{"id":2289,"date":"2023-08-15T05:03:14","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T05:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/what-are-backlinks-in-seo-everything-you-need-to-know\/"},"modified":"2023-08-15T05:03:14","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T05:03:14","slug":"what-are-backlinks-in-seo-everything-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/what-are-backlinks-in-seo-everything-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Backlinks in SEO? Everything You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Backlinks (aka inbound links, incoming links) are links from a page on one website to another. Search engines like Google use backlinks as votes of confidence in ranking pages.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1226\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-1.png\" alt=\"What are backlinks\" class=\"wp-image-164441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-1.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-1-555x425.png 555w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-1-768x588.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-1-1536x1177.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1226\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-1.png\" alt=\"What are backlinks\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-1.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-1-555x425.png 555w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-1-768x588.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-1-1536x1177.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Backlinks are important for SEO because of two main reasons:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Rankings<\/strong> \u2013 Generally speaking, the more backlinks your webpages have, the more likely they are to rank for relevant search queries (we confirmed this in a <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/search-traffic-study\/\">study<\/a>).\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Discoverability<\/strong> \u2013 Search engines revisit popular pages more often than unpopular ones. And they may discover your content faster if you get backlinks from popular pages.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>There are two ways to check a website or webpage\u2019s backlinks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The first method only works for sites that you own. Use the second one to check backlinks to another website or webpage.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Checking backlinks to your website\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>A basic tool for checking backlinks to your website is the free Google Search Console.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Once signed in, click \u201cLinks\u201d on the sidebar. The number below \u201cExternal links\u201d shows the total number of unique backlinks to the website.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1824\" height=\"1406\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image18-1.png\" alt=\"How to check backlinks in Google Search Console\" class=\"wp-image-164443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image18-1.png 1824w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image18-1-551x425.png 551w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image18-1-768x592.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image18-1-1536x1184.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1824px) 100vw, 1824px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1824\" height=\"1406\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image18-1.png\" alt=\"How to check backlinks in Google Search Console\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image18-1.png 1824w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image18-1-551x425.png 551w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image18-1-768x592.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image18-1-1536x1184.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1824px) 100vw, 1824px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Google Search Console shows limited data in the app (top 1,000 links) and won\u2019t show you some useful SEO metrics you could use to analyze your backlinks. To get more data for free, you can use <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/webmaster-tools\">Ahrefs Webmaster Tools<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Once you set up a project, click on <strong>Backlinks<\/strong> in the dashboard.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1518\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image19-1.png\" alt=\"Backlinks summary in Ahrefs' dashboard\" class=\"wp-image-164445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image19-1.png 1518w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image19-1-680x202.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image19-1-768x228.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1518px) 100vw, 1518px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1518\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image19-1.png\" alt=\"Backlinks summary in Ahrefs' dashboard\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image19-1.png 1518w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image19-1-680x202.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image19-1-768x228.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1518px) 100vw, 1518px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>This will take you to the <strong>Backlinks<\/strong> report in the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a> tool. This report will show all your backlinks and relevant backlink data.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"645\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image17-1.png\" alt=\"See your backlinks in Ahrefs' Site Explorer\" class=\"wp-image-164447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image17-1.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image17-1-680x219.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image17-1-768x248.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image17-1-1536x496.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"645\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image17-1.png\" alt=\"See your backlinks in Ahrefs' Site Explorer\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image17-1.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image17-1-680x219.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image17-1-768x248.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image17-1-1536x496.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Checking backlinks to another website\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>You can start with a tool like <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/backlink-checker\">Ahrefs\u2019 free backlink checker<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Just enter a domain or URL, and hit \u201cCheck backlinks.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1752\" height=\"854\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image14-2.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs' free backlink checker\" class=\"wp-image-164448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image14-2.png 1752w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image14-2-680x331.