When a website links to another website, a backlink is created. A backlink is also called an inbound link because it causes people to “enter” our site. An external link is another title of a backlink. This name is because users are directed “outside” of the website where they are present. In the article “An Ultimate Guide to SEO (Search Engine Optimization)” we introduce backlinks. In this article on the smart strategy blog, we will dive deep into what are backlinks, and the effect of backlinks on SEO,  and how to get natural backlinks. Keep us.

 

The difference between internal and external linking

Internal and external linking for search engine optimization (SEO) is essential to external SEO. The quality of your website’s internal and external links can directly affect how well or poorly your page will rank in a search engine’s results. 

Internal linking refers to links that direct the user to another page in the same domain. Internal links connect relevant content throughout your site and let users browse your website pages better.

Most importantly, internal linking helps to create a hierarchy of information and expand the site’s ranking power. For search engines to crawl your site, they must have a coherent linking network so that search engine spiders can find individual pages on your website and store them in their database. Therefore, internal linking increases your website’s ranking potential for each page.

External linking includes links from our site to a site with another domain or vice versa. In the following, we will discuss backlinks and how to use them.

 

The effect of backlinks on SEO

When a website refers to another website in part of its content, this action is called a backlink. This link must be clickable so that search engines can identify them as backlinks.

effect of backlinks on SEO | smart strategy

 

Backlinks are critical elements in SEO. When a website links to a page on our site, it tells search engines: “This content is valuable, valid, and useful.” Google and other major search engines consider backlinks a “positive score” for our website. Pages with more backlinks have higher organic rankings in search engines.

SEO experts believe that high-quality backlinks are the determining factors for SEO that help you improve your website’s ranking in search engine results. In addition, backlinks should be on sites with relevant content. And these sites must be reliable and famous and have a high ranking and domain validity. The higher the quality of the backlinks, the higher the ranking of your website.

 

The difference between Dofollow and Nofollow backlinks and their effects

In general, links are divided into dofollow and nofollow, which have differences from each other.

Backlinks are by default “follow,” which means that the linker confirms the credibility of the link and our site.

In a dofollow link, no unique characteristics can be seen in the code, and its appearance remains standard. DoFollow links are valuable from Google’s point of view and can affect the ranking of the website, and we need them in website SEO!

On the other hand, we have “nofollow” links, which Google values almost nothing. The difference between dofollow and nofollow links is in their structure. A nofollow link is created when the word rel=nofollow is included in the link structure. Adding this phrase to a dofollow link can turn it into a nofollow link. Doing this tells the search engines that you have no approval or disapproval of the link. In general, using a nofollow link can effectively avoid Google’s penalty.

Social media links, blog comments, and Wikipedia backlinks are all nofollows.

Naturally, since only follow links transfer the value of the source website to the linked website, then you should look for follow backlinks to improve the SEO of your websites. But, at the same time, having only dofollow links can look unnatural to search engines. Moreover, Nofollow links can also indirectly affect your rank!

 

The effect of anchor text on backlinks and SEO

Anchor Text is the visible and clickable text in a hyperlink. In modern browsers, it is often blue and underlined. 

Some people know anchor text with the names of link text or link titles. The words in a link’s text help search engines better understand the topic of a site’s activity and show it in the search results.

 

The effect of anchor text on backlinks and SEO | smart strategy

 

When you receive several links for one page from a particular website, it is better to use dofollow only for one with a more targeted anchor text and nofollow for other links.

We suggest not using general titles like “click” or “read more” in your links as much as possible. Instead of that, use “keyword”; “keyword along with other text”; “Website name” (text containing the brand name), “website address”; Use “brand name” and…

Factors affecting the quality of backlinks

Backlinks are considered an influencing tool in site rank optimization. However, just as good backlinks can improve your website’s SEO, bad backlinks can harm your SEO. Due to the importance of this issue, we will state some things that will help you distinguish between the two.

Briefly and usefully, a link that was placed on a site at your request or for which you paid a fee is considered a relatively lousy link. Conversely, a good link is one that users have voluntarily placed on their site. 

Link to the main page: If all the backlinks are to the home page of your site and not to a specific article, these backlinks are considered flawed.

Linking to the site from weak and low-ranked websites: Linking from low-quality or spam sites not only does not increase the rank of your site but also seriously damages it.

Frequent linking to website anchor text: When you pay for your backlink, you expect the site manager to place your site address frequently. But you should note that the backlinks taken in this way are wrong. 

  • Backlinks created naturally by the author or site manager to your site with a text and phrase related to your site are called quality backlinks. 
  • These backlinks should not come from spam sites, 
  • The number of outbound links to that site should not be very high, 
  • It should not come from a site with very low credibility that looks like spam, 
  • The linking site should be familiar to your website regarding the subject matter, etc.

How to get natural backlinks?

A natural backlink is a link created naturally and improves your position in search engine results.

There are different ways to get or build backlinks. The naturalness depends on criteria such as the domain’s validity, the quality of the content provided, the time the link was created, the age of the domain, the number of outgoing links, the IP address of the site, etc.

 

How to get natural backlinks | smart strategy

1- Production of high-quality content

“Content is king.” Content plays a crucial role in your ranking in search engine results. By producing and marketing good content, you will encourage others to link you, which is one of the most natural ways to Get a backlink.

2- Social networks

Although social networks may not directly impact search engine results, you will spread your site’s links naturally with effective activity on social networks.

3- Guest post

Guest posting on sites that allow you to write content can help you get backlinks and improve your ranking.

4- Forums

Link building in forums, considering that it is free, can help you improve search engine results. 

5. Reportage Ads

An effective way to create a natural backlink is to use reportage ads. 

 

Is getting backlink a white hat SEO?

White hat SEO refers to a set of site optimization techniques that comply with the rules and regulations of search engines, especially Google. In white hat optimization, we try to improve the ranking of our site by maintaining the techniques defined by Google. Precisely the opposite of what happens in black hat SEO or illegal SEO methods.

Backlinks are one of the things that Google examines when scoring, and you should be especially sensitive to them. The critical point you should consider is that you should do something to get links naturally to be regarded as white hat SEO. It is crucial for google that other sites link to you because they know you. 

 

Conclusion

in this article on the smart strategy, we deep dive into different sides of the backlinks.

Smart strategy as a leading digital marketing agency providing SEO services in Canada. For more information about our SEO services and a consultation with our SEO strategist, please contact us.

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