In Chapter 6 of Beginner to Advanced SEO, we discuss backlinks. One of the most important aspects of search engine optimization is backlinks. Let’s dive in, as the foreigners say!

What is a backlink?

A backlink is a link from one page to another. If page A links to page B, we say that page B has a backlink from page A. Backlinks are one of the most important ranking signals. There is a direct correlation between the quantity and quality of backlinks and rankings.

Why are backlinks so important?

Backlinks have been a very influential factor in search engine algorithms since the beginning. They work as academic citations. Search engine developers realized that if many quality sources link to a particular page, it means that the page is valuable and trustworthy.

Google page rank

Early on, Google created an algorithm called PageRank to incorporate the quality and quantity of backlinks into its ranking system and determine the relative importance of web pages in search results.

The three factors that affect page rank are:

• Number of backlinks: The more backlinks a page has, the better.
• Number of links on the linking page: The value (called link value) is distributed among all pages that are linked from the linking page.
• PageRank of the linking page: A backlink from a higher ranking page increases the value of the link.

Types of links

Links can be categorized into different types. Here are the most basic ones you need to know:

Internal links vs. external links

This one is pretty obvious, an internal link is a link from one page to another on the same website, while an external link is a link from an external website.

Nofollow links

A nofollow link is a link that has the “rel=”nofollow” attribute in its HTML code.

Introduced by Google in 2005, it tells search engines not to send link value to the linked page. Examples of where the nofollow attribute can be used include:

• Links in comments: Helps fight comment spam because it devalues links in comments
• Affiliate and Sponsored Links: With the nofollow attribute, you won’t violate Google’s rules about buying backlinks.
• Links to websites you don’t want to approve: Sometimes it’s necessary to link to pages you don’t want to approve.

Although nofollow links don’t transfer authority, they can provide other benefits:

• They may act as a hint to Google: In 2019, Google announced that it would treat nofollow links as hints to better understand and analyze links.
• They can bring you traffic: A nofollow link may not bring you any “SEO points,” but it can still bring you relevant traffic.
• They diversify your link profile: Nofollow links are a natural part of any link profile, and it would be strange if you didn’t have any. Let’s move on to the link profile (Yoho).

Profile link

Link profile is another important SEO term you need to know. It is used to describe all the links that point to your website. The quality of your link profile is directly related to your rankings.

What does a good link profile look like?

• Diverse: A healthy link profile is a mix of different types of links (both standard and nofollow) and natural anchor text.
• Quality backlinks: A good link profile includes quality backlinks from relevant websites.

On the other hand, a large number of low-quality links from spam websites are ignored at best and harm your website at worst.

Anchor text

Anchor text is the visible, clickable part of a link. It helps crawlers determine what the linked page is about.

We distinguish different types of anchor texts:

• Brand name: For example, “DigiGiraffe”
• Precise mention: for example, “SEO guide”
• Partial match: For example, “SEO practical training”
• General: For example, “Read more”
• Naked URL: For example “https://digizarafe.ir/blog-gireffe/”

If more pages link to you with relevant anchor text phrases, it may help you rank for those phrases in search engines. This doesn’t mean you should try to get keyword-rich anchor texts at all costs. On the contrary, you should be very careful and aim for a natural mix of different anchor text types.

Any blatant attempts to manipulate the anchor text of your links may be detected and penalized by Google.

Characteristics of a valuable backlink

Not all backlinks are created equal. In addition to the obvious differences between internal and external links and standard links versus nofollow links, two backlinks can have different values (and send different amounts of link value) based on many other factors. Here’s what a valuable backlink looks like:

1- Be relevant

A valuable backlink is thematically relevant. This means that the linking page should be on the same or similar topic as the linked page. For example, if you have a post about hiking tips and you have two backlinks, one from a post about outdoor sports and the other from a post about politics, the former backlink is much more valuable.

2- From a reputable website

As we explained earlier with PageRank, pages with high-quality links pointing to them also send more link value to your page. The more authoritative the linking page, the more valuable the backlink is to you. There is no official metric from Google that indicates the authority of a page, but there are many metrics from commercial tools that can help you estimate it. The most popular are Domain Authority and Page Authority from Moz.

3. Unique

The uniqueness of a backlink can be discussed on different levels:

A) Website level

A backlink from a website that has not previously linked to you is usually more valuable than one that has already linked to you. It is better to have 10 backlinks from 10 different websites than 50 backlinks from one site.

b) surface area

If you have two links from the same page, the one that appears first may have more value than the second. (Google used to count the first anchor text in 2009. We don’t know how they treat them today, but we can assume that hasn’t changed.)

c) Number of other links

Last but not least, page rank is distributed evenly across linking pages. So there is a big difference between a backlink from a page that links to 3 sources and a backlink from a page that links to 30 sources.

