What is a backlink?

What is a backlink?

A backlink or inbound link is an incoming link or referral back to a website. From the point of view of the search engines, eg Google, a backlink represents a recommendation that can be followed by the crawler or the human user.

Backlinks and Google Ranking

The basis of the algorithm at that time was the Google PageRank , which was calculated from the backlinks of websites and their internal links. The aim was to increase the PageRank of your own website in order to get a better ranking in the search engine. It was important to increase the domain popularity , link popularity and IP popularity . A distinction is made here between dofollow and nofollow , which was introduced in 2005attribute. Due to numerous manipulation attempts by SEO, e.g. by link SPAM, which can lead to penalties for the link-giving and link-taking side, Google has expanded its algorithms to include the Google Pengiun, which evaluates the backlinks of a domain.

What is a good backlink?

At that time, the Google PageRank was used as an indicator for a good backlink and attention was paid to the quantity, but the search engine optimizers (SEO) were shaken up by various penalties and algorithm changes. The goal today is to build backlinks that.

Quality (TrustRank), quantity (PageRank) and anchor text play an important role in a good backlink.

How is a backlink structured?

A backlink, from the point of view of the HTML source code, has the following components:

<a href='http://www.teachwiki.com/'> Anchor -Text</a>

Extensions of a backlink can be:

What types of backlinks are there?

Although we are talking about internal linking (within the website) or external linking, there are three different types of backlinks:

A natural link profile represents links from all of these link types, although they were included as dofollow or nofollow links

How does a backlink work?

A backlink is a link on an external website that leads internet users and search engine crawlers to your own website. Search engines such as Google interpret the backlink, also known as the inbound link, as a recommendation from the operator of the external site to visit their own site. The more renowned the site that sets the link (e.g. information portal of a well-known daily newspaper), the more the backlink contributes to a good ranking. This also means: Not every backlink is worth the same for the ranking and some (e.g. from so-called link farms ) can even be harmful.

How can I set backlinks?

The webmaster of page X can only set backlinks to other websites himself, for example to pages A, B or C. These do not necessarily have to belong to another webmaster, but can also be his own. It is therefore possible to cooperate with other domain owners. This is possible, for example, by writing a guest article for another site and linking this article to your own homepage. Last but not least, the following generally applies: the more interesting the content on your own website (e.g. interesting studies or advice), the more likely people are to link to this content without being asked to do so. This is the ulterior motive of Google when it comes to backlinks.

How can you build backlinks for free?

In our link building article we have written extensively about methods, but for the sake of completeness we would like to show the possibilities for generating backlinks:

How long does it take for backlinks to appear?

If a backlink is set from page X to page Y, it can be used immediately. You click on the link on page X and reach page Y. However, this does not mean that Google has already registered this link. The Google crawlers do not know in real time that the new link has been set. Only when you scan the respective website again is the link entered in the Google database and can even become relevant for the ranking of the linked website. How often crawlers visit a website is uncertain and seems to vary from site to site.

How important are backlinks?

In earlier times, almost every backlink was an important factor that contributed to an improved ranking on Google. Website operators sometimes make excessive use of this with practices in which the backlinks have absolutely no significance as to the quality of the linked content. For example, they bought backlinks from random sites on a large scale. Of course, that wasn't what Google intended. Google therefore took action against this with the Penguin Update and its successors, among other things . Various sites whose backlinks Google classified as unnatural were penalized. Today, backlinks remain important, but quality comes before quantity and building links too quickly is more harmful.

How many backlinks should you have?

The question of the right number of backlinks can hardly be answered in general. With a large news portal in competition with other large portals, the number is significantly higher than with smaller web projects. Time and quality are other factors. If you get too many backlinks from websites that are not too well known in a short period of time, this can have a detrimental effect. Backlinks from websites with a quality rated very low by Google, which practically only serve to distribute backlinks, are generally harmful. When it comes to backlinks, quality over quantity. Good link building is therefore primarily based on medium to long-term success and gains backlinks from well-known sites.

Where is my site linked?

As a link setter, you should occasionally check which websites are currently linking to this project. This is made possible with various SEO tools. There are free backlink checkers on the internet that do a good job of backlink analysis. The paid programs usually offer even more valuable information. For example, you make statements about the quality of the backlinks or compare the backlinks of the analyzed website with those of the competition. Webmasters can draw valuable conclusions from these analyzes in order to optimize their website. For example, you can see which content on your website led to a particularly large number of backlinks.

Free backlink checkers

With this free backlink checker, you have the opportunity to check backlinks from domains. Google will show you your own backlinks in the Google Search Console.

Paid backlink tools

Paid backlink tools offer the advantage of using their own metrics to evaluate the backlinks for their quality. You also have the option of backlink comparisons of your domain with those of your competitors, identifying negative backlinks, checking the link growth of a domain and much, much more.

What are backlinks for?

Backlinks are one of over 200 ranking factors that Google uses to automatically determine a website's placement in the search results list for a relevant search query. It would therefore be a mistake to concentrate solely on backlinks when doing SEO measures. Nevertheless, the fact is: (Good!) Backlinks continue to contribute to a website being more present on Google and thus attracting more visitors. The further up a website is in the ranking, the more difficult it is to climb further. The chance that a website will move up significantly on page 4 or 5 of the search results thanks to good backlinks is much greater. With the right technique, however, you also have the potential to get on page 1.

Conclusion

Backlinks are an important part of search engine optimization (SEO) and thus lead to better rankings and relevant traffic for your website. Pay attention to natural linking patterns and check your existing links. Professional off-page optimization can give your company a status quo and show deficits in your link profile. Avoid a quick, unnatural link building, because professional link building costs know-how, time and money.