.webp){kind=logo}
.webp){kind=logo}
.svg)
A backlink is a link from one website to another website. The link acts like a recommendation and is a decisive factor for search engine optimization (SEO), as it determines the authority, relevance and ranking of a website on the Internet.
.png)
5 Key Takeaways
1. Definition & quality
Backlinks are inbound links from an external domain to your website. The quality of a good backlink is more important than the mass.
2. SEO value of backlinks
Backlinks are essential ranking factors for search engines such as Google. The backlinks are regarded by Google as recommendations. The more recommendations the website has, the more likely it is to rank for relevant search results.
3. Risks of bad backlinks
Bad backlinks can have a negative impact on your link profile and affect your ranking in search results. As a result, the visibility of the website is poorer, which has an impact on traffic and sales.
4. Analysis and tools
With SEO tools such as Google Search Console and Ahrefs Backlink Checker, the backlink profile can be checked. These SEO tools then make it possible to determine which link has positive effects and which link has negative effects.
5. Link building strategy
Regardless of a company's customers and industry, an effective link building strategy is crucial for obtaining high-quality backlinks.
types of backlinks
Backlinks can be roughly categorized into internal and external links. While internal links are a link between different pages on the same domain, backlinks external links connect a website to another domain.
Within this rough division, various types of backlinks can be identified: Dofollow, Nofollow, image links and Trashlinks. The significance and areas of application of these species are discussed in more detail below.
Dofollow backlinks
Dofollow backlinks play an essential role in positioning a website within search engines. These links enable search algorithms to follow the link, which not only creates intrinsic added value for a website, but also significantly strengthens the linked page through the substantial transfer of link juice.
Intrinsic added value means that a backlink, for example in a blog article, can offer added value to a user, as it provides extended information outside the blog article.
Linkjuice, on the other hand, is a metric for quantifying the strength and quality of a backlink. This means that it becomes clear how much power a backlink has or how much another page is strengthened by this backlink.
Nofollow backlinks
In contrast, there are nofollow backlinks, which have the exact opposite effect by explicitly instructing search engines not to follow the respective link. As a result, the referring page is not directly linked to the target website.
According to current algorithms, Google, for example, primarily regards nofollow links as indicative clues. This includes, for example, links from social networks, forums, press releases, guestbooks, Wikipedia entries, pingbacks and directories. However, their relevance should not be underestimated, as they contribute significantly to the diversity and thus to the naturalness of the backlink profile.
Naturalness in connection with backlinks primarily refers to profiles that have various backlinks on one page, i.e., for example, a mixture of DoFollow and NoFollow backlinks, but also profiles that have, for example, some voluntary links from topic-relevant sources.
In addition, social media in particular can contribute to increased attention and, as a result, an increase in website traffic through nofollow backlinks.
image links
Image links represent a special form of linking in that they integrate an image as link text. This allows users to reach the target website by simply clicking on the image.
Here, a distinction can also be made between dofollow and nofollow in the context of the image links, depending on strategic orientation and SEO objectives.
Trashlinks
Trash links, or spam links, are links that are primarily set by sites with a large number of outgoing backlinks and at the same time poor content and low quality.
Trash links may prove harmful to the link profile.
It is recommended to identify and consistently remove them to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the backlink profile.
In practice, there are numerous sources for backlinks. It should be noted that not all links are equally beneficial for SEO. Conscious and quality-oriented link building is therefore essential.
The table below shows which backlinks are recommended and which should be avoided:
How to place DoFollow and NoFollow links
Basically, the default setting for a link is DoFollow. If you want to place a link as a NoFollow link, this can be adjusted using the HTML code.
All you have to do is set the “nofollow” tag. Here is an example of how the difference between a DoFollow and a NoFollow link is expressed in HTML code:
<a href="https://beyondweb.ch">blue text</a>
<a href="https://beyondweb.ch" rel="nofollow">blue text</a>
Only the day visible here “rel="nofollow” ensures that the link becomes a NoFollow link.
