Backlinks are all links that lead to a website from external sources. For example, if a media outlet writes an article mentioning a company and provides a link to its website, that would be a backlink. Such links play a crucial role in SEO promotion, as they inform search engine robots that there is valuable content on this website. This helps to increase the search engine's trust in the site that the backlink leads to.
Backlinks can be divided into several types, which differ in form and method of technical implementation. Backlinks can be:
- non-anchor — this is the URL of another site that is not covered by text;
- anchor — the link is covered by text, which is highlighted in blue and clickable for users. For a search robot, the text of the anchor link is very important, as it acts as a keyword;
- nofollow — this tag informs the search robot that following this link is not necessary. Thus, the site that created the backlink does not affect the ranking of another site;
- dofollow — a tag with the opposite value of nofollow. It informs the robot that it needs to follow the link. Such a backlink affects the ranking of the site.
Backlinks have several important advantages that make them desirable for every website owner. The most obvious advantage is the traffic that a website can receive if a link to it is placed on another platform. When the link is inserted organically and is relevant to the content, people are more likely to click on it. The site will gain a new user and possibly a customer.
Backlinks also increase the authority of a site in search results. If Google sees that a previously unknown site is linked to by an authoritative source, this will increase its trust in the eyes of the search engine. Google will start paying more attention to the new site, which will contribute to its ranking. Without backlinks, this process would take much more time. However, it is important that the theme of the content in which the backlink is placed is relevant to the site. Otherwise, the value of such a link will be quite low.
You can check the presence of backlinks to your site using Google Search Console. This is a free tool that collects analytics on a site in an organic Google search. The service will show how many backlinks have been created for your site and which pages they lead to. In addition, you will be able to find out which sites are linking to you and on which pages the backlink is placed.
