Backlinks, also known as inbound links or incoming links, are links from one website that point to a page on another website. They are one of the most important ranking factors in search engine optimization (SEO) because they signal trust, authority, and relevance to search engines like Google.

On this page, you will find more information on link building, how to get good backlinks and remove bad backlinks.

What is Backlink?

A backlink is created when one website links to another using an anchor tag in the HTML. For example:

<a href=”https://example.com”>Check out this article</a>

In this example, the website linking out is giving a backlink to the destination URL.

Backlinks act as digital recommendations. When a reputable website links to your content, it tells search engines that your page is credible and worth referencing.

Why Are Backlinks Important?

Backlinks serve several key purposes in SEO and digital visibility:

Improve Search Rankings: Pages with more high-quality backlinks generally rank higher in search engine results, as backlinks are considered a vote of confidence.
Increase Referral Traffic: When users click on a quality backlink from another site, it drives targeted traffic to your page.
Build Domain Authority: Earning good backlinks from trusted sites helps strengthen your website’s authority in your niche.
Speed Up Indexing: Search engine crawlers use backlinks to discover new pages. A page with backlinks is more likely to be crawled and indexed faster.

Not all backlinks carry the same value. Here are the main types:

DoFollow Backlinks: These are standard backlinks that pass SEO value (link equity) from one site to another. Most natural links are dofollow backlinks by default.

Nofollow Backlinks: Nofollow backlinks ontain a rel=”nofollow” attribute and do not pass ranking value directly. However, nofollow backlinks can still bring traffic and diversify your link profile.

UGC and Sponsored Links: Links marked as rel=”ugc” (user-generated content) or rel=”sponsored” help indicate the context of the link to search engines.

Internal vs. External Links: Internal links point to other pages within the same domain. External links (from other domains) are more valuable for SEO purposes.

Several factors determine the quality of a backlink:

Relevance – Links from websites in the same or related niche carry more SEO value.

Authority – A backlink from a high-authority site (like a respected news outlet or educational institution) carries more weight. This will be considered a quality backlinks.

Anchor Text – The clickable text of the link should be relevant to the content of the destination page.

Placement – Links placed in the main body of content (contextual links) are more valuable than those in footers or sidebars.

Uniqueness – Multiple links from the same domain are helpful, but links from diverse domains offer greater SEO benefit.

Getting backlinks requires a combination of quality content and outreach strategies. Here are some tips on how to get quality backlinks:

Create high-value content: Create high-quality content such as guides, research, infographics, or original insights that others want to reference.

Guest posting: Guest posting on reputable blogs in your industry is also a good way of getting quality backlinks.

Broken link building: By finding outdated or broken links on other sites and offering your content as a replacement, you can increase your quality backlinks.

Good relationships: Try to build good relationships with bloggers, journalists, and influencers who can reference your work.

Promote your content: Promote your content through social media, newsletters, and outreach to increase visibility and backlink opportunities.

Now let’s check out backlink best practices:

  • Embrace quality over quantity. A few strong backlinks are better than dozens of low-quality backlinks. Focus on link building in a natural way from relevant, high-authority sources
  • Avoid spammy backlinks. Links from low-trust sites can harm your SEO.
  • Remove harmful backlinks. More info on this in the following lines.

Not all backlinks are beneficial. Bad backlinks come from low-quality, spammy, or irrelevant websites and can harm your SEO rather than help it. Search engines may view these links as attempts to manipulate rankings, which can result in penalties or lower visibility in search results.

Common sources of toxic backlinks include:

  • Link farms and private blog networks (PBNs) that exist solely to manipulate search rankings
  • Irrelevant websites that have no topical connection to your content
  • Spammy directories or comment sections filled with unnatural links
  • Paid links that are not properly disclosed with rel=”sponsored”

Here are a few tips on removing toxic backlinks and protect your website:

  • Regularly monitor your website and audit your backlink profile. You can do this easily with Raiser, which will spot bad backlinks for your and remove them successfully so your website will be free of harmful references.
  • Removing bad backlinks can also be done manually. Just contact the website owner or webmaster and politely request the removal of the link. Provide the exact URL where the link exists and the reason for your request.

Keeping your backlink profile clean and trustworthy is essential for long-term SEO performance. With good link building practices, you too can increase your website’s authority and get better search results.

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References

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