Add DoFollow and NoFollow to WordPress websites
Users of a WordPress website can proceed differently when placing NoFollow backlinks.
The following steps must be carried out:
1. The relevant text must be marked
2. The marked text must then be linked and the corresponding destination URL stored. The entry is then confirmed with the blue enter button.
3. To place a NoFollow link, click on the cogwheel and check “Add rel="nofollow”. In order for the change to be accepted, the “Update” button must be pressed last.
What are the benefits of backlinks for SEO?
Backlinks have the significant advantage that they can improve the online presence and credibility of a website.
The use of backlinks therefore plays a central role in off-page optimization as part of search engine optimization (SEO).
This relevance of backlinks as an SEO tool is based on the perception of link placements as a form of expression of trust among websites.
Usually, a link to another website only takes place if the linking website is convinced that it offers significant added value for readers or users.
As a result, a backlink signals the authority of a website to search engines such as Google.
The higher the authority of a website, the greater the trust on the part of Google, the better you can rank for corresponding keywords.
Ahrefs Case Study 2021: The Impact of Backlinks on Website Rankings
An instructive case study by Ahrefs from 2021 exemplifies the significant impact of backlinks.
In an experiment, the Google Disavow tool was used to manually remove backlinks from three different blog articles: a blog article via YouTube, a blog article about BING and a blog article about SEO pricing (Stox 2021).
On August 17, 2021, all backlinks were removed from all three websites, resulting in an immediate significant decline in page views (Stox 2021).
The websites were closely monitored for over a month. The picture was as follows:
1. The YouTube article showed a drop of 18%.
2. The SEO article showed a drop of 13.3%.
3. By contrast, the Bing article barely showed a decline.
After reintegration of all previously removed backlinks, there were differentiated developments: while the YouTube article still saw a traffic drop of 4% and the SEO pricing article also returned only 99% of the original traffic, the BING article experienced a remarkable increase in organic traffic of more than 44% (Stox 2021).
This case study impressively underlines that backlinks are still a central ranking factor and have established themselves as a vital tool in search engine optimization (Stox 2021).
The study also shows that removing all backlinks, even after they have been made visible again, can cause permanent damage (Stox 2021).
Why are backlinks important for SEO?
As the previous case study has shown, backlinks are a fundamental ranking factor for positioning on Google and therefore essential for search engine optimization (SEO).
The concept is simple: The more high-quality and relevant backlinks a website has, the better it is ranked by search engines such as Google.
Since the Google Penguin update 2012, particular attention has been paid to the quality of links; these act as recommendations from search engines and thus increase the relevance and ranking of a website.
Backlinks from renowned and thematically relevant websites enable Google to recognize content more quickly and to rate it better.
For effective SEO strategies, the natural development of high-quality links is therefore essential.
Backlinks related to OnPage and OffPage SEO
In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), there is often the question of the degree of importance of backlinks compared to OnPage and other OffPage SEO strategies.
OnPage optimization is a fundamental pillar within SEO and involves all measures that are implemented directly on the website to increase its visibility, rankings and conversion rates.
This includes, for example, content optimization, technical SEO and the adjustment of meta tags. These factors are essential to create a robust basis for a website and to ensure its basic findability and usability.
In contrast, off-page optimization focuses on all activities outside your own website that can influence its ranking in the search engines.
The importance of backlinks plays a prominent role here, especially if they come from a domain that does not correspond to your own.
Both SEO strategies, both OnPage and OffPage, particularly with regard to backlinks, are complementary and are of immense importance for moving a website forward in search results.
While on-page optimizations make a website more accessible and understandable for search engines and users, high-quality backlinks strengthen external perception and credibility on the wide web of the Internet.
It is therefore essential to integrate both OnPage and OffPage SEO — and in particular the backlink profile — into every comprehensive SEO strategy.
In principle, however, the basics, such as clean user navigation, responsive design and fast loading times, should be prioritized first before you start generating backlinks.
How are backlinks considered in the Google algorithm?
As the Ahrefs study from 2021 showed, backlinks are still a significant ranking factor. But what do more recent figures say about the influence of backlinks?
