Website Backlinks: What Makes a Good Backlink
June 17, 2021In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some of the basics on website backlinks and how they work within the digital marketing world. Referring to links from other sites that are relevant for several reasons, from rankings to referral traffic and more, backlinks are one of the top themes SEO experts will be looking at to help improve site performance.
At SEO Werkz, we’re happy to provide a comprehensive range of private label SEO services, including off-site optimization and link-building among several others. While much of part one of our series went over the definition and importance of backlinks, today’s part two will dig into the qualities that make up a good backlink.
Authority
Authority is always a major factor in the SEO world, one that Google and other search engines prioritize when ranking sites. And generally speaking, backlinks that come from strong web pages will transfer more “authority†to their partner than those that come from weaker or less legitimate web pages.
Why does this matter? Because there’s a direct connection between page authority and organic traffic. This isn’t necessarily a linear connection, as Google has complex algorithms looking at authority, the number of links on a given page, and several other factors. But in the long run, if you link from high-quality pages, your authority will be strong.
Relevance
Another major variable for Google and search engines is relevance, which refers to the likelihood that common visitors to a site will click on them. As a very basic example, if you run an HVAC company but have backlinks for hardwood flooring services on your site, these will not be considered relevant whatsoever by Google. That’s obviously a bit of an extreme example, but a key factor in creating good backlinks is ensuring they’re directly relevant to your site and its products or services offered.
Traffic Sources
Do your backlinks come from high-traffic pages? If so, they’re more likely to send you more referral traffic. In addition, there’s a small correlation between overall rankings and backlinks from pages with high levels of organic search traffic, though this factor is not as important as the volume of backlinks from unique sites.
Others
There are a few other variables that make up a good backlink:
- Followed or nofollowed: Nofollowed backlinks usually do not have an impact on linked page rankings, while followed links always do. However, nofollowed links to still have some value.
- Placement: Links are more likely to be clicked if they are in prominent locations – this is a factor that will commonly influence authority.
- Anchor text: The actual clickable words that make up the link are the anchor text, and this text does influence rankings. However, the impact here appears to be relatively small in the scheme of things.
For more on backlinks in SEO and online marketing, or to learn about any of our SEO, PPC or other digital marketing services, speak to the staff at SEO Werkz today.