Backlinks and SEO – Everything you need to know

How does Google (and all those other search engines) rank what sites should be shown first? Well, it comes down to SEO. There are so many factors to SEO, but a key factor is backlinks.

What is a backlink?

Well, it is a link on one website that links to another website. You may have lots of internal links on your website (links taking you from one page to another on your site), but this is about the amount of links on websites other than your own directing people to your website.

Why does it make a difference to my SEO?

Search engines will pick up on all the link that are pointing to your website. The more links there are, the more the they trust you. They see these links as a vote of confidence that you are popular and people want to see your site, so they will rank you higher.

What about the quality of the backlinks?

Your backlink will make you rank higher if it is from a popular website compared to a small site with low traffic. Google gains its trust on you based on its trust on the people talking about you and sharing your link. You should also be aware that the topic of your keywords should be similar to the people sharing your links, as Google will understand that this will be more beneficial for people trying to find websites like yours.

So yes, the more backlinks the better, but quality is better than quantity.

Here’s a run down on what they’re looking for:

• How many backlinks you are getting (over time – they want to ensure they are true links)
• How related those websites are
• What is their domain authority (how high that website ranks)

How can I find my domain authority?

You can check this out using a range of free site across the web. I recommend signing up for a free account with MOZ and using their link explorer. This will allow you to see where you are and track your improvement over time.

But remember to be patient with SEO! Search engines like to take their time scanning sites and their changes.

How can I make backlinks?

You can easily create backlinks to your site by sharing your posts or articles. Find online magazines or other people in your field and request to share guest content. You could also write testimonials for other people and request your website link be included. I help my clients by writing case studies on the website and link to their site, so is there a way people could share your story or case study?

If you need help with your websites SEO, book in your FREE 30-minute consultation to discuss what quick steps you could be taking to improve your SEO. Why not take a look at my SEO packages here?