Backlinks: Are They Still Important for SEO?

Are backlinks still important for SEO? The simple answer is, Yes!

But you may think, “Of course you would say that!”

So in this blog post we are going to have look at backlinks, chat about the best strategies for acquiring the best types of backlinks which will help boosts your business SERP’s (search engine results page) and discoverability which will help you outrank your competitors.

What are Backlinks?

Backlinks, also known as inbound links or incoming links, are links from one website to another. They are an essential component of search engine optimisation (SEO) because they serve as “votes of confidence” and trust that signal to search engines your website’s relevance, authority, and trustworthiness.

However its important to remember that “not all backlinks are equal”. A targeted strategy in requiring specific sites will pay off over targeting a specific set of number of links.

Defining High Quality Backlinks

When we are talking about “high quality backlinks” we are referring to websites which “high authority”. These websites tend to be among leading websites in their respective niches, which stands as benchmarks for high authority websites.

Whilst it is important to aim high when requiring backlinks, remember that smaller, niche websites with a strong reputation also can provide valuable backlinks.

Ahrefs developed a ranking system known as “domain rating” which is similar to Moz’s “domain authority”. Both metrics are combination of the websites authority, quality and trustiness. A higher score indicates a stronger domain authority. 

For instance, Twitter and eBay have DA scores over 91. These platforms are among the leading websites in their respective industries, which stands as benchmarks for high authority websites.

Explaining High Authority Backlinks

High authority backlinks are links from reputable websites which a high domain authority (DA) or high domain rating (DR) score above 70.

You want to gain as many high authority backlinks as these links are like gold bars because they help increase your site’s domain authority and help you rank higher. 

Its important to remember that the higher the domain authority or domain rating, the more it will cost to purchased these links. Typically, prices for these backlinks can range between $100 to $500, or even more!

Why are Backlinks Important?

Backlinks are crucial for several reasons:

• Improve organic search rankings: Backlinks from high authority websites signal to search engines that your content is valuable, trustworthy, and authoritative, leading to improved rankings in organic search results.
• Referral traffic: When high authority websites link to your content, their visitors can click through and discover your site, increasing your referral traffic.
• Brand visibility and authority: Earning backlinks from reputable sources can elevate your brand’s visibility and authority within your industry.
• Increase leads and sales: With more high authority websites linking to your site you will see an increase in leads and conversion. Why? If your backlinking has been done properly, you should see an increase of organic traffic arriving on your site.

Examples of Backlinks

Here’s an example to help show you how backlinks work:

Let’s say you own a website about cooking, and you’ve published a blog post on “How to Make Microwave Rice Pudding”.

Another blogger from a high authority websites comes across your blogs and finds it valuable for their audience. They decide to link your blog into there blog post.  

In their post, they will include a hyperlink to your article, which looks like this:

“This comforting pudding is made with rice, milk, and spices. It can be served warm or cold and is often topped with raisins or other dried fruit.”

In this example, the blogger is making reference and linking to your article creating a backlink. This backlink not only drives referral traffic to your website from the blogger’s audience but also signals to search engines that your content is valuable and relevant, which can positively impact your site’s domain authority, PageRank, and search engine rankings.

Types of Backlinks

Backlinks can be categorised into two main types:

Dofollow

Dofollow links are an essential aspect of backlinks. This section will delve deeper into what dofollow links are and their significance in SEO.

What are Dofollow Links?

Dofollow links are hyperlinks that pass on “link juice” or “link equity” to the target site, positively influencing the site’s domain authority, PageRank, and search engine rankings. By default, all links are considered dofollow unless they are explicitly marked as nofollow with the rel= “nofollow” attribute.

Why are Dofollow Links Important for SEO?

Dofollow links play a crucial role in SEO for several reasons:

• Domain Authority: Dofollow links contribute to a website’s domain authority, a metric used by search engines to determine the site’s overall trustworthiness, its relevance, and authority.
• PageRank: Google’s PageRank algorithm evaluates the number and quality of dofollow links pointing to a page to assign a relative importance score. Higher PageRank scores can lead to better visibility in search results.
• Crawlability and Indexing: Dofollow links help search engine bots discover and index new web pages by following the linked pages during the crawling process. This, in turn, ensures that your content gets indexed and becomes visible in search results.
• Referral Traffic: While this isn’t a direct SEO benefit, dofollow links from high-quality websites can generate valuable referral traffic, increasing brand awareness and potentially higher conversion rates.

Remember, the key to earning valuable dofollow links is to focus on quality over quantity. Prioritise acquiring links from reputable, high-authority websites relevant to your industry or niche. This approach will help you build a strong backlink profile and improve your site’s SEO performance.

Nofollow

Nofollow links, while different from dofollow links, still hold value in the world of SEO. 

What are Nofollow Links?

Nofollow links are hyperlinks with the rel= “nofollow” attribute, which signals to search engines not to consider these links when determining the target site’s ranking, domain authority, or PageRank. In other words, nofollow links do not pass on “link juice” or “link equity” to the target site.

Why are Nofollow Links Important for SEO?

While nofollow links don’t directly contribute to domain authority or PageRank, they still have a role to play in SEO:

• Referral Traffic: Nofollow links generate valuable referral traffic from the linking website, increasing brand awareness and potentially leading to higher conversion rates.
• Natural Link Profile: A diverse link profile with a mix of dofollow and nofollow links appears more natural to search engines, reducing the risk of being penalised for manipulative link-building practices.
• Credibility and Trust: Nofollow links from authoritative and reputable sources can boost your site’s credibility and trust among users, even if these links don’t directly impact your site’s ranking.

