A backlink is a link to your blog from another source. When you create helpful content, people will be more inclined to share your work and link back to your website. Receiving backlinks can help you rank higher in Google because it shows the search engine that your content is helpful and trustworthy. However, the backlinks must be organic. If you pay for backlinks or participate in link trading services, you can hurt your Google ranking. This post will provide an overview of how backlinks work to help you understand how they affect your website.

Domain authority, also known as DA, is a measurement of a website’s credibility. Several factors are used to determine the DA of a website, and the higher the DA, the more credible the site appears to search engines like Google and Duck Duck Go. 

Factors that determine the DA of a website include the age of the site, the quality of content posted, and the number of backlinks a site has. If you consistently post original content that people share often, search engines will recognize this.

Backlinks show search engines that the content published is credible enough to show to a larger audience. If people are consistently reading, sharing, and linking to a website as a source of authority, the DA of the website can increase.

Blogs with a high DA are more likely to be shown to users by google, making it easier for businesses to access an audience and monetize the content published to the site. 

What Are Backlinks

Backlinks occur when one site links back to another website. Usually backlinks are used to cite information or to recommend further reading materials. 

MOZ, an SEO company founded by Rand Fishkin and Gillian Muessig, is one of many industry leaders for SEO advice.

According to the MOZ, backlinks are a “vote of confidence” from readers, a form of social proof indicating that the site is helpful and credible, worth promotion and what readers are looking for.

Optin Monster, a platform that helps readers build a following and a “powerful conversion optimization toolkit” keep track of what helps businesses gain subscribers successfully. Blogs and backlinks play a major role. 

According to OptinMonster, companies with blogs see a 97 percent increase in backlinks to company sites.

Why Backlinks Affect Business

Building backlinks allows prospective customers to find your content. If content creators link to your site, this also signals to Google that your site has credibility. 

According to Backlinko, 14.1 percent percent of search queries are question keywords. Answering questions with quality content is an important aspect of SEO and participating in the competitive practice of SEO and gaining page views. 

Since backlinks affect the way search engines categorize the content posted to websites, building links is critical in gaining page views and building credibility. Due to ranking systems and search engines, credibility has become twofold: becoming recognized as an expert by both readers and search engines is important for digital writers.

Backlink Quality

Not all backlinks are created equal. Some creators attempt to build backlinks by paying for links or creating backlink communities in an attempt to build a strong backlink profile. 

Any attempt to manipulate backlink profiles is not recommended by Google. Paying for backlinks or participating in communities that will help you gain links is not recommended by Google. According to the Google link schemes guide, attempts to build backlinks inorganically may result in penalties. 

How to Build Backlinks

The best way to build backlinks is to allow them to occur naturally by creating high quality content.

OptinMonster, a company that specializes in audience building techniques, offers a free online backlink guide and explains why backlinks play a major role in marketing. According to OptinMonster, companies with blogs see a 97 percent increase in backlinks to company sites.

Organic Backlinks

Popular backlink building strategies include posting to social media and pitching resources as the answer to questions online. 

According to Neil Patel, valuable backlinks are industry specific and come from other sites that have high credibility and a high DA. If people are consistently reading, sharing, and linking to a website as a source of authority, the DA of the website increases.

Visual design elements also affect backlinks. According to Patel building backlinks takes time, and visual elements are a major factor in gaining backlinks and engagement.

Guest posts, answering questions as an industry leader, and promoting resources while networking where appropriate are popular methods of building links naturally from people interested in sharing content.