What are backlinks in SEO ?
In this article we want to talk about that part of SEO. Which is very important for all of us and we usually enjoy hearing about it! We want to talk about external jet fuel, ie backlinks. But what is backlinks in SEO?
When it comes to off-page and external linking. There are a variety of topics, each of which is important in turn, but backlink is the most important. The site backlink is the main pillar of off-page SEO and if implemented properly, it can change our ranking. If you want to get acquainted with the real meaning and meaning of backlinks. Know its types and learn the correct way to implement different types of backlinks. We suggest that you follow us to the end of this article.
What are backlinks in SEO?
What is a backlink? Many experts have answered this question in different ways. But in our opinion the best definition of backlinks is this sentence: “Backlinks means that our site reaches such a level of fame and popularity that ordinary people in forums, social media, sharing platforms “Content and talk about us and webmasters share about us on their sites.”
As an SEO expert, if we can understand the meaning of backlinks. We can use it in the best way to improve our site ranking. To better understand the meaning of backlinks, we want to know Google’s approach to this issue; However, when it comes to backlinks, we are no longer in the white hat range. But exactly on the border between gray SEO and black hat SEO!
The importance of backlinks for search engines and Google
The first and most important point to better understand backlinks is. What are the views of search engines and Google towards backlinks and link building? As we said in the definition of backlink, when our site is popular and popular, ordinary people and webmasters link to our site or our so-called site goes viral; This is really ideal and admirable for Google. But given that such a phenomenon is quite rare, we naturally have to simulate it.
But the same process must be done with caution and principles so that Google does not suspect us, because otherwise a black hat tag will stick to our site and we will be removed from the competition forever. To learn more about the scope of foreign SEO activities, we suggest you review the article ” Foreign SEO “.
The importance of backlinks in our site SEO
You may ask, why bother doing something that is so risky? In response, we must say that backlinks, if implemented properly, really act like jet fuel for the site SEO. In short, backlinks cause:
Search engines and Google will find new pages of our site through backlinks
Google crawls the pages of other sites and with the help of these backlinks to the internal pages of our site, as a result they find our new content and internal pages that are not yet indexed.
Backlinks increase the credibility of our site
Given that it is important for Google how many domains and with how much credit (meaning the overall credibility of the site, not the authority domain!) Links to our site; As a result, natural backlinks increase the credibility of our site and improve the ranking of the pages to which they are linked. But we must not forget that backlinks are something between the border of gray SEO and black SEO.
Get acquainted with different types of backlinks!
There are different types of backlinks, but if we want to group them in a principled and understandable way, they are divided into the following two categories. Read this section more carefully, because understanding it will help you better understand the next sections of content.
Types of backlinks in terms of how to run
In defining what a site backlink is, we said that both ordinary people and webmasters link to us. So the backlinks that each of these two categories give to our site must be different in order to look natural to Google. This group of backlinks in terms of how to run includes the following:
Ad reporting
Ad reporting is the content that webmasters publish to promote our site. So ad reporting should be published on sites with related content, as there is a concept called relevancy that is important to both the user and Google algorithms.
In the content of the report, we can use different types of inline texts for backlinking, and this depends on our linking strategy. But it is recommended to use keyword encryption to keep the balance and not to overdo it. For more information, we suggest you read the article What is Ad Reporting ?
· Backlink
There are other types of backlinks, which run in the home page sidebar, home page header and footer, internal page sidebar and internal page header and footer. The content of the backlink includes a small image that links to the page we want.
If the content of the image is not just for the purpose of getting backlinks, it should be designed in such a way that it can attract the user’s attention and click in a few seconds. These types of backlinks are not permanent and only stay on other sites for a certain period of time.
· Guest post
There are several platforms that allow users to publish their content for free, such as commas, media, loggers and emigos. The content that we publish on these platforms can give backlinks to our site with both keyword encryption and naked links.
The power of these platforms is so great that if we publish good and user-friendly content on them, it will most likely get to the first page of Google. Now imagine the power of the link that is connected to our site from these pages!
· Social Networks
Another group of site backlinks are links that are given to our site through social media profiles. Some of these links are generated through powerful social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest or even Aparat. There are some that are created by registering and inserting the site link in the profile of these social networks. These types of backlinks are usually called profile backlinks.
Bad pages
But the last type of backlinks in SEO are the links that we get from the bad pages of other sites for our site. what does it mean? On some good quality sites, there may be pages that are incomplete or their links are broken!
We can talk to the administrator of these sites and put our content on these pages and get backlinks. We just have to remember the relevance of the content of the sites.
Types of backlinks in terms of being a follower
Backlinks have another category that divides them into followers and novices. But what does it mean to be follow or no follow?
· Backlink follow
In its simplest definition, a backlink is a link that transmits part of the rank and credibility of the source page to the destination page. Follow backlinks are more valuable to both Google and our SEO. Reports backlinks and backlinks are usually of the follow type.
· Backlink no fallow
Nofalo backlinks are altered by HTML code and prevent the transfer of credit from the source site to the destination backlink site. That is, in the appearance of the content of the linking site, the content of the target site is backlinked, but in fact this link does not convey any credibility and value. Profile backlinks, social networks, blog comments and even Wikipedia are all nouveau riche.