4. Located near the top of the body

A quality link is one that can also bring you traffic. Not only for the obvious reasons (new visitors) but also from an SEO perspective.

Google uses a model called Reasonable Surfer that predicts how likely a user is to click on a link: “The rate at which a page is likely to rank based on the likelihood that someone might click on a link.”

Matt Cutts, former head of web spam at Google, specifically said that you should “… place valuable links at the top of your blog posts.” The more prominent the backlink, the more weight Google gives it. In other words, a backlink from the top of the article is better than a backlink from the bottom. And a backlink from the bottom of the article is better than a backlink in the footer or sidebar.

5- Has relevant anchor text

Anchor text plays an important role in link building. That is, a backlink with anchor text that is relevant to the linked page is more valuable than one with an irrelevant or generic anchor. This also applies to the text surrounding the link, as links may have context around them.

Should you do link building?

In an ideal world, all you need to do to get quality backlinks is create great content. The reality is a little more complicated:

• It is very difficult (if not impossible) to get quality backlinks without extra effort on your part, especially for new websites.
• It is very difficult (if not impossible) to rank without backlinks, especially for new websites.

That’s why link building is such a big part of SEO. But it’s also a bit of a controversial topic. Google isn’t a big fan of manipulating your site’s page rank. Here’s what they say in their quality guidelines:

Any link that is intended to manipulate page rank or site ranking in Google search results may be considered part of a link scheme and a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.

Does that mean you can’t influence the number and quality of your backlinks in any way? We don’t think so. Not all forms of link building are spammy or manipulative. There are many techniques that can help you get backlinks while still providing value to users. They’re not as immediate as writing spammy comments or buying a bunch of links from Fiverr.

Should you buy links?

Now buying backlinks is a completely different chapter. Most SEO experts will tell you it’s not worth it. Here are two main disadvantages of buying links:

• This is dangerous: buying backlinks is a big problem for Google and if they find out, you will receive a manual penalty, something your website may not recover from.
• It’s expensive: A quality backlink is expensive (starting at around $100/backlink, usually much more). Of course, a backlink won’t boost your rankings, so you’ll have to spend a lot to get results.

However, the link selling industry is very much alive and buying backlinks is a common practice. The final decision is yours. Just remember that this is a very risky strategy that may not pay off in the long run.

Link building strategies

There are many link building techniques, hacks, and tips that we will cover in a detailed post on other Wednesdays, God willing. In this SEO guide, we will cover 3 common strategies that work very well.

Linkable assets

The most natural link building technique is to create unique and valuable content (so-called linkable assets) that will attract backlinks. Linkable assets can be any content, but there are certain types of content that work perfectly for this. These include:

• More tips on external modification or ultimate guides?
• Big lists
• Research with unique data
• Resource directories
• Free tool

The next step is to find websites that might want to link to you and contact them.

Once the backlinks reach your accessible links and content, you can add another link to your money-making pages, as shown in the image below.

Guest posting

Guest posting (or guest blogging) is definitely the most popular link building technique. It’s very simple (though not easy) and scalable.

So, how do you find blogs that accept guest posts related to your niche? Try using specific search operators that help you filter out those that are relevant to you. For example: “your business topic” + “write for us”.

Once you find them, read their guest posting guidelines and contact the owner of your guest post.

Competitor backlinks

Scanning through your competitors’ link profiles is a great way to find websites that might be willing to link to you. All you need is a backlink analysis tool.

You can start by entering the domain on the backlink analysis site. You can also focus on a specific URL (for example, your competitor’s post on the same topic you want to rank for). When analyzing your competitor’s backlinks, you should consider:

• Link relevance: Is a backlink from this page relevant to your content?
• Link strength: What is the authority of the linking page?
• Difficulty: Can you get the same backlink?

The next step is the so-called email outreach. Contacting website owners to replace their competitor’s backlink (also known as the skyscraper technique) or add your backlink as an additional source.

Skyscraper Technique

The Skyscraper Technique (named after Brian Dean of Backlinko) works like this:

1. Find the best article on a specific topic, write something that is even better (see the 10x content technique discussed in previous lessons).
2. Then contact all the websites that link to your competitor and ask them to link to you instead.

• Broken Link Building: Find websites with broken links and offer your content as a replacement.
• Brand Mention: Find your brand without a link (you can use Google Alerts) and ask web owners to link the mention.
• Testimonials: Write a testimonial for a product or service and link to your site next to your name.
• Conclusions, expert insights: Use in specialized conclusions or articles that require expert insights.
• Social backlinks (nofollow): Share your content on social media, promote it on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest, join discussions, comment on related posts.
• Forums and Q&A sites (nofollow): A good, value-added link on Quora or Reddit can generate a lot of traffic over time. Avoid mindless spam at all costs.