What Are Backlinks?

Backlinks are links from one website to a page on another website (sometimes known as “inbound links,” “incoming links,” or “one-way links”). Google and other major search engines consider backlinks “votes” for a specific page. Pages with a high number of backlinks tend to have high organic search engine rankings.

Why are backlinks important?

Backlinks are particularly significant for SEO since they reflect a “vote of trust” from one site to another.

Backlinks to your website are, in essence, a signal to search engines that others approve of your content. When a large number of sites link to the same webpage or website, search engines can deduce that the material is worth connecting to and, thus, worth appearing on a SERP. Earning these backlinks might thus improve a site’s ranking position or search visibility.

What’s the difference between a link and a backlink?

Individual web documents are linked together via links, which act as the glue that keeps the web together. Internal links are links between web pages on the same domain that exist primarily to assist users in navigating the website. External links connect to websites on other domains and can serve a variety of purposes, including:

Give the reader more context.

to back up an assertion made in the copy.

Please cite or provide a source.

Something to recommend

Make it more authentic.

The link is on the page to provide more value to the reader in each situation, therefore, the outbound link is a great asset. It’s critical to understand that the relationship has a purpose. It is incoming on the destination page, while it is outgoing on the linked page. As a result, this is a backlink to the destination page.

Search engines notice the value of the backlink and reward the destination URL, seeing the link as totally deliberate; they presume some level of editorial evaluation of the target webpage.

That is why backlinks pointing to your website tell search engines that your material is valuable. Backlinks are, in fact, one of the most effective ranking factors. They play a huge role in the success (or failure) of every website when it comes to organic search traffic.

Types of Backlinks

There are two basic types of backlinks, and one is more valuable than the other. Let’s take a look at each one and how it affects your site.

The nofollow tag tells search engines to ignore a link. They bring no value from one site to another. As a result, they are often ineffective at increasing your search rank or visibility.

Dofollow links are the type of backlink that everyone wants. Just keep in mind that links from reputable websites are the most valuable. This type of backlink can help improve your search engine rankings.

However, certain dofollow links are regarded as harmful or “toxic.” These links come from suspicious sites or are gained by breaking the search engine terms of service.

This may cause Google to penalize or even de-index your site. Remember, it’s not about the quantity of backlinks but rather the quality that makes the difference in ranking.

How Can I Check My Backlinks?

Backlink monitoring tools such as Google Search Console, SEMRush, and Ahrefs are available to help you check your website’s backlinks.

It is critical to monitor your backlinks. Google Webmaster Guidelines require you to ask toxic website owners to remove their links from your site. If you don’t, Google may penalize your website, and your page rank in search results will begin to fall.

So, it’s important to know how to answer these 3 questions:

1. Where can I see a list of all my backlinks?
2. How can I identify whether they’re toxic?
3. How can I contact the owners of toxic backlink sites?

Thankfully, the answer is easy with the right tools.

You can use Google Search Console to help grow your site and see your backlinks, but it can take a lot of time and it’s limited in what it can do.

However, there are faster and better tools available. For example, by using SEMrush, and Ahrefs, you can quickly answer all three of those important questions and much more.

SEMrush and Ahrefs have two main areas that deal specifically with backlinks. The first is the backlink analytics section, which lets you study your competitors, and the second is the backlink audit area.

Let’s take a quick look at the Backlink Audit section because it lets you find all the backlinks to your site.