Best Practices for Utilising Nofollow Links

To make the most of nofollow links, consider the following best practices:

• Earn Links from Reputable Sources: Even though nofollow links don’t pass on link equity, acquiring them from high-authority sources can still benefit your site’s credibility and drive referral traffic.
• Participate in Online Communities: Engage in relevant forums, blog comments, and social media platforms to establish your presence, share your expertise, and earn nofollow links from these sources.
• Utilise Nofollow Links on Your Site: Use nofollow links when linking to external websites with unverified content or sites you want to avoid vouching for quality. This practice can help maintain your site’s credibility.
• Sponsored Content and Advertisements: When working with sponsored content or advertisements, make sure to use nofollow links to comply with search engine guidelines and avoid potential penalties.
• Understand the Different Nofollow Attributes: Google introduced two new nofollow attributes, rel= "sponsored" and rel= "ugc", to provide more context about the nature of the link. Use these attributes accordingly for sponsored content and user-generated content, respectively.

While nofollow links may not directly contribute to your site’s ranking, they still play an essential role in building a diverse and natural link profile, driving referral traffic, and establishing credibility. By following these best practices, you can make the most of nofollow links as part of your overall SEO strategy.

How to Create Backlinks

Creating valuable backlinks isn’t as daunting as it may seem. Here are some strategies to try.

• Guest posting: Identify reputable websites within your industry. Reach out to them with a proposal for a unique article that would provide value to their audience. Make sure to include a link to your site in the author bio or within the content.
• Skyscraper technique: Start by identifying popular content within your niche. Create a more comprehensive and updated version of that content. Then, reach out to sites that link to the original content to request a link to your improved resource.
• Broken link building: Find broken links on other websites and suggest your relevant content to replace the dead link.
• Resource pages: Reach out to websites with resource pages related to your industry and request that they include a link to your valuable content.
• Testimonials and reviews: Offer to write testimonials or reviews for products and services you use and include a link to your site in the testimonial.

Backlink Checker

Use these backlink analysis tools to monitor your site’s backlink profile and identify potential link-building opportunities:

• Ahrefs: A comprehensive SEO tool with a robust SEO backlink analysis feature that provides detailed information on your site’s backlinks and competitor backlink profiles.
• SEMrush: Another all-in-one SEO platform with an SEO backlink analysis feature, SEMrush helps you analyse your site’s backlink profile, identify toxic links, and discover new link-building opportunities.
• Moz Link Explorer: Part of Moz’s SEO suite, Link Explorer allows you to analyse your site’s SEO backlink profile, measure domain authority, and find new link-building opportunities.
• Majestic: A specialised tool for SEO backlink analysis, Majestic provides in-depth information about your site’s backlinks, including trust and citation flow metrics.
• Google Search Console: A free tool from Google, Search Console allows you to monitor your site’s SEO backlinks, identify potential issues, and submit disavow files for toxic links.

How to Disavow Toxic SEO Backlinks

Toxic backlinks can harm your site’s SEO and lead to penalties from search engines. Here’s how to disavow them:

• Identify toxic SEO backlinks: Use backlink analysis tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console to find potentially harmful backlinks.
• Create a disavow file: Compile a list of toxic SEO backlinks in a plain text file, with one URL per line domain: prefix for entire domains.

domain:example1.com

http://example2.com/toxic-link.html

• Submit the disavow file to Google: Use the Google Disavow Tool to upload your disavow file. This will instruct Google to avoid considering these links when assessing your site’s ranking.

Disavowing should be done with caution, as it can negatively impact your rankings if misused. Only disavow links that are confirmed to be harmful or low-quality.

Backlink Best Practices

Follow these best practices to build and maintain a healthy SEO backlink profile:

• Focus on quality over quantity: Aim to acquire backlinks from high-authority, reputable websites rather than chasing many low-quality links.
• Diversify your link sources: Avoid relying on a single link-building strategy. Employ various techniques to acquire SEO backlinks from a wide range of sources.
• Monitor your SEO backlink profile: Regularly analyse your SEO backlink profile using SEO tools to ensure it remains healthy and to identify potential issues or opportunities for growth.
• Maintain relevance: Seek SEO backlinks from websites related to your industry or niche to ensure that they carry more weight with search engines.
• Avoid link schemes: Refrain from participating in link schemes, such as buying or selling links, as these practices can lead to penalties from search engines.

By implementing these strategies and following best practices, you can build a strong SEO backlink profile to help you outrank competitors and dominate Google rankings.

Wrapping Up

Backlinks remain a crucial aspect of SEO, your site discoverability and competitiveness.

Employing strategies like generating valuable content, guest posting, and the skyscraper technique helps in acquiring high quality backlinks.

However, be wary of toxic backlinks, which can be identified and disavowed using SEO tools.

Backlinks are not just important, but essential for a robust SEO strategy, underlining the need for strategic planning and consistent efforts.

Next Steps

Start taking charge of your website’s success. Incorporate Big Fat Links into your SEO backlink strategy today and watch your website soar to the top of search engine rankings. Take action now and see the results yourself! Get in touch!

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