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image14-2-768x374.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image14-2-1536x749.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1752px) 100vw, 1752px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1752\" height=\"854\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image14-2.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs' free backlink checker\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image14-2.png 1752w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image14-2-680x331.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image14-2-768x374.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image14-2-1536x749.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1752px) 100vw, 1752px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>You\u2019ll see the total number of backlinks and referring domains (links from unique websites), plus the top 100 backlinks.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1766\" height=\"1052\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image15-1.png\" alt=\"Backlink profile in Ahrefs' free backlink checker\" class=\"wp-image-164450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image15-1.png 1766w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image15-1-680x405.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image15-1-768x457.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image15-1-1536x915.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1766px) 100vw, 1766px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1766\" height=\"1052\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image15-1.png\" alt=\"Backlink profile in Ahrefs' free backlink checker\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image15-1.png 1766w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image15-1-680x405.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image15-1-768x457.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image15-1-1536x915.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1766px) 100vw, 1766px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>To see a full list of backlinks to any page or website, use Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What makes a good backlink?\u00a0<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Not all backlinks are created equal. Here are some of the many attributes that contribute to a backlink\u2019s quality and utility. You can use them to analyze your backlinks and link building opportunities:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Authority<\/li>\n<li>Relevance<\/li>\n<li>Anchor text\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Follow vs. nofollow\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Placement\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Destination\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1628\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-2.png\" alt=\"What makes a good link\" class=\"wp-image-164452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-2.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-2-418x425.png 418w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-2-768x781.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-2-1510x1536.png 1510w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1628\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-2.png\" alt=\"What makes a good link\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-2.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-2-418x425.png 418w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-2-768x781.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-2-1510x1536.png 1510w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at them in more detail.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Authority\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Backlinks from strong webpages usually transfer more \u201cauthority\u201d than weak\u00a0ones.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-3.png\" alt=\"Pages that have backlinks cast a stronger vote\" class=\"wp-image-164454\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-3.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-3-340x425.png 340w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-3-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-3-1229x1536.png 1229w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-3.png\" alt=\"Pages that have backlinks cast a stronger vote\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164454\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-3.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-3-340x425.png 340w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-3-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-3-1229x1536.png 1229w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>We\u2019ve studied page-level authority a few times, and we\u2019ve found a clear relationship between it and organic traffic.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1894\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-4.png\" alt=\"UR Rating vs. search traffic\" class=\"wp-image-164456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-4.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-4-359x425.png 359w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-4-768x909.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-4-1298x1536.png 1298w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1894\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-4.png\" alt=\"UR Rating vs. search traffic\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-4.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-4-359x425.png 359w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-4-768x909.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-4-1298x1536.png 1298w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"sidenote\">\n<p>Sidenote.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/help.ahrefs.com\/en\/articles\/72658-what-is-ahrefs-url-rating\">URL Rating (UR)<\/a> is Ahrefs\u2019 page-level authority metric. It\u2019s scored on a scale from 0 to\u00a0100.<\/div>\n<p>That said, backlinks from strong pages don\u2019t always transfer more authority.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The more links there are on the page that links to you, the less authority will be transferred to you because it\u2019s shared between all of those pages (due to the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/google-pagerank\/\">PageRank algorithm<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You can gauge a backlink\u2019s authority by using the UR metric in the <strong>Backlinks <\/strong>report in Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a>. (You can also find it in other Ahrefs tools where relevant.) The higher the UR, the better.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1014\" height=\"646\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image7-3.png\" alt=\"UR metric in Ahrefs' Backlinks report\" class=\"wp-image-164458\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image7-3.png 1014w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image7-3-667x425.png 667w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image7-3-260x166.png 260w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image7-3-768x489.