
A backlink is a link leading from one website to another. Backlinks are sometimes called "inbound links" or "incoming links."
Search engines like Google use backlinks as a way to measure the popularity and relevance of websites. When one website links to another, it is seen as a vote of confidence for the linked-to website.
Backlinks are essential to SEO since search engines like Google use the number and quality of backlinks to a website as a ranking factor in their algorithms.
A high-quality backlink from a reputable and relevant website can improve the visibility and credibility of the linked-to website in SERPs.
How to Acquire Backlinks
The process of obtaining backlinks is a crucial aspect of off-site SEO.
Valuable backlinks come from trustworthy, popular, and authoritative sites, while links from low-quality or spammy sites are much less desirable.
The value of a backlink depends on factors such as:
- whether or not it is followed,
- the page authority,
- content of the linking page,
- the anchor text used,
- meta tags associated with the linking page.
Even nofollow links (hyperlinks with a rel="nofollow") mentioned on high-quality sites can enhance your brand.
Furthermore, competitive backlink analysis can help new or expanding sites find where to start with link building by examining a competitor's backlink profile.
Link-building tools such as Ahrefs or Hunter.io will definitely come in handy when uncovering these links so you can target them in your link-building strategy.