What is the Importance of Backlinks for SEO & Keyword Rankings?

You won’t believe this! Today, over 53% of website visitors come from organic search. That’s huge! I’d miss out on a huge share of potential customers if I didn’t use backlinks in my SEO strategy. However let me ask YOU this, are you getting the organic traffic you deserve? Do you have enough high-quality backlinks?

Backlinks are crucial for SEO success, but, we know that already, right? RIGHT? Even, Google considers them as one of the top three factors influencing where your website ranks in SERPs. A Semrush study found that approximately 92.3% of the top-ranking domains have at least one backlink. Sounds juicy! Another research by Backlinko suggests the first organic result in Google SERP receives almost 27.6% of all clicks, highlighting the importance of good search rankings. And, what are we doing here? Helping you understand the importance of backlinks for SEO & keyword rankings & how they can be your baishakhi for climbing the search engine ladder.

Okay then, ready? What are we covering today?

👉 What is the Importance of Backlinks for SEO?

👉 What’s a Good Backlink? How to Choose?

👉 Tips to optimize your website for better results?

With time, numerous studies, research & analysis have specified the importance of backlinks for SEO & keyword rankings. Today, we are going first to take a look at what these studies have revealed so far:

A recent study by Ahrefs, a backlink analysis tool; shows an effective & positive relation between the number of backlinks a page has & its keywords ranking & organic traffic.
As per Backlinko, Backlinks are considered a digital word of mouth from other relevant websites vouching for the credibility of your content. The better backlinks you have, the more trustworthy your website appears.
Studies by Monster Insights, show that the websites with higher volumes of backlinks usually get better Google ranking positions.
The quality of backlinks matters. One high-authority backlink from a relevant website is more valuable than scores of backlinks from a low-quality website.
When you create backlinks on high-traffic websites, you can generate huge referral traffic to your website, bringing new visitors & potential customers as well.
Having a diversified link profile from various websites spreads brand awareness.
If you start buying backlinks or start participating in link-building schemes, you can hurt your website’s SEO & authority.

What is the Importance of Backlinks SEO?

SEO is like giving your website a redo to climb the SERP & outrank the competitor websites.

Link building is one key factor you must include in your SEO strategy. What is link building?

Think of it like getting a good online reputation. Google & other search engines consider these links to your website from other websites as a green signal, a sign that your content is valuable & trustworthy. The better websites link to you, the better you look in the search engine’s eyes.

Imagine backlinks like votes. The party with the most votes, well, that’s the one that tends to win the election, right? The same goes for search engines. Websites with a good number of high-quality backlinks will rank higher. But the thing is, it’s not just about the number of links, it’s also about where they come from. For instance, a link from a random blog might not be as good as a link from a respected news website.

So, building backlinks is like building trust in the digital realm. It takes time & effort, but it’s worth it if you want your website to shine on search engines. However, backlinks are just one piece of the puzzle, there’s more to ranking high, but it’s one powerful tool to have.

Imagine you wrote an article & shared it with a bunch of different people. The more well-respected people who read it & say “Hey, this is good stuff!” the more likely other people are to trust it & read it themselves, right?

That’s how backlinks work for websites as well, a recommendation from someone better. Search engines like Google see links from other websites as a sign of trust. It’s like those other websites are giving your website a vote of confidence & saying “This is a great source of information.” The more votes you get, the better you’ll do in SERPs. That’s why we should focus on getting backlinks from these trustworthy websites, not just any random website out there.

So, the next time, you find yourself wondering why there’s so much fuss around backlinks, just remember – they’re like gold stars from trusted sources, showing everyone (and Google) that your website is awesome!

Butttt, what is a good source of high-quality backlinks? You should focus on building backlinks that are of high quality on credible websites with good metrics, such as those with high domain authority & low spam scores.

What Is Domain Authority (DA)?

Imagine you’re trying to find the best restaurant in town. You’d probably ask around for recommendations, right? What usually happens is when you search for something online, search engines like Google consider how trustworthy & relevant a website is before showing it to you.

One way they measure this trust is with Domain Authority, or DA for short. You might think of it like a website’s reputation in its niche or industry I would say. The higher a website’s DA, the more likely it is to be an authority on that topic & rank higher in search results. So, if you’re searching for the best restaurant in town, websites with high DA on food reviews are more likely to pop up at the top. Pretty cool, huh?

Backlinks aren’t just about ranking your website on the search results, they have a bunch of other advantages too.

First off, imagine linking to your website from a super popular website, Millions of people visit that website every day. Well, guess what? Few of those people are going to click that backlink & end up on your website! That’s called referral traffic, & it’s a great way to get more organic traffic, a bonus I would say.