According to the latest research by U.S. SEO guru Evan Bailyn, backlinks (as of October 2023) are still an essential component of the Google ranking and make up a whole 14% of the ranking off.
Even though the importance of backlinks lost slightly due to the latest Google search engine updates in the 3rd quarter of 2023, they are still the third most important factor in the Google algorithm (Bailyn 2023).
According to Evan Bailyn, consistently publishing high-quality content remains paramount.
There is a reason for this: Google values websites that continuously provide valuable information over a longer period of time.
These websites are indexed faster and get better rankings. And don't forget: If you offer good content, you're more likely to be trusted by other sites and linked (Bailyn 2023).
Now you could ask yourself: What actually makes a good link?
It depends on a few things, such as the type of link and how well the content fits the link.
Special attention should be paid to the anchor text (Engl. anchor text), i.e. the clickable text that leads to the linked page. This should be highlighted in color or underlined and be as thematically appropriate as possible to the linked page.
Links that lead nowhere because the page no longer exists are not only bad for the user experience, but also result in penalties from Google. To identify such defective links, various tools available online, such as the Broken Link Checker, are used.
In order to truly exploit all digital marketing options and avoid Google penalties, it's worth hiring a company that specializes in digital marketing.
One professional Swiss SEO agency can help to continuously monitor and improve the quality and relevance of backlinks and the entire SEO strategy.
How are backlinks and domain rating (DR) related?
The domain rating (DR) is a metric created by the SEO tool Ahrefs. The DR represents an essential indicator of the trustworthiness of a website and is presented on a scale of 0 to 100.
According to Ahrefs, the higher the DR value, the more trust the site signals.
DR therefore plays a key role in evaluating the credibility and authority of a website.
It is helpful to know that its function is similar to the so-called Domain Authority (DA), which also reflects the relevance and robustness of a website, but was invented by another SEO tool called MOZ.
Both metrics, DR and DA, are central tools when it comes to evaluating a website's authority in search results from search engines such as Google.
It is important to note about the Ahrefs DR scale that it is not a linear scale, but an exponential scale. This means that the higher you get on the scale, the harder it becomes to increase your score even further.
Here are a few examples of well-known domains, their DR values and number of backlinks:
- Facebook.com = DR 100 with 2.1 billion backlinks
- NYTimes.com = DR 94 with 282 million backlinks
- Wikipedia.org = DR 86 with 86.2 million backlinks
- 20min.ch = DR 84 with 18.3 million backlinks
- Migros.ch = DR 82 with 3.1 million backlinks
- Galaxus.ch = DR 74 with 3.8 million backlinks
- Brack.ch = DR 73 with 74,000 backlinks
- Lindt.ch = DR 57 with 3.3 million backlinks
The selected examples clearly illustrate the significant relevance of backlinks.
A backlink from a website with a high DR can have a significant positive impact on your own web presence, while links from sites with a low DR can be potentially harmful.
It is also noticeable that the quantity of backlinks does not necessarily have a direct influence on the DR scale. Lindt.ch achieved a DR of 57 with 3.3 million backlinks, while the Brack.ch website has a significantly higher DR value of 73 with only 74,000 backlinks.
This therefore underlines the premise that backlink quality is given a higher weighting than its quantity.
Comprehensive knowledge of both your own DR and the DRs of potential competing websites forms the basis for developing a targeted link building strategy, with links from websites with high DR values being particularly desirable.
Which factors determine the value of a backlink?
The question now is: How do I recognize good backlinks?
The question of the value of a backlink is primarily posed by DoFollow Backlinks because — in contrast to NoFollow links — they use the so-called link juice (Engl. Linkjuice) to the linked site and thus strengthen its value and authority in the eyes of the search engine.
There are various factors in order to be able to assess the value of such a backlink. In particular, the following are of paramount importance and should definitely be considered:
Thematic relevance
One of the most decisive factors for the quality of a backlink is the thematic relevance of the referencing domain/website. This is essentially about whether the theme of the source page matches the content of the linked website.