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1014px) 100vw, 1014px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1014\" height=\"646\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image7-3.png\" alt=\"UR metric in Ahrefs' Backlinks report\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164458\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image7-3.png 1014w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image7-3-667x425.png 667w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image7-3-260x166.png 260w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image7-3-768x489.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1014px) 100vw, 1014px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Relevance\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Links from websites on the same topic as yours are deemed to bring more value. Google states this in its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/intl\/en_uk\/search\/howsearchworks\/how-search-works\/ranking-results\/\">\u201cHow Search Works\u201d guide<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>If other prominent websites on the subject link to the page, that\u2019s a good sign that the information is of high quality.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Say a plumber has backlinks from two pages: one about cats, and one about installing boilers. Relevance in this context means that chances are the latter link is most valuable.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1166\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-5.png\" alt=\"Backlinks from relevant pages are more valuable\" class=\"wp-image-164459\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-5.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-5-583x425.png 583w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-5-768x560.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-5-1536x1119.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1166\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-5.png\" alt=\"Backlinks from relevant pages are more valuable\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164459\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-5.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-5-583x425.png 583w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-5-768x560.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-5-1536x1119.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Anchor text\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Anchor text refers to the clickable words that form a backlink.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1282\" height=\"164\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image16-1.png\" alt=\"Example of a link anchor\" class=\"wp-image-164461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image16-1.png 1282w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image16-1-680x87.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image16-1-768x98.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1282px) 100vw, 1282px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1282\" height=\"164\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image16-1.png\" alt=\"Example of a link anchor\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image16-1.png 1282w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image16-1-680x87.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image16-1-768x98.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1282px) 100vw, 1282px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Google says that anchor text influences rankings in <a href=\"http:\/\/infolab.stanford.edu\/~backrub\/google.html#pr\">its original patent<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Google employs a number of techniques to improve search quality, including page rank, anchor text, and proximity information.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>You can see the anchor text of any backlink in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer\u2019s<\/a> <strong>Backlinks <\/strong>report.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"637\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image9-3.png\" alt=\"Checking the anchor text of backlinks in Backlinks report, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer\" class=\"wp-image-164463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image9-3.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image9-3-680x217.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image9-3-768x245.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image9-3-1536x489.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"637\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image9-3.png\" alt=\"Checking the anchor text of backlinks in Backlinks report, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image9-3.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image9-3-680x217.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image9-3-768x245.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image9-3-1536x489.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>You can also filter for certain words in the anchor text.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"767\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image6-2.png\" alt=\"&quot;Anchor text&quot; filter in Backlinks report\" class=\"wp-image-164465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image6-2.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image6-2-680x261.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image6-2-768x295.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image6-2-1536x589.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"767\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image6-2.png\" alt=\"&quot;Anchor text&quot; filter in Backlinks report\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image6-2.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image6-2-680x261.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image6-2-768x295.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image6-2-1536x589.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Follow vs. nofollow\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Nofollow is a link attribute that instructs Google not to follow the link and serves as a <em>hint<\/em> not to pass authority (as of <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/blog\/2019\/09\/evolving-nofollow-new-ways-to-identify\">2019<\/a>).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1800\" height=\"630\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-6.png\" alt=\"Anatomy of a nofollow link\" class=\"wp-image-164466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-6.png 1800w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-6-680x238.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-6-768x269.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-6-1536x538.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1800\" height=\"630\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-6.png\" alt=\"Anatomy of a nofollow link\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-6.png 1800w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-6-680x238.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-6-768x269.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-6-1536x538.