Today we’re going to talk about an element of SEO strategy that can generate extremely valuable results: backlinks.
This is, by far, a fundamental pillar for building a site’s authority and achieving a good position on Google.
Throughout this article, I’m going to explain every detail so that you understand what it is, how to do it and how to monitor the results, okay? Read on!
What are backlinks?
First of all, let’s understand what backlinks are. In a quick definition, they are external links, i.e. any link that is not from your site but points to it. Simply put, it’s like a bridge linking another site to yours.
For this reason, they can also be known as inbound links. A website’s backlinks are essential elements in Off Page SEO.
If you don’t know how to identify a backlink, they usually appear in a different color to the rest of the text, so that’s what it looks like:
In the case above, it’s an article of ours that cites another page on Search Engine Marketing.
This reinforces the credibility of the content, which redirects to some material that confirms what is being said in the text or takes the reader to complementary material that will add even more knowledge.
In off-page optimization, external links function as an important KPI to measure the relevance and authority of the site, they are like votes of confidence from the person who has chosen to link to your content and not to any other. So the more quality backlinks pointing to your site, the better!
What about internal links?
A linking strategy is not just about backlinks, okay? Internal links are also important to increase reader retention on your site. In this way, you continue to offer related material for them to consume, and this is essential.
However, the links need to make sense within the page, so if a page talks about “paid traffic” and has a link to a specific post, such as “paid traffic on instagram”, it is within the universe of knowledge and could attract the user’s attention.
In addition to improving the user experience, internal links also help Google find and index your site’s pages more easily 😉
Types of backlinks
Now let’s understand some of the types of backlinks that exist and how to use them according to your content strategy.
Nofollow
Nofollow backlinks usually have an HTML attribute that asks search engines not to follow that link. When this happens, no authority is transferred to the site being cited. It still generates traffic and visibility.
Still, remember that this is a suggestion, so ultimately it’s up to Google to decide whether to transfer this authority or not. Why is this important?
At some point, a competitor may make a piece of content that you think is cool to quote, so even if you put a “nofollow”, think about whether the gains from this quote will be greater than the traffic generated directly to your competitor, right?
Dofollow
External links that are “followed” are called dofollow. In this way, the authority of the referring domain can be transferred without any hindrance, which greatly benefits SEO indicators.
Sponsored links
Sponsored, or paid, links are those in which you invest some money in order to have access to a space within the content. This is often the case with publiposts, content from influencers or affiliates.
To indicate to Google the origin of that link, you can use the rel=”sponsored” attribute.
UGC (User Generated Content) links
Another link attribute is UGC (user-generated content) links.
UGC links are those in forums and blog comments. This attribute tells Google that the link was placed by a user and not by the webmaster.
Editorial links
Editorially placed links are basically links that you didn’t request. This usually happens when a site places links to cite references and make its content more robust and reliable.
Google values these links highly. This is because they are intended to improve the user experience, rather than trying to manipulate search engine algorithms.
What are toxic backlinks?
Toxic backlinks are links from low-quality or suspicious sites, which can damage your site’s reputation and result in penalties from search engines.
Why use backlinks?
Backlinks are crucial because they help improve your site’s ranking in search results, increase visibility, generate qualified traffic and establish your brand’s authority in your niche.
- Increased brand recognition
- Introduction to new audiences
- Opportunities for new qualified leads
- Authority strengthened by backlinks
- Be found more easily
- More points of contact with the audience
How backlinks contribute to SEO strategy
A study by Backlinko found that the number of domains linking to a page was the most correlated factor with Google rankings.
In this sense, backlinks are one of Google’s main ranking factors. They help to:
- Increase Domain Authority: Links from reputable sites increase the credibility of your site.
- Generate Referral Traffic: Backlinks from popular sites can direct visitors to your site.
- Improve Ranking: More quality backlinks usually mean higher positions in search results.
The logic of building backlinks follows the logic of buzz marketing, the kind that happens through referrals. Think about it, whenever you want to try a new restaurant and you know a friend has already been, you ask them for their opinion, right?
Then you can understand what the experience was like, what their favorite dishes were and what makes the place different. If the experience was positive, there’s an increase in credibility and the chances of you going there increase a lot. No wonder backlinks generate referral traffic.
Google sees backlinks as an indicator of the popularity and credibility of a site’s content. Therefore, the more sites with a high level of authority you have redirecting to your site, the better.
This impact is very positive and is taken into account more than if there are several sites with low authority. Remember: quality over quantity 😉
Having links from other sites also helps Google find your site more quickly. It’s as if you were opening up new paths for it, and the more paths, the easier it is to find you
How to get quality backlinks for free?
Because they are external links, backlinks need to be earned, which is why I’ve outlined a few topics that will help you make your strategy more relevant.
Create quality content
One thing that never goes out of fashion when it comes to SEO strategy is the creation of quality content.
To do this, it’s important to understand your audience and know which subjects are valuable enough for other people to perceive as rich material worth quoting.
Guest posting
Also known as guest posting, this is a practice in which you can write an original article, relevant to the niche in which you want to get a backlink.
So, if you’re a doctor, you could write for a blog about health, citing research, discoveries or talking about everyday cases and interesting experiences to share, for example.
Remember that personalization is essential, so choose just one site to send content to instead of distributing it indiscriminately.
Public Relations Techniques
In public relations and journalism, it is common for professionals to construct a story that they consider to be important and relevant to the recipients. A widely used technique is known as Help A Reporter Out (HARO) .
This type of content is generally aimed at journalists who are looking for reliable sources to write their stories. They are therefore very interesting sources for building backlinks, as well as proving the relevance, reliability and authority of your content.
Publish research relevant to your niche
Like the HARO strategy, publishing research can help you get some good backlinks. This is because they are usually contents that require time and a certain investment to produce.
That’s why they can be used even by competitors who want to talk about the topic with a data-based source.
If you want to know more about Link Building, check out the video:
Is it worth buying backlinks?
We’ve arrived at the controversy 👀 Buying external links is a quick fix that can even help you rank faster, but it’s also risky and can result in penalties that aren’t worth the risk.
That’s why you should focus on organic strategies, like the ones I mentioned above. As well as helping to build your authority and credibility on the web, you’ll get more consistent and lasting results.
Backlink monitoring tools
To understand whether your link building strategy is working, you need some tools that will help you control and monitor these metrics .
As well as keeping track of the number of citations, you can also extract new ideas from the analysis.
Here are some tools that will help you.
Google Analytics (GA4)
Google Analytics (GA4) is a free tool native to Google that helps you monitor your site.
It provides various data that can help you build your SEO strategy. To check backlink metrics, go to “referral traffic”.
You can find this data in the Acquisition or Traffic Acquisition tab, as in the example below:
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool, also native to Google, where you can view this data for free in the External Links area. It will give you the number of links to your site that are being cited.
Here are the sites that mention you the most and for which content they are generating backlinks.
The words used to place the links, or anchor texts, are also very important, after all, it’s more interesting to link to “seo strategies” than to “click here”, isn’t it?
Conclusion
Now you know why backlinks are an essential component of any effective SEO strategy. Not only do they help improve your site’s ranking in search engines, they also increase traffic and establish your brand’s authority in the niche market.
Understanding the importance of backlinks and how to use them strategically can make all the difference to the success of your digital presence. Creating high-quality content, participating in guest posts, using public relations techniques and publishing relevant research are just some of the ways to obtain valuable, free backlinks.
In short, by acquiring quality backlinks, you strengthen your site’s visibility and authority, guaranteeing consistent and lasting results in the digital world. Start implementing all this knowledge today! See you in the next article 😉