Introducing 6 important factors to get the best Backlink
Many SEOs have suggested ways to get backlinks to work properly, but there is still some ambiguity for some of us as to what factors to consider to get the best backlinks. There are 6 important factors according to which we can get natural and quality backlinks. These factors include:
1. The quality of the content we have written to get backlinks
If our backlinks are in the form of ad reporting or free content publishing platforms, they should be produced with the best structural, content, writing and SEO quality. Because this content is supposed to look completely natural and is actually prepared for the user. Of course, writing reportage content has its own principles and is somewhat different from blog content.
2. The relevance of our business theme to the theme of the site we have chosen
The next important issue is to pay attention to the concept of relevancy or the content relationship between the linking site and our site. We can not backlink from a site that works in the field of lifestyle, to a site that works in the field of industrial adhesives, but we can get backlinks from a stock exchange newsletter for a site that works in the field of stock exchange and digital currency.
Why? Because there is a semantic connection between the content of these two sites, and in addition to appearing natural to Google, it also helps to direct users of the same domain to our site.
3. Domain validity, spam score and Google Discovery on the site we have selected
Domain Authority, denoted by the DA symbol, is a factor defined by the Maze site and indicates the validity of a site. This factor has not been rejected or confirmed by Google, but the evidence shows that this factor is effective in valuing backlinks.
Spam Score or Spam Score is another factor introduced by Moz and shows the amount of spam, duplicate and so-called spam content of that site. Always try to choose sites that have single digit spam scores; Unless you have a specific plan in mind. We suggest you read the article What is Spam Score for more information .
There is a section in Google that is known as Discovery, usually the sites that lead to Google Discovery are seen by more users. So this can be another positive point!
4. The backlinks we receive are followers or non-followers
The next important issue is to follow the site backlinks. Since only follow links can transfer the credibility and value of the source page to our site, it is better to use more follow links than nouveau riche links. Unless our program is a brand and we do not need a follow link.
5. The text you use to link
Choosing the right inline text to get backlinks is more important than you think. Let us be very brief and useful:
- For the part of the backlinks that webmasters are going to talk about (such as ad reporting), we need to use keyword, brand, Naked Link and other types of inline text embedded. Because in any case, not all webmasters link to us with the same keyword!
- For the part of the backlink that ordinary people describe about us, which happens to be even more important (such as social networks, comments, forums, etc.) we just have to use Naked Link. Because the general user who has no specialized information, will naturally use only this method.
To better understand this issue, we suggest you review the article ” What is Inktext “.
6. The number and position we choose for backlinks
The number of backlinks and the part of the content where we put the inline text is another issue that is more important in the distribution of credibility and value of backlinks. Usually, most of a site’s backlink credit goes to single-link backlinks and inline texts that are included in the initial paragraphs of the content.
You may ask why it is so important to pay attention to these factors. Does Google care about all these details? To answer this question, we go to the next section.
How does Google validate and value our backlinks?
Suppose we run a backlink or ad report according to the previous six steps. How does Google validate this backlink and rank our site?
The answer is that it’s not 100% clear how Google validates backlinks, but the evidence shows that Google’s algorithms are important in this process:
- Domain Authority evaluates the linking site
- Checks for links
- Spam score evaluates a site that has backlink data
- They measure the relevance of the content of the backlink site with our site
- They evaluate the location of inline texts
Experience has shown that backlinks to sites that have high domain and page power are related to the backlink recipient site in terms of content, their posts are displayed in Google Discovery and follow links, have a greater and better impact on the site ranking. Has.
Recognize the red lines of backlink building!
Now that we know the meaning of backlinks, how it is implemented and its evaluation process by Google, it is not bad to review some important and sensitive points; Tips that are the red lines of backlinks and link building. These tips include:
Not taking seriously the principle of diversity in inline texts
Basically, no general audience gives backlinks to our site with the exact same text or keywords, because they do not know what inline text is at all! The general public, while browsing the web, will eventually leave a comment somewhere, or publish an article to critique or compliment our site, and introduce the normal URL of our site. So be sure to consider in your backlink package, inline text matching and user behavior and use different types of inline text.
Use of duplicate sites
One of the misconceptions that is formed in the mind of beginner SEOs is the repeated use of sites from which they have obtained good results. There is no reason to get backlinks from only one site at a time because of good feedback! The more diverse the domains that link to us, the less likely they are to be spammed or to lose their credibility.
Cooperation with PBN networks
Do not be fooled by the power of PBNs as much as possible. PBN is a collection of private blogs that are connected like a chain to a powerful link building network. For some, using this method is effective. But given Google’s increasing progress in identifying spam links, if these networks are identified, they will have catastrophic results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is buying backlinks harmful for SEO?
Buying backlinks is detrimental to the SEO of the site if the backlinks of the source sites are of poor quality, short-term and related to the ring of PBN sites, or use group backlinks and so-called bulk.
How to check the quality of the sites we have chosen to get backlinks?
The best way is to use the Moz toolbar. This tool is completely free and shows us the PA, DA and spam scores of the sites in real time.
Can we get backlinks for newly established sites?
The best thing to do is to let the site reach the Google homepage naturally and with white hat SEO techniques, then design a link building strategy for it based on the analysis of competitors and the status of the site.
Is link exchange considered as a backlink site?
Yes. Link exchange is also a kind of backlink. With the difference that this time both sites are getting backlinks. If these links are followers, they will also cause credit transfer.
