Backlinks are pretty straightforward, its when an external website links back to yours. Well maybe not that straightforward, because not all backlinks are created equal. Think of backlinking as essentially modern day word of mouth. Traditional word of mouth works best when it comes from sources that can be trusted. In the digital word, the higher ranked and therefore more trusted the page is that’s linking to your site, the higher your own sites ranking will be.

When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. The web is full of sites that don’t offer much of anything and one of the biggest tasks of search engines is to weed out the junk and bring only quality websites to the top. Backlinks offer search engines a quantifiable way to measure how well other people on the internet think of you. The more backlinks the more respected the site.

There are all kinds of way to backlink a website, but it's important to note that not all of them are created equal. Getting the right number of backlinks from the right sources is key to success in SEO in general. Here are some important points to take into consideration when it comes to backlinking.

The Total Number of Backlinks is Important

Why does the sheer number of backlinks a given website so important? In terms of volume, backlink quantity is a goal that websites can comfortably work towards with confidence that getting more links out there is going to improve ranking.

Quality Backlinks are just as Important as Lots of Backlinks

Where backlinks link from is crucial. One link from a high authority site is better for SEO than one hundred links from a low authority site. The higher the page rank and site rank of the website that is linking to your website, the bigger the boost your site will get from that link that directs back to you.

Acquiring Backlinks is Hard Work

There is no easy way to get backlinks. There is no secret trick or formula here. Building a library of highly ranked sites that link back to yours takes a great deal of effort and resources. However, valuable content is one key. No one is going to want to link to your site if you don't have useful information on it. Backlink acquisition takes a lot of legwork and relationship building. For sites to link to yours, you will have to reach out to them. There are a lot of ways to build backlinks, some of which are bought and others organic. But keep in mind that organic backlinking is almost always better than paid.

Backlinking isn’t going anywhere. It offers a way to test the legitimacy of a website in a fundamentally useful way. That’s why backlinks will continue to be an important part of the SEO process and will continue to be relevant for the foreseeable future. If you have any questions or concerns regarding backlinking, feel free to reach out to the professionals here at Red Shark Digital!

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