Backlinks are one of the primary factors that Google considers when determining search engine rankings. They should be natural, reputable, and relevant.
Backlinks that appear in the footer of a page are often less valuable than those in the main content area. This is because they lack textual context and can be missed by search engines.
Link building
The goal of link building is to increase the number of links pointing to your site or pages. These are known as inbound links, and they improve your search engine rankings and attract more organic traffic.
When you create valuable content, it will naturally inspire people to link to it without you asking them. However, you must promote it to make sure that your audience can discover it.
You can track your progress by using tools like Moz’s Link Explorer, which allows you to track the number of links a page or domain has earned over time. To get the most out of this tool, be sure to use descriptive anchor text that reflects what the linked page is about.
Another effective technique is email outreach, which involves reaching out to website owners to ask them for a link. Be sure to personalize your emails and provide value to the person you’re reaching out to.
Anchor text
Anchor text is clickable text that appears within hyperlinks. Its purpose is to direct search engines to the webpage that is being linked to. Anchor text should be relevant and provide clear context for the linked page. It should also be a natural variation of the keyword that is being targeted for SEO purposes. However, over-optimizing anchor text can raise red flags and trigger penalties by search engines.
Exact Match Anchor Text
Exact-match anchor text includes the exact keyword that is being targeted for a particular webpage. This type of anchor text is most effective in targeting specific keywords, but it can be risky if used too often.
Partial Match Anchor Text
Partial-match anchor text contains the target keyword, along with additional words to create a natural link profile. This is an excellent option for balancing keyword optimization with the need to ensure the content is contextually appropriate.
Branded Anchor Text uses the brand name or a branded phrase as the anchor text. This can help to establish brand trust and authority, and it is a good option for linking to high-value pages.
Relevance
The relevance of backlinks is a key factor in determining your search engine rankings. Relevant links are essentially votes of confidence from similar industries, affirming your content as useful and trustworthy. On the other hand, irrelevant links are disconnected from their context and fail to pass any relevancy signals to Google.
A good way to check for relevance is by using a backlink tool like Majestic’s Link Context. It shows you the topic of the website and web page that a particular backlink is on. For example, a link from a shoe blog to a guitar equipment site would be relevant, while a link from a car repair website to a refueling station isn’t.
Creating links that are relevant to your niche is one of the best ways to increase your search engine ranking. You can do this through organic methods such as outreach and competitor research. By doing this, you can build valuable and natural backlinks that are a great source of traffic.
Trustworthiness
When it comes to search engine rankings, trustworthiness is a critical factor. It determines whether a website can elevate its content to the top of the results or sink into obscurity. This is especially important for websites that compete in highly competitive industries. The more trustworthy your backlinks are, the more likely search engines will consider your content a credible and authoritative source. In addition, high-quality backlinks can improve the performance of your website and boost its domain authority.
When building backlinks, it is important to focus on quality over quantity. A few high-quality links from reputable and relevant websites are more beneficial than numerous low-quality links. It is also important to consider the relevancy of the linking site. For example, a link from a tech conference site would be more valuable than a link from a random news website. It is also important to evaluate your competitors’ Trust Flow scores, so you can identify potential opportunities for improving your own.