From the user's perspective, this makes perfect sense: The source is thematically relevant when the user has a valid reason to click on the link.
Search engines, such as Google, rely on the assumption that thematically relevant links serve to offer visitors additional added value.
Backlinks that not only clicked but also lead users to stay on the linked page for a longer period of time send strong positive signals to search engines. As a result, this can have a beneficial effect on the Google algorithm and serve as a positive ranking factor.
If backlinks are unrelated to the topic, which are more likely to have been bought or simply aim to push their position in the search results, the search engines sound alarm bells.
They are now extremely experienced in identifying link spam and links to off-topic pages that do not generate clicks and therefore do not consider them as a ranking factor.
With updates, such as the Penguin Updates, Google has made significant adjustments to the evaluation of backlinks and has also punished domains that have extensively engaged in link spam.
As a result, it is very important to specifically position backlinks that are thematically relevant. Even among backlinks of comparable strength, those with thematic relevance would be rated significantly higher and more positively than a link without a corresponding thematic reference.
Number of outgoing domains
An additional significant factor is the number of outgoing domains. It is important that the number of outbound links remains moderate.
An excessive amount of outbound links can reduce the value of a backlink from a web page. But what does that mean in practice?
Here is an example to illustrate:
Imagine a website with a domain rating (DR) of 50 linking to your site. However, this website has already placed 1 million backlinks to various other sites.
In such a scenario, the “link juice” redirected to your site would only be one millionth of the total value, as the power of the links is distributed across all connections that are spread.
If the same website links exclusively to your site with a DR of 50, the backlink would receive all available link juice from that page (assuming there are no internal links).
Traffic
Website traffic, also known as user traffic, refers to the number of visitors who visit a website in a defined period of time.
The more traffic there is, the greater the proportional proportion of visitors who could be potentially interested in a product or service.
If I now receive a backlink from a website with high traffic, more link juice is also passed on to my website. This then means that the search engines rate the backlink more highly. It is therefore important to obtain backlinks from websites that have a high level of traffic.
Within a domain, there are usually big differences. In most cases, the homepage, i.e. the start page, will attract more visitors than more specific sub-pages such as the “About Us” page.
For this reason, backlinks that come from the homepage often have a higher value than links from other sub-pages of a website.
placing
In addition to the factors already mentioned, the correct positioning of the backlink is also of great importance.
This means that a backlink placed in the landing section of a website, for example, generates a relatively higher influence simply because of its prominent position than a backlink that is placed at the very bottom of the website footer.
The position of the backlink within the page structure is also decisive.
A backlink on the homepage, with usually the highest traffic of a domain, is worth more than a backlink that is only positioned somewhere on a subpage where hardly any user clicks through.
Followed vs. Nofollowed
Finally, it should be noted which links are marked as followed and which as nofollowed.
In particular, backlinks from websites with a high spam rate and from sponsored contributions should always be set as nofollowed, as they can negatively affect the value of the backlink and thus also the value of the website.
Which metrics do I use to determine whether a backlink is of good quality or bad?
Many of the things that determine the “value” of a backlink, such as thematic relevance, cannot be measured quantitatively. However, these aspects should not be ignored.
With the backlink expert, we have David Hahn from SEO Galaxy and asked him which metrics should be considered when selecting backlinks.
According to David Hahn, all metrics of a link should always be taken into account if quality is really only considered. As general, general minimum metrics for backlink purchase, he suggests the following:
.png)
The following applies: the higher the metrics, the better.
David Hahn points out that link planning should specifically ensure that the link source already has rankings, is thematically relevant and that the domain has defined minimum metrics, which must be determined individually depending on the customer, goal and budget (Hahn 2023).
Nevertheless, in some cases, link sources may also be useful that do not meet all minimum metrics but should still be included in link planning due to their high thematic relevance or due to the strong ranking (Hahn 2023).
In addition, in certain situations, it can also be useful to target links from domains with a high DR but low traffic. This is useful, for example, if more link mass, i.e. a higher quantity of links, is to be generated in the link profile.
