When honing your website’s SEO score, there are many tasks on your checklist. You want to integrate keywords organically into your content, page structure that is easy to digest, fast load times and complete metadata. But among the most powerful — and difficult — SEO features to get are backlinks.

Backlinks are links to your website that build your authority as a trusted source. They are powerful precisely because they are so challenging to legitimately grow. However, once you have a network of backlinks, your hard work will help your website rise a head and shoulders above the competition. This article will explain what backlinks are, why they are important, and how to get them.

What Are Backlinks?

A backlink is a link on an outside website that leads back to your website. Backlinks are typically generated when your content is referenced and linked by another article. The other website might be suggesting your services, quoting an informative blog article, referencing data in a report you released, or linking an image that is hosted on your site. The key is that they use a link that directs readers back to your site and information.

Backlinks can come from professional listings, business partnerships, guest appearances, and random people who have read and want to reference your work.

Why Are Backlinks Important?

Backlinks are important because they show that your business is important, accurate, and helpful enough for others to reference. If you release a report that others find educational, they may quote and link parts of it to enhance their own work. If your business is worth listing and linking on a best-of list, this strengthens the legitimacy of your website, brand, and products.

In other words, Google uses backlinks to determine how much other brands trust your brand and your content. Backlinks from older domains may be more powerful, while a larger variety of domains linking to your content is an important factor.

Backlinks give your website weight and back the authority of your content as a trusted source used by others.

How to Get Backlinks to Your Website

A good link-building strategy is essential to start generating organic backlinks and cultivating more guaranteed sources of backlinks that each offer value to readers who see the link.

Provide High-Value Guest Content

Write interesting content relevant to the readers of other websites. Guest posting is a great way to get backlinks, when done correctly.

Business and Professional Directories

Get listed in professional directories. This includes lists of businesses in your area, in your industry, or professionals with certain licenses. Even Facebook groups can help.

Get Ranked in Best-Of Listicles

Listicles are one of the leading source of backlinks, often a top-10 or best-of listicle in which your product may be listed for it’s value to the customers.

Publish Original Data and Reports

Every brand is hungry for interesting, original, recent data. Provide unique data and useful reports, and others will be drawn to reference, quote, and link it.

Create High-Value Infographics

Infographics can be equally – if not more – powerful because everyone needs a good image to explain otherwise complex concepts. A good graphic designer can become a great source of backlink-able material.

Get Involved in Events and Organizations

When your company participates in events or joins organizations, you may be listed on an official page with a link back to your website.

Reclaim Unlinked References

You can also use some research tools to identify where your material is quoted or referenced without a link, then reach out to ask for a link to be included. This is known as reclaiming backlinks.

What Not to Do

While there are many good ways to get backlinks, there are also a few bad methods that are penalized by Google and other search engines. These are tactics that were once used to game the system that are now recognized as black-hat link building tactics.

Backlinking don’ts include short and low-quality guest posting, paying to be listed on valueless websites, hosting dummy websites to backlink to your primary site, linking rings, and paid backlinks that are not associated with high-quality articles.

It is also not advised to pay publishers for backlinks, no matter how quality your content, because they are overpriced compared to organic methods.

 

Building Your Backlinks with Brillity Digital

If you’re ready to boost your SEO authority with a strong link building strategy, we have the experience and organic content expertise to make it happen. Contact us today to start building backlinks with Brillity Digital.

About the Author

Vivianna Davis

Vivianna Davis

Vivianna Davis is our Director of Operations. She specializes in search engine optimization, project management, and operations. In 2019 she was a BizWest Women of Distinction nominee.