What are backlinks?
Backlinks refer to any link connecting two websites together, also known as an inbound link. Referring to backlinks is essential to SEO as it shows credible and pertinent content within your field and informs Google, the primary search engine, that other users appreciate your work and are following it. Incorporating backlinks into your content or referring to other websites could also boost credibility and search rank on the internet.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a marketing minefield we are all trying to navigate carefully. Although SEO itself is relatively straightforward, you should still be mindful of certain aspects when trying to increase your score, links being one such factor. In this blog, we will outline five backlink facts you need to be aware of to boost SEO overall.
Total number of links is NOT a ranking factor
No matter if you own one or ten backlinks, their number won’t have any bearing on your ranking. At first, having at least one backlink serves as an initial qualifying criterion that aids your rankings, and quality matters too: Are they relevant, targeted, and benefit your readers? If they do, then these could contribute to an improvement in your rank; for help locating backlinks, you could always utilize Neil Patel’s Backlink Checker, which is an online free tool available here.
Backlinks no longer carry penalties but rather are devalued
Thanks to a Google update, having poor-quality backlinks no longer adversely impacts your search ranking. Before this update, having such links could cause a drop in Google rankings, but now Google doesn’t penalize your rank; somewhat, it devalues links and marginally devalues content. This only has an effect devaluation if there are 10-20 similarly low-quality backlinks pointing back toward your article’s ranking.
Negative SEO no longer poses a threat
Google, in particular, has recently addressed this issue by making sure negative backlinks no longer affect either you or your competitors’ rankings. Unfortunately, however, poor backlinks can still damage your reputation by diverting readers away from your site and potentially undermining its credibility.
Content creation should always take precedence
Content quality should always come first when considering SEO and backlinking strategies. While SEO and backlinks are integral parts of content creation, engaging, compelling reads must remain top of mind if any optimization efforts fail to produce desired results. When adding backlinks, make sure they add something valuable rather than diminish your content’s relevance – used correctly, backlinks can seamlessly complement it!
Backlinks can help increase traffic
Acquiring backlinks or having someone reference your content enhances your credibility within your industry. By linking back to other websites, backlinks in your content can raise their rankings while showing readers are engaging with it; similarly, gaining references in others’ articles may attract newcomers to visit your website or social media pages.
To Conclude
Backlinks are an integral component of SEO, and it is crucial that they be taken seriously. An unsuitable link could drive visitors away from your website, so ensuring relevant and trustworthy sites link back can only increase credibility and rank dramatically. We hope the five facts about backlinks that you must be aware of have been helpful; for more advanced SEO tactics, including increasing rank with better quality content, take a look at SEO as well as Lead Generation: A Complete Guide.