What are Backlinks in SEO? Everything You Need

Tonmoy Parves

May 22, 2025

A backlink is a connection to your website from other websites. Search engines see these links as a recommendation that your site is relevant and contains valuable content. As a result, the more backlinks to your website, the higher it will rank.

However, it’s more than getting many backlinks; the emphasis is on getting quality backlinks. Wrong links can negatively affect your site, and no one wants that.

This blog explains everything you need to know about backlink SEO. From the types of backlinks, the characteristics, how to get backlinks, and what to avoid.

What Makes Backlinks Important?

Backlinks play a critical role in Google’s ranking algorithm. They help Google and other search engines have a better understanding of what your website is about.

This means that when users search for information in your niche, your website page has a better chance of being viewed. As a result, it impacts your ranking and your website domain authority.

Standard Terms Used in Backlinks For SEO

Several terms related to SEO backlinks can be confusing; let’s explore their meanings.

1. Domain Authority (DA)

Domain authority refers to a website’s relevance and overall backlink profile in a specific niche. A site with large organic traffic will likely have high domain authority due to its backlink profile and the quality of its content, which impacts the site’s authority.

2. Dofollow Link

Dofollow links allow search engine crawlers to follow them and transfer ranking power to the linked page. They pass link equity to the linked website.

Links are dofollow by default, improving the linked site’s ranking because the linked site gains part of the linking site’s authority.

3. Nofollow Link

A nofollow link contains a tag instructing search engines not to follow the link. Sites with this type of link don’t want to transfer authority to the linked site because they can’t vouch for it.

Although nofollow links do not give the linking sites authority, they can increase traffic and engagement to your web pages, which is great.

4. Link Equity

Also known as Link Juice, it refers to the benefit or authority a linked site gets through backlinks to other websites. The higher the quality of the backlinks, the more equity the site receives.

5. Anchor Text

This text is the clickable part of a hyperlink that provides supporting information to your content; it connects one page to another.

6. Inbound Links

These links (backlinks) come to your website from other sites, which is the backlink we are discussing.

7. Outbound Links

Outbound links are links from your website to other websites. While they are not backlinks to your site, they provide additional information for your readers, which is essential for SEO.

8. Referral Website Traffic

This is the traffic that comes to your website courtesy of a backlink from another website.

9. Link Building

Link building is the act of acquiring backlinks to your website.

10. Link Farms

Link farms are low-quality websites created solely for backlinks.

11. Toxic Backlinks

Many times, links from link farms and low-quality sites are toxic backlinks; they can hinder your search ranking.

12. Referring Domains

Referring domains, also known as a unique link from a domain, are metrics in SEO link-building tools that show the number of backlinks from a unique domain.

For example, you could get ten links from our website. However, it’s one referring domain because the ten links came from one domain. Thus, one referring domain.

13. 404 or Broken Backlinks

404 status code, also known as “Not Found Pages,” are pages on the internet that don’t exist on a web server. When a page is deleted or linked to the wrong page (not an existing web page), it triggers the 404 status code.

Any link to this “Not Found Page” is a 404 broken backlink.

In this blog post, we explain what broken links are and how to fix them on your website.

Main Types of Backlinks in SEO

Earned Backlinks

These are natural backlinks that your website gains from the value it provides. When your content is helpful, it will naturally acquire backlinks from other websites.

Editorial Backlinks

These backlines are especially valuable for SEO. You earn them when other websites link to yours because they find your content relevant.

This is one reason why creating high-quality content is vital for users and search engines.

Backlinks from Guest Post

You get these by writing a guest post for another website and including a link back to your site.

Manual Outreach Backlinks

These are backlinks that you actively build through intentional and strategic efforts. It involves reaching out to other websites to link to your site. Manual backlinks provide the following benefits.

Backlink Targeting

They allow you to target websites relevant to your niche and access their premium audience.

Control Over Where to Place Your Links

You can control where the backlinks and anchor text will be placed.

Brand Exposure For Your Product or Services

They help you establish relationships with other websites and increase your credibility and brand awareness.

Self-Created Backlinks

You can create backlinks by linking to your websites from social media, directories, forums, blog comments, or another website that belongs to you. Though less valuable than natural or manual backlinks, self-created backlinks are also helpful to backlink profiles.

PR Links

These are backlinks to your site from authoritative sites that cover your story. You create the story and pitch it to journalists. If they accept your pitch, they will likely write about it and mention your site as the source of the content. Learn more about digital PR and SEO.

What are the Characteristics of a High-Quality Backlink?

Relevant backlinks that can improve the ranking of your website must have certain qualities.

1. Relevance

The linking website must be relevant to your niche. The theme of the page containing your backlink must also relate to the topic of your linked page.

2. Authority

The website and web page should be credible, influential, and have a high domain authority. In addition, the specific page must have high content value.

3. Placement

Links need to appear naturally within your website page. You can include links in the footer, header menu, or sidebar for improved site navigation.

4. Anchor Text

The anchor text of the backlink should be relevant to the targeted page. For example, this blog post is about “SEO Backlinks,” right?

To link to another relevant web page on the Niche Empire site, we have to figure out what pages talk about:

When we find relevant pages discussing the main topic, we can link to them because they are relevant to this content, and anyone who reads it will find it helpful.

In the linked posts above, the anchor texts we used to connect each page are “SEO Links,” “Broken Links SEO,” and “How Many Internal Links Should a Page Have?” These “Anchor Texts” convey information about the content on each page rather than using “Click here, Find here” and generic anchor texts.

5. Link Type

The type of backlink you use can contribute to your website’s ranking, which is another characteristic that determines the quality of your links.