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>A followed link is a link that doesn\u2019t have that attribute nor the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/glossary\/sponsored-link-attribute\">\u201csponsored\u201d<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/glossary\/ugc-link-attribute\">\u201cUGC\u201d<\/a> attributes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Because nofollow links usually don\u2019t influence rankings, it\u2019s best to prioritize getting followed links.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, since \u201cnofollow\u201d is only a hint now, pursuing a nofollow link from a relevant high-authority page may still be a good\u00a0idea.<\/p>\n<p>You can find these types of backlinks using filters in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer\u2019s<\/a> <strong>Backlinks <\/strong>report.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image1.png\" alt=\"Filtering backlinks by rel attributes in Ahrefs\" class=\"wp-image-164468\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image1.png 600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image1-508x425.png 508w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image1.png\" alt=\"Filtering backlinks by rel attributes in Ahrefs\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164468\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image1.png 600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image1-508x425.png 508w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Placement\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Because people are more likely to click prominently placed links, some links on webpages likely pass more authority than others.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1708\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-7.png\" alt=\"Prominently placed links may transfer more authority\" class=\"wp-image-164470\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-7.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-7-398x425.png 398w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-7-768x820.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-7-1439x1536.png 1439w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1708\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-7.png\" alt=\"Prominently placed links may transfer more authority\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164470\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-7.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-7-398x425.png 398w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-7-768x820.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-7-1439x1536.png 1439w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Bill Slawski talks about this in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.seobythesea.com\/2016\/04\/googles-reasonable-surfer-patent-updated\/\">his analysis<\/a> of Google\u2019s updated \u201creasonable surfer\u201d patent:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>If a link is in the main content area of a page, uses a font and color that might make it stand out, and uses text that may make it something likely that someone might click upon it, then it could pass along a fair amount of PageRank. On the other hand, if it combines features that make it less likely to be clicked upon, such as being in the footer of a page, in the same color text as the rest of the text on that page, and the same font type, and uses anchor text that doesn\u2019t interest people, it may not pass along a lot of PageRank.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Consider this when pursuing links. If your link will likely end up in the site\u2019s footer or along with 50 other sites in the sidebar, then put your energy into other opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>Something that can help you find backlinks placed in content (as opposed to less prominently placed links) is the \u201cBacklink type\u201d filter in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer\u2019s<\/a> <strong>Backlinks <\/strong>report.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1134\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image5-2.png\" alt=\"Filtering by backlink type in Ahrefs\" class=\"wp-image-164472\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image5-2.png 1134w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image5-2-680x210.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image5-2-768x237.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1134px) 100vw, 1134px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1134\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image5-2.png\" alt=\"Filtering by backlink type in Ahrefs\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164472\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image5-2.png 1134w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image5-2-680x210.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image5-2-768x237.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1134px) 100vw, 1134px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Destination\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Because Google ranks pages and not entire websites, it\u2019s best to build links pointing directly to the page that you want to\u00a0rank.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, getting links to some page types is harder. For example, getting links to commercial pages is often difficult because people prefer linking to informative content.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To address this, you can use internal links to pass authority from pages that get a lot of links to your important but \u201cboring\u201d pages.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"2098\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-8.png\" alt=\"Use internal links to transfer authority between your pages\" class=\"wp-image-164474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-8.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-8-324x425.png 324w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-8-768x1007.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-8-1171x1536.png 1171w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-8-1562x2048.png 1562w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"2098\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-8.png\" alt=\"Use internal links to transfer authority between your pages\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-8.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-8-324x425.png 324w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-8-768x1007.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-8-1171x1536.png 1171w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-8-1562x2048.png 1562w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Generally, there are four ways to get more backlinks to your\u00a0site:\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"592\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-9.png\" alt=\"Four ways to get backlinks\" class=\"wp-image-164476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-9.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-9-680x252.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-9-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-9-1536x568.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"592\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-9.png\" alt=\"Four ways to get backlinks\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-9.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-9-680x252.