pass link equity nor do they help page rank. Such links prevent SEO benefits to be passed on to hyperlinked pages.

Link building is a time-consuming task. It’s always better to focus on dofollow links rather than nofollow links. 

Why are backlinks important?

Backlinks are vital for three reasons:

1. Ranking
Google and other search engines put a lot of emphasis on backlinks. These inbound links are like votes of confidence. These votes from authoritative sites determine your website’s ranking on SERP. The more popularity votes your site is able to gather, the higher you are likely to rank for relevant search results. Thus backlink is very important for organic search traffic.

2. Search visibility
With quality backlinks, your search visibility increases drastically. Google finds new content by crawling websites. Search engines visit authoritative websites more frequently than others. Hence the possibility of your content being discovered faster is higher if you have quality backlinks from popular websites.

3. Referral traffic
Backlinks help direct organic traffic to your webpage or site. Through these links visitors from other websites can discover your site. Thus backlinks help you capture referral traffic.

How to get good backlinks?

Due to exploitation by ‘link farms’, Google has made its algorithms more complex and link building has become more difficult. Link farms are bogus websites that are created specifically for link building. These websites are typically devoid of any content and solely created to increase a website’s Page Rank. Updated search engine algorithms prevent link farms from appearing on top results of SERP.  

To establish quality backlinks, you must be wary of these link farms and seek out genuine and high-ranking websites that are relevant to the content of your website. If links are not relevant, search engines disregard them. 

Here are some ways to create backlinks to elevate your website’s portfolio:

1. Guest blogging

Guest blogging is a popular strategy to build high-quality backlinks. The process for guest blogging begins with the search of authoritative websites in the relevant industry and the identification of the sites that are open to guest blogging. Once shortlisted, you can create and submit relevant content that reflects the aesthetics of these sites. Ensure that a link back to your website is included in the content copy. If the copy gets approval then you have successfully created a high-quality backlink for your website. 

2. Blog comments

Another way for link building is to visit authoritative sites and write positive comments on the posts. Add the link of your website in these comments. Most likely these links would be nofollow links, however, it would help build connections with the right people in your industry. This tactic will also help you to attract attention to your website. While blog commenting may not directly boost SEO, it may help you get leads who would be willing to give you a backlink. 

3. Online directory submission

Submitting your website credentials to online and local directories can help increase your backlinks. Although most of these links may be nofollow, these directories enhance your visibility and make your website more accessible. 

4. Infographics

Good infographics can help you build quality backlinks and enhance your site’s SEO. Create good infographics and publish it across multiple platforms to enhance visibility. Promote the infographics with a press release. This can help attract the attention of publishing houses and might land you a feature in the publication. Outreaching and promoting your infographic will help you connect with relevant industry figures and create quality links for your website. 

5. Niche forums

Communicating actively on niche forums that are relevant to your business can help you create backlinks. Some of these links may be nofollow, however, such forums are vital to attracting the attention of fellow bloggers and professionals. Forums like Quora and Reddit are a great way to engage in conversation and build relationships. You might find people who are happy to let you create backlinks of your website in exchange for good content. 

Final Thoughts
Link building requires time and patience. A sound backlink portfolio is essential for domain and page authority. At Alkye, we offer our clients full SEO services, including link building, to help them rank high in relevant search results.