The Internet is full of terms the average person is definitely not familiar with. And it totally makes sense! What are backlinks? What is SEO? What about CTR or CTA?
Someone who doesn’t really know about the online marketing strategies or technology, in general, can get really lost. Luckily, we are here to help once again!
Today we are talking about backlinks, their SEO value, and how you can make them work to your advantage. Keep reading for their definition, all the tips you need to know, and how you can start creating your web empire today!
First of All What Are Backlinks?
We hate to break it to you, but the backlink definition is much simpler than you think it is. Backlinks are just incoming links to your website. Literally, that’s all.
Think it this way. You have published an article on your website and someone finds it interesting. So far so good. However, since they believe that you are a reliable source of useful information, they decide to put a link on their website so more people can read what you’ve written.
This is a backlink.
Backlinks have been around for many years and they were a huge Google ranking factor. Today, although the list of the things that Google takes into consideration when ranking a website has grown, backlinks are still important.
So, in case you wondered, yes, you still need them.
Backlinks Terminology
Now that we have covered what backlinks are, it’s time to move on to the glossary associated with them.
After all, every digital trend that has been around for quite some time, comes with a slang language we need to get the handle on. Here are the backlinks terms you are going to come across when you start using them:
Link Juice
When people refer to “link juice” they basically mean that a webpage is linking to another webpage without any special tags that we are about to cover in a minute. With that being told, a simple link passes “link juice” from one website to another.
This happens because, by default, all the links that someone adds to their blog, are do-follow links.
If someone doesn’t want to pass that “link juice” and link to a website without giving them the ability to climb up that Google search results, they just add a special tag to do it. This tag is called “No-Follow.”
No-Follow Tag
There are cases when a website is linking to a webpage and they do not want to pass that link juice we mentioned above. It may sound disappointing, but many bloggers want to give credit to a competitor but not help them rank well in Google search results at the same time.
This is when they use the no-follow tag.
However, the good news is that no-follow links can prove quite helpful too. Use the tag when you are linking to an unreliable website. For example, enable it when someone posts a link as a comment at the end of your post.
In other words, a no-follow link will tell Google that it should not rank the website you are linking to because you simply do not trust it.
Click here for more information on no-follow links!
Low-Quality Backlinks
Low-quality backlinks usually come from automated, spam websites that are not considered trustworthy. And yes, porn websites are included.
If you get many low-quality backlinks, Google can penalize you and, sooner or later, associate you with those spam web pages. And you definitely not want that!
Anchor Text
This one is so simple that we are going to need a simple sentence to explain. An anchor text is just the text that is used for hyperlinks.
Something like “Click here” or “Read more” can definitely be considered an anchor text, but if you want to rank for particular keywords, you can ask a website to link you using an anchor text that you have provided.
Click here for a great post about getting the best anchor text!
Internal Links
This one is pretty simple. These are links within the same online directory, such as an article linking to another article in the same website. Interlinking is, again, great for SEO purposes, it can grow your pageviews, and it is also a piece of cake.
Backlinks and SEO Value
Now that you know the types of backlinks you can work with and the full backlink glossary, you need to know why you should actually bother.
Keep reading to find out!
1. Search Engine Ranking
We’re sure you already know that backlinks will help you get much better search engine rankings. However, since this is a full guide, we had to include this one too.
Think it this way: The more someone links to a specific page of yours, the higher this page will naturally rank with search engines. So, do not only try to promote just your homepage, but also great content that you have produced.
2. Faster Crawling
Search engines need some time to scan your website and determine whether it deserves to appear among the very first results or not. With backlinks, however, this process is accelerated.
When Website A links to a webpage of Website B, for example, search engines immediately crawl Website B to take a look at what it is all about. Without backlinks, this can take some more time –especially if we are talking about a new website.
3. You Want Referral Traffic
Referral traffic is a great way to grow. When a website links to another, there is a chance that it also gives away a part of their fans. After all, there is a reason why referral traffic has a low bounce rate.
How To Get Backlinks
So, now you know exactly what backlinks are and you have all the information someone needs about them. The only thing missing is how you can get them so you can rank better.
No need to worry! Just keep reading:
1. Write Great Content
It sounds simple, doesn’t it?
If you have a static website without any content, people will just not find anything that they can actually link to. On the other hand, if you generate good content, people will naturally link to them.
Pose as an authority. Do some research before you publish anything and make your content valuable and up-to-date. If you want to cover a topic that has been covered before, make sure you add something that has not been mentioned in the past.
Valuable content is always shareable and “link-able.”
2. Use Your Community
When you are working online, you are part of a great community that you can actually use in order to make your blog bigger!
Join forums, communities, and comment on other blogs that do not have the “no-follow” tag enabled. You will both reach new audiences and take your Google ranking to the next level at the same time.
3. Form Relationships
This community that we are talking about is made of real people. Try and create some bonds with other, fellow bloggers and talk about things that you have in common.
Ask them about a topic idea you might have, ask for a guest post you can publish on their platform and include a link at the end of it, and create a relationship in general.
Sooner or later, you will start helping each other!
Extra Tip: Use Us!
Now, it is easy to answer when someone asks you “What are backlinks?” You can even give them some advice on how they can get them. But it’s just when you actually do it when you realize it takes a lot of work.
This is where we come in to save the day!
If you are looking to build an amazing backlink network, we are here to help.
