What are Backlinks? And How to Build Them in 2023

Do you know what backlinks are? If not, it's time to learn. Backlinks are an essential part of any website's success and will continue to be moving forward into 2023 and beyond. They’re one of the most important ranking factors when it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Whether you're a newbie trying to learn more about SEO or an experienced marketer looking for better strategies, understanding the importance of backlinks and how to build them is key if you want your site on top of search engine rankings in 2023. In this blog post, we'll take an in-depth look at what backlinks are, why they matter so much, and provide some actionable tips on how you can use them effectively. So if you're ready to start building successful links that drive organic growth for your website in the upcoming year - let's get started!

What are Backlinks?

Backlinks are links created when another website links to your site. They also are called external links and inbound links. 

Let's assume website A uses the link to your website in one of its articles. The link of website A becomes the backlink for your site.

Why are Backlinks Important for SEO?

Backlinks are one of the high valuables of a website. It is a significant factor affecting the ranking ability of a site. You can consider each backlink as a "vote of confidence" for your site's content.

When you have more backlinks, it means more websites consider your content worthy and reliable. As a result, Google boosts your content in the search results so that more users can benefit from your content. In SEO terms, backlinks improve your website ranking and visibility in search results of google and other search engines.

What Types of Backlinks are Valuable?

The only links search engines consider valuables are that have good domain authority and relevance to your content.

For instance, assume you have written an article about "10 fashions to follow this summer". Another website wrote an article about "why you should wear cotton in summer." 

Now, the other website uses some information from your site and links your website in the article. This will be counted as a good backlink. This will be even better if the website has a good domain and page authority. 

Not all backlinks are created equal. Google doesn't value all backlinks. If your backlinks come from an untrusted site, that doesn't count. Plus, if you have backlinks from a domain irrelevant to your content, that will also not be counted. 

For example, if your article is about "water purifiers" and you have backlinks to a site or page about "retail clothing," that will be counted as an irrelevant backlink. 

Another example is if your backlink comes from an untrusted domain or a site known for spammy content, it would be a bad backlink.

If most of your backlinks come from unreliable and irrelevant sources, your site may be penalized by search engines. Google may treat it as bad SEO practice and push your rankings further down.

In short, a single authoritative backlink is more powerful than 1000 low-quality backlinks.

How to Build Quality Backlinks in 2023?

Besides ensuring your backlinks come from a trustworthy and authoritative domain, you should also check on the following factors to build a strong backlink profile −

Make sure they come from trusted and authoritative sources

Think of yourself as a user and answer honestly. 

Would you trust information coming from the official "Harvard University" website or some standard website?

Well, Google has a clear preference. 

This is a concept known as "Domain Authority" or DA. DA measures how much authority a site can pass to your site through back linking. 

‍A site with high domain authority will likely send more power to your site. Although backlinks from high DA sites are not easy, they are definitely worthy of your each and every effort.

Use the Target Keyword in the Link's Anchor Text

Anchor text is a hyperlink that is visible to users. Using target keywords in the anchor text can boost your chances of ranking for that key phrase. 

Make sure not to overstuff your content with anchor texts. This will make your page look suspicious and spammy. Google's algorithm Penguin can easily identify whether a site has unethical link-building practices. You have to be very careful about the keyphrases to hyperlink as anchor text. 

Make Sure the Site Links are Relevant to Your Site

‍Google checks whether the site linked to you has some relevance to the topics of your site. For example, if a digital marketing gives a backlink to another digital marketing site, it would appear credible. Meanwhile, a gardening site giving backlinks to a food website looks spammy.

Use the "do follow" link

‍Any link marked as "no follow" will be ignored or skipped by google crawlers. That means google will not consider these backlinks as valuable. 

Some no-follow links include blog comments, press releases, and paid advertisements. It is ok to direct google to skip these links. However, mistakenly marking a highly authoritative link as "no follow" will negatively affect your SEO.

The links should come from various domains

‍Getting three links from 3 quality domains is better than 100 links from one domain. 

If the same website keeps linking your site, that would be insignificant. 

The total number of websites coming to your site has more value for Google.

Create Valuable Contents

Creating valuable and unique content is the key to attracting quality backlinks. You can call valuable content "Linkable Assets." If your content offers something unique, more domains will link them. 

You can add valuable content such as blog posts, quizzes, surveys, videos, and web apps to your page. 

Go for Link Roundups

Link roundups are a compilation of links to high-quality articles, blog posts, and other online content. They are compiled daily, weekly or monthly basis. These contents are created by individual bloggers or groups of experts within a niche. They work together to create a roundup.

Link roundups focus on content that recurs or is released routinely. It is a great way to showcase your content and secure high-quality backlinks. Besides, you also can build a relationship with niche and relevant brands or journalists.

Remember, your content needs to be remarkable and one-of-its-kind to get into a link roundup.

Do Guest Posting

Guest posting is an effective way to acquire backlinks. However, you should only write for quality websites relevant to your niche. 

When you create quality guest posts for popular websites in your niche, those links could be extremely helpful. 

Finding a good site for writing guest posts could be a tough job. However, you can try the following method −

Search for someone within your industry or niche who writes guest posts. Then visit one of the websites the writer has posted. Alternatively, you can use the snipping tool to capture the headshot of the author bio. Then search them in google using the reverse image search. This can help you find the list of sites the author posts their content.