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-9-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/what-are-backlinks-9-1536x568.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Adding backlinks\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Some websites allow you to add a link either by manually submitting it or requesting to submit it. It\u2019s easy to get a link this way, but it\u2019s not always worth it. They can be low in value in the eyes of Google or even deemed spammy if you overdo it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One of the most common (and legit) tactics here is to add your website to relevant local directories. They can help you rank for queries with local intent and get your business discovered by customers too.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Asking for backlinks\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>This is when you reach out to other site owners, editors, or webmasters and ask them to link to your page. For this to work, you need to have a clear value proposition. That\u2019s where link building tactics come\u00a0in.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few tried and tested ones:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/guest-blogging\/\"><strong>Guest blogging<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Offer to write a one-off post for another website.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/broken-link-building\/\"><strong>Broken link building<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Find relevant dead links on other sites, then reach out and suggest your working link as the replacement. (You can use our broken link checker to do\u00a0this.)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/skyscraper-technique\/\"><strong>The Skyscraper Technique<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Find relevant content with lots of links, make something better, then ask those linking to the original to link to you instead.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/unlinked-mentions\/\"><strong>Unlinked mentions<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong>\u2013<strong> <\/strong>Find unlinked mentions of your brand, then ask the author to make the mention clickable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Learn more about these tactics and others in the video and posts\u00a0below.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Buying backlinks<\/h3>\n<p>Every now and then, you\u2019ll come across an offer to buy links\u2014don\u2019t take\u00a0it.<\/p>\n<p>Buying backlinks is extremely risky. Google is strongly against that, and you can get your site penalized.<\/p>\n<p>This is not to be confused with paid link building services. Good link building agencies use legit, white-hat tactics that have nothing to do with spam or buying links for that matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Earning backlinks\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>This is when people discover your content via search engines like Google, social media, or word of mouth and choose to link to your page. In other words, earned backlinks are organic.<\/p>\n<p>You can improve your chances of earning more backlinks by creating truly useful content that people should want to link\u00a0to.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You should definitely promote your content too. The more people you reach, the more links you can\u00a0get.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What to avoid with backlinks\u00a0<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Basically, when pursuing backlinks, avoid anything that looks low-quality, spammy, or like an obvious link scheme (links in exchange for something).<\/p>\n<p>Bad links will be a waste of time. In the best-case scenario, they won\u2019t have any impact on your rankings. At worst, they may make your <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/essentials\/spam-policies\">pages rank lower on Google or even not appear at all<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1768\" height=\"210\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image3-3.png\" alt=\"Google advising that sites violating its policies will rank lower or not appear at all in results\" class=\"wp-image-164478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image3-3.png 1768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image3-3-680x81.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image3-3-768x91.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image3-3-1536x182.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1768px) 100vw, 1768px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1768\" height=\"210\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image3-3.png\" alt=\"Google advising that sites violating its policies will rank lower or not appear at all in results\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-164478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image3-3.png 1768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image3-3-680x81.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image3-3-768x91.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image3-3-1536x182.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1768px) 100vw, 1768px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Here are some types of bad links you should definitely avoid:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>PBNs<\/strong> \u2013 Multiple sites linking together in order to manipulate search engines.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Paid links<\/strong> \u2013 Exchanging money, goods, or services in return for links for ranking purposes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Link exchanges<\/strong> \u2013 Linking to a site in exchange for that site also linking to\u00a0yours.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Automated links<\/strong> \u2013 Use of automated software or services to generate large volumes of links to a\u00a0site.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Forum and comment spam links<\/strong> \u2013 Adding spam links in forums as part of signatures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>Backlinks are crucial for ranking on Google, especially for competitive queries. But the easier it is to get a link, the less valuable it\u2019ll\u00a0be.<\/p>\n<p>Looking to get started with link building? Read our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/link-building\/\">beginner-friendly guide<\/a> or watch our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=B5jmQig8FJU&amp;list=PLvJ_dXFSpd2tjUTuAHpHidz5e2hAedP_m\">link building tutorials on YouTube<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Got questions? Let me know <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/m_makosiewicz\">on Twitter<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/seocommunity.social\/@mako\">Mastodon<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/what-are-backlinks\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Backlinks (aka inbound links, incoming links) are links from a page on one website to another. Search engines like Google use backlinks as votes of confidence in ranking pages. Backlinks are important for SEO because of two main reasons:\u00a0 Rankings \u2013 Generally speaking, the more backlinks your webpages have, the more likely they are to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}