For example, do-follow links give your website link equity, whereas no-follow links don’t but are still beneficial. A trusted and popular news site backlink is better than blog comment links.

Strategies to Build Backlinks in SEO

With the proper understanding of SEO backlinks, these strategies can help you build quality backlinks.

Create Quality Content to Get Backlinks

Your website’s main content is the first and most crucial part of building high-quality backlinks.

Create High-Quality Content

Develop well-researched, informative, and engaging content that your audience will find relevant.

Optimize for SEO
Include keywords and meta descriptions to tell search engines that your content is rich.
Promote your content on social media, online communities, and newsletters to increase its reach.

Guest Blogging

Writing for others is an excellent method of getting backlinks. Here’s how to go about it.

Identify blogs or websites with a top-quality audience from which you want to get high-quality backlinks.
Suggest topics that are relevant to the website’s audience.
Write a high-quality content blog that is informative and engaging.
Include links naturally to your guest posts that bring traffic to your website.

Use Local Outreach

Collaborate with businesses within your community to promote each other’s websites.
Participate in local events, online forums, and social media groups.

Search for Broken Link

Identify broken links on other websites, contact their owners, and suggest your page to replace the broken links. This cold pitching can give your website backlinks.

Sponsorships and Partnerships

Sponsor events to create opportunities to include backlinks to your website page to boost your SEO strategy. This includes community events and charities that align with your brand and can improve your search engine results.
In addition, collaborate with influencers in your field to boost your brand and website.

Submit your Website to Directories

Link your website to directories in your industry to attract specific traffic. However, focus on directories with a strong user base and high domain authority.
Optimize your website listing by ensuring your business information is accurate across all directories.

Tools for Building Quality Backlinks in SEO

Some tools help you build backlinks, identify opportunities for new links, and analyze your backlinks.

Niche Empire

Ahrefs provides comprehensive website audits, backlinks, and keyword research. It reveals your target website’s followed and nofollowed links and analyzes anchor text.

Our tool also helps you monitor your website’s backlink profile and link-building process, conduct deep link analysis, identify new backlinks, and notify you of deleted backlinks and all incoming links.

Our backlink analysis tool also detects different types of backlinks and gives insights into how your competitors are growing their backlinks.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console provides valuable information about your website. You will get alerts on issues and errors that require fixing and their URLs on your website.

It helps you understand how Google sees your pages—crawled and indexed. Although it doesn’t reveal much detail about links, it shows pages with redirect errors and not found (404).

Manual Analysis of Backlinks

Alternatively, you can search for backlinks by visiting other websites. Use Google search to find keywords related to your niche, then analyze the top-ranking websites.

This process is slow, but it can point you in the right direction.

Tips for Monitoring Your Backlink Profile

Keep an eye on your backlink profile because it helps you identify and correct potential issues.
Check for harmful backlinks to your site, like low-quality or spammy backlinks, and disavow them.
Track new backlinks on your website and analyze their quality and authority.
Ensure your anchor text is relevant to the topic and optimize for specific keywords.
Check and fix all broken links to avoid losing the link equity you gained.

Mistakes to Avoid in SEO Backlink Building

Some mistakes during building backlinks can harm the ranking of your website.

Engaging in Black-Hat SEO Tricks

Avoid link scheming, and any activity that violates search engine guidelines can penalize your website.

Such penalties could affect your website’s reputation and credibility.

Buying backlinks is common in the SEO industry, so we can’t tell you not to do so even though it’s against Google’s policy. Truthfully, Google is having a difficult time differentiating between earned and paid links.

Overusing Exact-Match Anchor Text

Using the exact anchor text in a spammy way might make your backlink profile look suspicious and unnatural.

Linking to or From Irrelevant or Low-Quality Sites

Linking to low-quality websites risks diluting your link equity. It’s best to cite websites with high domain authority.

Associating with low-quality or spammy websites will not grow your reputation or help your SEO strategy.

Neglecting Backlink and Website Audit

An irregular backlink profile audit will prevent you from identifying harmful backlinks. We recommend making it a routine to audit and disavow any damaging backlinks.

Avoiding these mistakes will ensure that your backlinking process is effective and upright.

Conclusion

Backlinks give your website a badge of honor, showing your content is valuable and original. While you should get as many SEO links as possible, prioritize quality over quantity.

Take it one step at a time with the mentioned tactics and build your backlinks with honest and sustainable practices.

What do you find most challenging with backlinks in your SEO journey?

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Backlinks?

Backlinks are links your website gets from another website. They signal to search engines that your site contains quality and valuable content.

Why Are Backlinks Crucial for SEO?

Backlinks tell search engines that your website is trustworthy and relevant. This contributes to your website’s authority and boosts your ranking in search engine research pages (SERPs).

How do I Get My First Backlink?

Begin by creating valuable content, such as how-to guides with appealing visuals. Next, please share it with other bloggers or relevant websites. Guest posting is another approach that can get you your first backlink.

Is Every Backlink Good for SEO?

No, all backlinks are not equal. High-quality backlinks from highly authoritative websites are beneficial, while low-quality or spammy sites can harm your ranking.

How Do I Check My Backlinks?

Niche Empire has a link-building analysis tool that can help you analyze your backlink profile to see where the visitors are coming from.

What Backlinks are Best for SEO?

Follow backlinks and PR links are best for search engine optimization. However, links that don’t pass link equity are also beneficial if they come from relevant and authoritative sites.

How Long Will It Take to See Results from Quality Backlinks?

It can take weeks or months to see the impact of backlinks on your site. Search engines require time to crawl and evaluate links on your website.