What is a backlink? Explaining the relationship with SEO and how to increase backlinks

Are backlinks important for SEO?

Should I collect backlinks to rank higher in SEO?

If you are reading this article, you probably have similar questions as well.

It is true that backlinks are one of the external measures, but it is difficult to understand how effective they actually are, and many people do not know how to collect backlinks.

Therefore, in this article, we will explain the effects of backlinks and how to acquire backlinks in order to solve such problems.

If you are not familiar with SEO measures yet, or if you are in charge of the web and are thinking about starting SEO, please use this as a reference.

What is a backlink?

Backlinking refers to a website receiving a link from another website.

The antonym of backlink is outgoing link, and outgoing link refers to a website linking to another website.

In other words, a backlink is a term used by the person who is receiving a link, and an outgoing link is a term used by the person posting a link.

Posting links connects websites and allows users to access the linked website.

Why backlinks are important for SEO

Backlinks are important in SEO because backlinks are one of the most important measures in SEO.

The reason why it is so important is that Google’s search algorithm has a mechanism called PageRank that evaluates backlinks, and PageRank has a large impact on rankings.

This kind of algorithm exists and is important because Google believes that if great papers are more frequently cited, then great websites will also be cited more often.

In the next chapter, we will explain the SEO effects of backlinks.

If you want to know how effective backlinks are for SEO, please refer to this page.

Effect of backlinks on SEO

The effect of backlinks in SEO is to increase the evaluation of a website.

As mentioned above, backlink countermeasures are one method of external countermeasures, but external countermeasures themselves are carried out to improve the objective evaluation of a website.

Objective evaluation of websites is also considered important from an E-A-T perspective.

E-A-T is a word that refers to expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.

Google places importance on E-A-T when evaluating websites, so it will be more effective if you can get backlinks from websites with a higher E-A-T.

What is a quality link?

In short, high-quality links are links from websites with authority and expertise.

Links from sites with authority and expertise are given more importance than other backlinks, as they also support the authority and expertise of the linked site.

Among them, links from the following sites are considered to be of high quality.

For example, in the case of our website “Webma”, links from government and administrative websites, as well as from companies in the same industry related to web marketing, can be considered high-quality links.

Quality links vary depending on the website and industry.

Therefore, first think about what kind of websites are good quality links for your website.

Backlinks that are not easily affected by SEO

In contrast to high-quality links, there are also backlinks that are less likely to have a positive impact.

• Links from spam and satellite sites
• Links from websites of a different genre than your own website

Such links are less likely to be influenced positively.

In particular, you need to be careful about links from spam and satellite sites, as they may have a negative impact.

Links from websites in a genre different from your own site do not have a negative impact, but they are said to be less effective than high-quality links.

For example, our site “Webma” is a media that disseminates information on web marketing, so links from web marketing-related websites can be considered high-quality links.

However, links from the websites of companies that operate restaurants are considered to be less effective than backlinks from web marketing websites because the genre is different.

In the next chapter, we will introduce the specific advantages and disadvantages of acquiring backlinks.

If you want to know the impact of acquiring backlinks, please refer to this.

Benefits of acquiring backlinks

There are three main benefits to acquiring backlinks.

I will explain each in detail.

Advantage1. Possible to rank higher in SEO

By collecting backlinks, you can increase the objective evaluation of your website and potentially rank it higher in SEO.

Google’s search engine has an algorithm called PageRank that evaluates links.

PageRank is an algorithm that evaluates websites on an 11-point scale from 0 to 10 based on links.

Since PageRank evaluates the quality and number of links, acquiring backlinks will increase your PageRank and improve your reputation with search engines.

Backlinks are said to be one of the most important ranking factors in SEO, so you can expect them to have an impact on rankings among various SEO techniques.

However, even if you acquire backlinks and increase your PageRank, your website will not always be ranked higher, so we recommend that you take other measures in parallel.

Advantage 2. Increased flow of customers

The second benefit is that it increases the flow of customers.

Regardless of SEO evaluation, more links simply mean more entrances to the linked website.

As the number of entrances increases, the opportunities for people to learn about your site also increase.

Although it does not have as big an impact on inflows as SEO, depending on how the link is created, it is possible to get a large amount of inflow, so acquiring backlinks can be said to be important from the perspective of impacting traffic.

Advantages 3. Can earn trust

The third benefit is that you can gain trust from users.

If you can acquire high-quality backlinks, you can make the users of the linking site think, “This website seems trustworthy.”

