Lesser known facts about Backlinks

What are Backlinks?

Backlinks are links from one website to another. They are often referred to as inbound links or incoming links. Backlinks are important for SEO Services as they prove the significance, trustworthiness, and authority of the website. When a website links to another website, it is shown as a vote of confidence and relevance and passes important clues to search engines.

Backlinks are an important part of ranking factors. As an SEO Consultant, I have come across various websites and agencies pushing to get more backlinks without doing proper background checks about the links. Avoiding best practices when acquiring backlinks can cause adverse effects on a website's SEO and authority in the long term.

What is Backlink building?

Backlink building, also known as link building, is the process of acquiring links from other websites to your website. The goal of backlink building is to improve website’s ranking, authority and visibility on the search engines like Google.

Here are some of the lesser-known facts about backlinks that your SEO Consultant won't tell you:

1. Current trend is buying over building
2. Backlinks aren’t eternal
3. Quality over quantity
4. Dodgy backlinks do more harm than good

Current trend is buying over building

Natural backlinks work only for bigger companies or publishers. Don’t get me wrong, it’s only them who have extensive knowledge and resources to write detailed in-depth articles around any topic.

In recent years, there has been a noticeable shift toward purchasing backlinks instead of building them organically as part of SEO strategies. Traditionally, the focus has been on earning backlinks through high-quality content, outreach, and relationship-building.

However, the emergence of backlink marketplaces and services has made it easier to buy backlinks directly.

There is also a steady rise in PBNs often referred to as Private Blog Networks. Some of these networks are typically involved in buying and selling of the backlinks. PBNs can be effective but are way too risky.

And there is also rise in Link Farms. Link farms are websites or network of websites created to host low quality backlinks that are sold to clients. These types of links aren't relevant and pass almost no authority to the websites.

Backlinks aren’t eternal

Backlinks aren't eternal. People often think that once you build backlinks, they are going to be there forever, but it's not the case.

Here are some of the reasons why backlinks may change:

1. Content removal or page deletion
2. Site redesign or url structure changes
3. Changes in websites strategy
4. Change of original content writer
5. Website goes offline or shut down
6. Competitors or website owner replaces your link

What I am trying to say here is if you are using agencies for your link building, you need to ask for the warranty.

Backlink warranty

A backlink warranty generally refers to a guarantee offered by SEO agencies or service providers that specialize in building backlinks. This warranty ensures that the backlinks they create for your website will stay active and provide value for a specified period. If any links become inactive during this time, the service provider will take corrective actions, such as replacing the lost links or providing additional services at no extra cost.

Quality over quantity

When it comes to backlink, quality is more important than quantity.

So what makes a backlink quality? Here are some of the main aspects of quality backlinks:

1. Site relevancy
2. Domain authority
3. Link position in the page
4. Anchor text of the link
5. Natural do follow link

Generally, when it comes to backlink, one backlink from highly authoritative and relevant websites outweighs hundreds of backlinks built from spammy websites like PBNs and link farms, as discussed above.

To be precise, you should be focused around building links from authoritative and relevant sites that match your website.

Dodgy backlinks do more harm than good

Backlinks play a crucial role in SEO, but low-quality or questionable backlinks can severely harm your website's rankings and reputation. These problematic links often originate from spammy websites, such as link farms, Private Blog Networks (PBNs), or irrelevant directories. Google’s algorithms, particularly the Penguin update, are specifically designed to identify unnatural linking practices. Acquiring such dodgy backlinks may lead to penalties or a decline in your rankings.

It's essential to prioritize obtaining high-quality, relevant backlinks from authoritative sites to establish a strong SEO foundation. Always emphasize quality over quantity when developing your link profile.

Conclusion

In conclusion, backlinks are essential for an effective SEO strategy, with their quality and relevance being crucial. While buying backlinks through methods like PBNs and link farms is tempting, these practices can lead to serious SEO issues. Prioritizing high-quality links from authoritative and relevant sites is vital for improving your site’s rankings and reputation.