The backlinks to your site are called “inbound links.” When one website links to your site, it’s considered a “vote of confidence” for your website. Google uses backlinks as one of the factors in its ranking algorithm. They are essentially like recommendations, votes, and referrals, in that multiple websites that contain a link to your site means it has valuable content.
The types of backlinks that Google uses to determine your ranking are important. Backlinks from high-ranking pages have a greater authority than links from low-ranking ones. This is especially true if these backlinks point to your site, and Google’s algorithm will treat them as such. While you don’t need to get backlinks from every website, you should try to acquire as many high-quality links as possible.
Creating high-quality, relevant backlinks is an effective way to increase your rankings. However, keep in mind that not all backlinks are created equal. Think of each backlink as a vote of confidence for your website. You need to focus on quality, not quantity, so you need to invest time and effort into building your backlink portfolio. For example, LinkedIn’s “The Real Face of Sales” campaign is a great example of effective use of backlinks.
The amount of quality backlinks that you have is also important. The quality of backlinks depends on three variables. First, the link quality and its “do follow” status. A dofollow link passes as much authority to the page it links to as possible. If you can build a link in the main content of a site, that backlink is more valuable than one without. The more relevant the link is, the higher your SEO ranking.
Second, your backlinks need to be relevant. Google’s algorithm weighs each backlink based on its relevancy to your website. Links from websites that have high traffic and high-rankings are more relevant. If your HVAC company has links from websites about hardwood flooring, you can bet that no-followed links will not be relevant. In short, your backlinks must be relevant to your website and its products.
Third, if you don’t want to invest in a tool that gathers links automatically, consider using a broken-link checker. It will identify broken links on your website or competitors’ websites, and notify you of them. You can then suggest alternative content for the link. The goal is to build as many high-quality links as you can, without spamming your website. But remember, quantity is not better than quality.
Getting editorial links from high-quality websites will help your website gain more visitors. These links come from authoritative websites that link to your content, share useful information, and support other websites. Most webmasters choose editorial links for their websites based on content or infographics that people can use. Other examples of editorial links are when someone cites your content as an authority on a site, or interviews someone related to your website.
Getting backlinks from high-quality websites can bring you relevant traffic and open doors for partnership opportunities. They can even help you gain brand recognition. Backlinks are similar to academic citations for websites. An authoritative website linking to yours can lead to a higher page rank, but not all backlinks are equal. In general, a high-quality backlink is worth more than a thousand low-quality ones.