Plus, the more backlinks you have, the more people will see your brand name popping up around the internet. It’s like free advertising! People start to recognize your brand & become familiar with what you have to offer.

And here’s another cool thing: building backlinks often involves reaching out to other websites in your niche. This can lead to great networking & maybe even collaborations. This way backlinks help you build relationships with other important players in your industry as well. Pretty neat, right?

What Is an Outreach Campaign?

Alright, so we talked about how awesome backlinks are. But how do you get them? Here’s the thing: there are websites out there that everyone knows & trusts, like the big news websites, publications or industry leaders; they are one of the finest places to mine backlinks

So, we’re going to do a “backlink outreach.” What you can do is, when you find these high-authority websites, you can directly reach out to them in a friendly way. You can maybe suggest, or even politely request, that they include a link back to your website in their content relevant to your business. Here’s how you can ask, “Hey, I noticed you wrote this awesome article on [topic], & I have some really interesting stuff on my website that relates to it. Maybe readers would find it helpful if you linked to it?” Simple, right?

What’s a Good Backlink?

Alright, so you’re all geared up for building backlinks, awesome! But hold on a second, it’s not a numbers game. Not all backlinks are created equal!

Links from high-quality, relevant websites are like getting a recommendation from a trusted figure. They hold much more sway than, say, a random shout-out on some sketchy blog or maybe even Private Blog Networks (PBN).

Poor-quality backlinks, like from spammy directories, are practically worthless. They might even put a dent in your SEO in the long run. Focus on quality over quantity. Create content that people in your niche find valuable, and the backlinks, will come naturally. They’ll be the kind of backlinks that boost your website, your DA & your reputation.

What are Toxic/Spammy Backlinks?

Imagine getting a backlink from some spammy website full of weird ads, irrelevant to your niche. Not exactly the best look for your website, right? Even Google condemn this kind of stuff, on top of that they’ve got these Webmaster Guidelines that say “Don’t try to trick us with fake links.” It’s all about building backlinks naturally, the way Google likes it.

So the key is to be very careful when building a link profile and keep a close watch on who links to you. If you start spammy backlinks, it could hurt your website & reputation. Google might even penalize you, which is search engine jail! Not something you would want. A quick tip; if your website does have these kinds of backlinks, try using tools like SEMrush to identify those & Google Search Console to disavow them & request for removal. Apart from this, you should also focus on learning how to use Google Search Console to boost SEO.

How to Identify Good Backlinks?

Okay, so you’ve learned about backlinks & why they are important for your website & SEO. Now, let’s talk about what kind of backlinks you want.

Ideally, you would want it to come naturally, from a website you respect, & should be relevant to what you offer. That way, people who are genuinely interested in your offerings will see the link and be more likely to check out your website.

To sum this up, a good backlink should be natural, come from a reputable source & be highly relevant to the target business. See, there are other factors as well but this sums up the crisp of it. To name a few; you know, Time of India (ToI), India Times, or New York Times maybe. Getting a link from them would be amazing, but it’s not always easy.

Here’s the tea: There are ways to get great backlinks even if you’re just starting. Guest blogging is one such option. You can tap into websites with high DA, good reputation, & even huge traffic. But How? You write a blog for a relevant, high-quality website in your niche & ask them to publish it with a dofollow link to your website. Results? This gets you a backlink to your website, & it positions you as an expert. Win-win!

Now, let’s have a look at some backlinks sources that aren’t quite as valuable.

Directory websites are kind of like online phone books – anyone can list themselves, so they don’t carry much weight.
Link farms are factories that just churn out links (they might seem impressive at first, but they’re not). Do you know what the bummer is? They look lucrative with huge DA but in the background, they have poor traffic & high spam scores.
New websites are like young seedlings – they might grow into something great someday, but their links aren’t that good as of now.

You must not forget that backlinks come in all shapes & sizes. A backlink from a niche blog or even a local news site can still be helpful if you are a local business, even if it’s not from a giant publication. If you are from India, we have something for you, here’s a list of the best FREE business directories in India with good DA for building quality citations.

A quick-up; to break the long-going myth; just because a website charges for a backlink doesn’t automatically mean it’s bad. Use your common sense – if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

You Might Also Like: A Guide to Local SEO: Checklist for Growth

Other Relevant Factors for Quality Backlink

Alright, so listen up. It’s not just about who links to you, but also how they link to you. There are two main things to consider: anchor text & the type of link.

What is Anchor Text?

