Would you ever give out party invitations without an address on them?
Seems silly, right?
The address tells people where to go for the party. Backlinks do the same. Google and other search engines see backlinks to your site as an indication of a good content party. When they see links from quality sites pointing to your content, they assume there’s a good time going on at your site and you’re publishing fantastic content.
Backlinks are one of the most meaningful ways that search engines validate your content. They figure if people are linking to it, they find value in it. Backlinks from trusted sites are also difficult to fake.
What is a Backlink?
A backlink is a hyperlink that links from a web page back to your content. For a backlink to be valuable from a search engine optimization perspective the site linking to you must be a trusted site with high authority. Ideally, what it uses to link to you are keywords you are/would like to be known for. It also helps if the site publishes similar content to you or is writing about something you are known for and linking to you as a credible source. Backlinks are commonly referred to as inbound links as well.
A good backlink factors in:
- the site’s domain authority
- relevance to your content
Because of this, there’s no list of the best backlinks out there for everyone. It’s very personalized and should be in line with your target market and industry niche.
An example of a low authority link. For instance, a site about elephant care — even a high-ranking one — wouldn’t lend your site about marketing much SEO mojo because Google would see a disconnect there. Unless the elephant site was writing about a marketing topic (such as how to market your elephant care business), Google wouldn’t give the elephant company much authority when it comes to knowing a good marketing site. This protects the algorithm from people who would call up friends and family and trade links.
How Do You Know if a Domain Has Website Authority?
Before pursuing any backlinks or making it part of your strategy, you need to be able to check the authority of the site. There are a number of website authority checkers including this one. There are also review tools for Chrome and Moz’s popular Open Site Explorer. Using these tools, you can type in any website and check its domain authority. But remember, it has to be relevant to you. AARP may have great domain authority, but a backlink to your content on elephants isn’t likely to be viewed by search engines with as much authority as a backlink to your elder care site.
How Do I Get Backlinks?
There are two ways to get backlinks: organically and by asking. Organically means someone found value in your content and decided to link to it from their site. You can also do research on sites that rank high in your niche (or a similar one) and approach them to include a link to you. Canva does this often. They have employees who “listen” to content around the Internet. When they find someone who has written about them, they ask the blogger or company for a backlink to Canva’s site.
A Final Factor in Good Backlinks
Besides domain authority and content relevance, there’s another qualifier. You may be super excited about landing a guest post on a place with great domain authority, like the Huffington Post, but you need to make sure the link you’re given isn’t a “no follow.” This designation tells search engines that they should not use these backlinks to affect SEO.
Are you looking to improve your backlink strategy or just want to know more about the intricacies of launching a strong SEO campaign? We can help. Contact Oyova today.