In addition, when evaluating backlinks using metrics, it must be borne in mind that different tools display different figures for the same metric due to different databases.
For example, the visibility index of Sistrix (SI) and the online value index of XOVI (OVI) both relate only to the “estimated visibility” of a domain, which is determined differently by various SEO tools and their own keyword set.
As a result, a niche domain can never achieve the same visibility as a domain in a large subject area, such as “cooking.” Therefore, the visibility of a link source should not be considered the only factor in link planning, but various metrics should be used (Hahn 2023).
EXCURSUS: What are anchor texts and why are they important?
Anchor texts (Engl. Anchor text) are essential elements of modern websites. They hide hyperlinks that lead visitors from one page to another, the so-called destination address.
Through anchor texts, relevant, further content can be linked in order to offer users added value by referring to external pages or other areas of their own website. Typically, the text that contains the hyperlink is highlighted in color.
Anchor texts are essential for two main reasons:
1. User value
They allow users to access additional, relevant information quickly and easily.
2. SEO benefits
Anchor texts promote SEO by explicitly illustrating the page architecture through internal links for the search engine.
Anchor texts are therefore an essential tool for both the user and for search engine optimization to provide added value and context.
Types ofn anchor texts:
The choice of anchor texts is crucial for the naturalness of the link profile. At Beyondweb, we differentiate between five different types of anchor texts: branded, target, URL, thematic, and other anchor texts.
The aim must be to achieve as “natural” a mix of these different anchor texts as possible. For example, if only “target anchors” are used that focus on keywords, there may be a risk of over-optimization and thus a penalty from Google.
In order to find the “most natural” and optimal distribution of anchor texts for the search engine, you should therefore examine the anchor texts of the top five ranked competitors in the search results for a specific keyword and determine the aggregate average.
The following figure shows an example of how the anchor texts and their relative distribution can then be represented as a percentage.
Check backlinks from your own website yourself
Through a backlink analysis, all incoming links to a website can be checked and possible weak points in the link profile can be identified.
This is important to determine whether the linking pages are thematically appropriate and of high quality, or whether they contain unwanted or harmful content. The following tools can be used for this purpose:
Google Search Console (GSC)
The Google Search Console (GSC) is a free service from Google that makes it possible to monitor, analyze and optimize the visibility and presence of a website in search results.
The program provides detailed insights and analyses of various factors on the website and makes it possible to identify and fix any errors or problems, such as hacked content or unnatural links.
The question now is: How do I get this information?
The following illustration makes the process easier to understand. To get to the “Top Linking Sites”, you can select the “Links” tab in the left column of the GSC.
Ahrefs Backlink Checker
The Ahrefs tool makes it easy and quick to check a domain's backlinks. Each identified backlink is displayed with relevant SEO metrics such as domain rating, URL rating, domain traffic, etc., which makes it easier to assess the link value.
The Ahref Backlink Checker is an essential tool for link building. It allows you to analyze your own backlink profile as well as that of competitors and potential new link sources.
Ahrefs claims to operate the world's second-most active web crawler after Google, which is why the backlink database and thus the database of the Ahrefs backlink checker is very extensive.
Here You'll be taken directly to the Ahrefs Backlink Checker.
How can I generate backlinks?
There are many different strategies to generate more backlinks. The following section explains three basic methods:
Place backlinks manually
Manually placed backlinks are links that you place on other websites yourself, e.g. in comments, forums, or social media platforms.
This method requires active participation and interaction with other websites and communities. Attention should always be paid to the relevance and quality of articles and topics so as not to be perceived as spam.
Sometimes writing a guest post on thematically relevant blogs can also be a way to manually set backlinks.
Earn backlinks
Earned backlinks are primarily created by providing high-quality, informative and usable content, often referred to as 'linkable assets. '
This is content that is particularly link-worthy due to its unique and valuable character. If your content is of high quality and relevant, other sites are significantly more likely to link to your site.
Such backlinks are particularly valuable as they are perceived by Google as natural, deserved recommendations. Methods for getting these backlinks include creating various types of content, such as articles, blog posts, infographics, studies, tutorials, and videos that are specifically tailored to the interests of your target audience.