Now imagine the clickable text on an article/blog is like a little signpost. It tells people & mostly search engines what the target page is about. For instance, if the text says “best cameras in 2024 ” and it links to your top camera page, that’s a good sign for Google. They see the connection!

The heartbreak? You can’t control how people link to you naturally. But if you’re writing guest posts or making edits on relevant websites, you can choose the anchor text. Here’s the to make the most out of this:

Don’t stuff the text with keywords – Keep it natural.
Make it clear – Don’t be cryptic.
Match the text to the content around it – It should look organic.
Don’t just use one keyword – Maintain diversity..

What are Follow & Nofollow Links?

Another roadblock, some links tell search engines to “follow” them & check out the linked page. These are the golden tickets, called dofollow backlinks.

Then there are nofollow backlinks, these are like suggestions to search engines like Google, saying “Hey, this page exists, but maybe don’t prioritize it.” They are not that valuable compared to dofollow links, but they can still send something.

So, what would be the best way forward? Get a mix of natural links with good anchor text & some strategic dofollow links, and throw in a couple of nofollow links as well, just to be out there, you know what I mean. It all adds up to building a strong online reputation for your website!

I Want to Rank in Google Without Backlinks – SOS?

You can get on Google’s first page without backlinks, but it’s like trying to win a race with your shoelaces tied together. You might emerge at the top for some low-value terms, but they’re not exactly gonna bring in the traffic you would want.

Think about it. These low-value keywords, well, they’re low competition for a reason because nobody’s searching for them, so you won’t get much traffic. Or, even if someone does find you, they might not be the kind of visitors you want. They could be just you know, window-shopping, not looking to buy anything.

If you want the top brass, the keywords that people search for, then backlinks are pretty much the cornerstone of your SEO strategy. Backlinks do help, however, Google uses a whole bunch of other factors to rank websites & nobody knows how many, but backlinks? They are one of the big ones.

You know, as per the industry leaders & from what we have understood so far, search engines like Google consider Links, Quality of Content, Search Intent, On-page Experience, Website Speed, Proximity, & Relevance before ranking your website.

If you are out there to rank on the top, you must ensure that your website ticks all (or most of) these boxes & not just the backlinks. Think of it like baking a cake. Backlinks are like the eggs, important, but you also need flour, sugar, and the right baking time to get a delicious cake, in this case – a quality website!

Here’s the thing: Google wants to show people the absolute best pages for whatever they’re searching for. So, if your website doesn’t answer the searcher’s question, it doesn’t matter how many backlinks you have, Google won’t show you off.

Imagine this, someone types in “how to change a tyre.” Your website might be full of articles about fancy rims, but that doesn’t help them, right?

Hot tip: By including guides, how-tos & advice related to target keywords in your content plan, your website has better chances than your competitors to show up in search results.

Next, you want to make sure your website itself is in good shape. This means using the right keywords throughout your content & ask yourself “Is your web page optimized?”, if no, consider optimizing your website based on the following factors:

👉 Using the right targeted keywords.

👉 Make sure your content is the right length.

👉 Make use of headings.

👉 Publishing high-quality copy.

👉 Use relevant & quality images with proper ALT tags.

👉 Make sure to add internal links & outbound links.

The next question, you should have an answer to is “Is my on-page experience good?”, you know the drill, here’s the checklist. Keep a check on them & make sure they stay in the Green zone at all times.

👉 First Contentful Paint (FCP): How quickly the first content/element loads on screen for the user.

👉 Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): How quickly the largest content on your website loads.

👉 First Input Delay (FID): The time between users’ first interaction with your website to the time it takes the browser to respond.

👉 Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): How much content on your page moves once it has loaded.

Imagine it like a comfortable chair for your website visitors. If you understand the importance of backlinks & combine it with these 3 things, your website will be ranking on Google in no time!

Also Read: How To Use “Near Me” Keywords in Your Local SEO Strategy?

Concluding the Importance of Backlinks for SEO

So, that’s the gist of the importance of backlinks! Backlinks are super important for SEO, kind of like those gold stars you got in elementary school. They show search engines that your website is trustworthy. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the higher you’ll climb SERPs.

But it’s not just about the number of backlinks, it’s about where they come from. Focus on quality over quantity and you’ll be on your way to the first page of Google.

Remember, backlinks are just the beginning. You also want to make sure your website itself is top-notch with great content, a user-friendly experience, & optimized for search engines. By combining these factors with a solid backlink strategy, you’ll be well on your way to ranking on Google! Subscribe to our newsletter for more!

Let us know in the comments, what you think!!