What Are Backlinks, and Why Are They Crucial for SEO?

If you have a website, ranking high in search engines has become more important than ever.

Why?

The answer is simple. Google is where websites battle it out for top positions. And attaining a higher rank holds tremendous significance as Google heavily considers ranking while choosing which content to feature on its first search result page.

Now while searching for proven tips for ranking higher on search engines like Google, having an effective backlinking strategy is key to ensuring success in SERP.

After all, it is backlinks that play the role of influential votes, signalling to Google the credibility and relevance of a particular website.

What is a backlink?

Simply put, backlinks are links that point from other third-party websites back to your website. Also referred to as “inbound links”, “incoming links”, or “external links”, backlinks are the most significant off-site ranking factor. These serve as valuable endorsements, where other websites recommend your content to explore further and gain insights on a specific topic.

Backlinks are how search engines eventually determine the authoritativeness and relevancy of a website for search queries.

The report says the number 1 ranking page on Google has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than pages ranking in positions 2-10.

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Backlinks are important to SEO. But why?

Backlinks play a massive role in Google’s algorithm. Here are 6 causes that show why backlinks are crucial to SEO.

1. Higher domain authority

While ranking websites on SERP, search engines use several factors to measure how accurate and dependable the content found on a website is. Domain authority is one of them that affects your search engine ranking. And it is the high-quality backlinks that play a crucial role in building domain authority.

Because factors that maximise domain authority include the number of domains that link to your site, the number of sites those domains connect to as well as the credibility and influence of the website that direct visitors to your site. The domain authority scores range from one to a hundred, with higher scores indicating a greater likelihood to rank well and more traffic coming to your site.

2. Improves organic ranking

Increased organic ranking in search engines is one of the top benefits of backlinks. Google’s ranking algorithm is based on a system named PageRank that measures the importance of a webpage based on the links pointing to them.

Here the basic idea is that authoritative pages get more links (especially if the link comes from popular sites). So, when your website starts getting links from relevant sites, your content will start ranking higher naturally.

3. Higher visibility and fast indexing

Another one of the key backlink benefits is that your content will be discovered by a wider range of search queries. This improves the website’s visibility in search engines, making it more likely that people will find and visit your site. Also, search engine bots rely on backlinks from existing websites to locate new web pages. So, if a site lacks backlinks, it will become more difficult for site discovery and listing.

4. Send referral traffic

A good backlink not just benefits you in getting more direct traffic from search engines but also sends referral traffic to your website. This often occurs when a person who is reading a post voluntarily clicks on the post links to learn more and land on the web page of another website.

This happens because people trust what authoritative sources say about your product or services. So, having a wide range of backlinks originating from different websites enhances the chances of increasing your website traffic through referrals.

5. Boost trust in your brand

Another important benefit of backlinks in SEO is that it builds trust and authority for your business or brand. It adds credibility to your brand in the eyes of the searchers. The more you are featured on authoritative websites, the more authoritative you will appear in your field, and the more people are going to trust your business.

With your brand and links consistently appearing on relevant online platforms, customers are inclined to perceive your business as a dominant player in the market.

6. Overall, backlinks are what move your marketing strategy forward

Another final advantage to doing backlinking. These work as a free source of ongoing digital marketing you don’t have to pay for. Once the links are in place, websites can benefit from a continuous flow of organic traffic without further active link-building efforts.

When other reputable websites link to your site, it enhances your online visibility and establishes your credibility. Furthermore, visitors exploring these linking websites will take notice of your strong web presence, creating a positive impression of your brand.

Later, in turn, you can easily reach out to them via platforms like Facebook ads as they are already familiar with your brand and more likely to consider your business worthy of their investment. Even it will maximise the likelihood that they will turn into your long-term customers.

However, not all backlinks are equally valuable

Gone are the days when low-quality links held any value in terms of site ranking. Instead of aiming for a large volume of backlinks, concentrate towards acquiring high-quality backlinks with authoritative and well-regarded websites. Hence knowing the attributes of a good backlink is essential.

Alongside domain and page authority, content relevance is a key influencer of both search engine ranking and link equity. For example, if you are a commercial painter, backlinks from popular local websites, press releases or reputable directories will add high relevance. In addition, the positioning of your link within the linking website’s page holds great significance.

A link naturally embedded within the main body carries more value in comparison to a link positioned in the footer or sidebar. Also, obtaining links from a diverse range of platforms, including websites, blogs, directories, or forums, is also necessary to establish a backlink profile that appears organic and diverse.

So, before you dive into getting backlinks, it’s essential to know the best practices for acquiring them.

It will be worth the effort, guaranteed!