For example, a useful study could provide detailed insights into current trends in your industry, while an effective infographic could present complex data in an easy-to-understand and visually appealing way.
Buy backlinks
Buying backlinks is a practice where you pay for links to your site from other websites. Purchased backlinks can lead to increased rankings in the short term, but represent a significant risk.
In fact, this practice is strictly prohibited by Google and other search engines and can result in penalties, including removing your site from the search index.
Nevertheless, there are certainly legal and accepted practices in the area of off-page SEO services to place content on so-called publisher websites in return for payment.
For example, articles can be published on a publisher website for a fee. This is a form of purchased backlink where you pay to publish content.
The prices on Forbes, for example, range between 850 and 9500 US dollars, while the publication of branded content at 20min.ch starts at 4250 CHF.
Overall, it's wise to focus on building natural and earned backlinks to achieve long-term success. An SEO expert can also be consulted here.
Frequently asked questions about backlinks
Finally, this section outlines and explains the most common questions about backlinks:
How do I identify harmful backlinks?
Harmful backlinks can damage your site's reputation with search engines.
To identify harmful backlinks, you should pay attention to the following:
1. Irrelevant websites
When the links come from websites that have nothing to do with your content or industry.
2. Spam websites
When the links come from sites with dubious content, lots of ads and little relevant content.
3. Over-optimized anchor text
When anchor text is overloaded with keywords.
4. Low domain authority
Websites with low domain authority can be potentially harmful.
5. Quick backlink building
An unnaturally rapid increase in backlinks can indicate harmful backlinks.
How can you delete bad/toxic backlinks?
The following steps can be taken to delete bad or toxic backlinks:
1. Analyze backlinks
Use tools like Google Search Console or Ahrefs to analyze your backlink profile.
2. Contact webmaster
After identifying the harmful backlinks, you can contact the webmasters of the corresponding sites and ask them to remove the links
3. Disavow tool from Google
If the webmaster doesn't remove the link, you can use Google's disavow tool to tell Google that you don't want certain links included when evaluating your site.
Can SEO work without backlinks?
Backlinks vary significantly in their importance for search engine optimization (SEO) depending on the industry and competition. For local companies without ambitions on a national or international level, local backlinks, also known as “local citations”, may be sufficient.
However, as soon as the competition rises and invests in SEO, building a solid backlink profile becomes essential.
Although there are studies of Matt Diggity, which show that an extremely high traffic gain can be achieved even without backlinks, but he also emphasizes that SEO without backlinks takes a significantly longer period of time (Diggity 2023).
Backlinks therefore serve as a boost, which can significantly speed up ranking improvement and drive SEO forward.
Tools such as Ahrefs can be used to precisely analyze how much the competition is investing in backlinks, as the links created are visible.
Assuming that strong backlinks cost an average of 500 CHF, it is possible to calculate fairly precisely how much must be invested to keep up with the competition.
Even though aspects such as high-quality content, on-page SEO, technical SEO and user experience contribute to website optimization, a robust backlink profile remains an essential and recommended part of any comprehensive SEO strategy, particularly in an intensely competitive environment.
Source citations
Bailyn, Evan (2023): The 2023 Google Algorithm Ranking Factors [online]
https://www.searchlogistics.com/learn/seo/link-building/zero-links/ [retrieved 11/10/2023]
Diggity, Matt (2023): How to Grow Traffic 114.25% With a Content Driven SEO Plan (Case Study) [online] https://diggitymarketing.com/finance-lead-generation-seo-case-study/ [retrieved 11/10/2023]
Hardwick, Joshua (2019): Nofollow vs. Follow Links: Everything You Need to Know [online]
https://ahrefs.com/blog/de/nofollow-links/ [retrieved on 12.10.2023]
Stox, Patrick (2021): Do Links Still Matter for Rankings? A Study by Ahrefs [online]
https://ahrefs.com/blog/impact-of-links/ [retrieved 11/10/2023]
.webp)
.webp)