For example, if you were looking for a company to hire for SEO, and you saw a tweet from a major company’s web staff on X that included a link saying, “This company was great,” you’d think, “This company looks good.” Isn’t it?

For a more familiar example, let’s say you have content like “Ranking of recommended toothpaste.”

Have you ever had the experience of buying toothpaste because you thought the product or company listed in that ranking looked good?

By acquiring backlinks in this way, you can gain trust from users and lead to recognition and purchase of your company and products.

In the next chapter, we will introduce points to keep in mind when acquiring backlinks.

In order to do SEO in the correct way, let’s check the benefits as well.

Notes on backlinks

When dealing with backlinks, you should not collect backlinks recklessly.

The number of backlinks is certainly important, but if you pursue just the number and collect backlinks recklessly, you may be penalized by search engines.

If you receive a penalty, your site will no longer be displayed on search engines, and the traffic from search engines may decrease dramatically.

Countermeasures for backlinks are carried out in order to rank high in SEO and gain traffic to your site, so if your site is no longer displayed, you are putting the cart before the horse.

However, search engines are now more likely to negate the effects of bad tactics than they used to, rather than penalizing them.

The concept of penalties has not disappeared, and there is still the possibility of receiving penalties.

Google checks spam not only by machines but also by humans, and if it is too malicious, there is a possibility that you will receive a manual penalty.

Therefore, as always, you should never take malicious measures against backlinks.

Be especially careful about services that provide spam links or backlinks.

There is no cost for spam, but there is a cost for services that provide backlinks.

Backlink companies basically provide backlinks by listing links on satellite sites that they own.

That method is risky, as you may be subject to penalties.

Furthermore, we often hear in the industry that many linked companies are unable to manage their own links, and that there are cases in which they do not even respond to requests to remove links.

I don’t know the actual situation, but there is a high possibility that the cost will be wasted, so I recommend spending money on acquiring legitimate backlinks.

How to increase backlinks

Next, we will introduce specific ways to increase backlinks.

There are various ways to acquire backlinks depending on the website and management company, but here we will introduce three common methods.

I will explain each in detail.

Method 1. do link marketing

The first way to get links is to sell links by asking them to post a link.

Those who are not familiar with SEO may be reluctant to sell links, but it is a common method in the SEO industry.

If you have a website that is related to your company’s website or a website that you would like to receive backlinks from, please contact the operator and let them know that you would like them to post a link.

The specific steps are as follows.

Link sales are basically done via email.

There are several reasons for using email:

• You can specify the link format
• You can copy and paste, reducing the effort on the part of the other party.
• Our intentions and the benefits of linking to the other party are clearly communicated.

Since you are in the position of asking the other party to do link marketing, you should basically try to make it as hassle-free as possible for the other party.

It is also important for the other party to communicate the benefits of linking.

For example, when asking about reciprocal links, it’s a good idea to mention that it has an SEO effect.

The key to successful link sales is to successfully communicate the benefits of making the other party think it’s okay to post a link even if it takes a lot of effort, so think about the other party when approaching link sales.

Method 2. Conduct an interview/coverage

The second method is to conduct an interview with the operator of the website you want to have a link to.

Some people may be reluctant to do interviews and interviews because they take a lot of time, but of the three methods we’ll introduce here, this is the easiest way to get links.

This is because the interviewee often introduces the interview on their website or SNS.

It does not seem as one-sided as link sales, and it is gratifying for the interviewee to spend man-hours introducing other companies, so approach them and ask them to post a link to your site as you publish the interview content.

The specific steps for the interview are as follows.

Interviews and interviews take time, but there is a high possibility of gaining backlinks, so if you want to definitely increase your backlinks, please consider it.

Method 3. Create high quality content

The third way is to create high-quality content.

By creating high-quality content, you will naturally attract links.

For example, in the case of our site “Webma”, if you feel that the article you are currently reading is useful and introduce it on your own site, you can obtain a link.

High-quality content is difficult to define, but content that can solve someone’s worries and desires can be considered good content.

Content is not limited to text content, but also includes content such as images and videos.

Check the search results for the keywords you want to rank for and user needs to determine the appropriate format.

How to check backlinks

Next, I will show you how to check backlinks.

Backlinks can be investigated using various tools, but this time we will introduce a method using the free Google Search Console.

Also, check your backlinks and remove or disavow any low-quality links.

If your website has low-quality backlinks, it will lower your ranking from search engines.

If it’s too bad, you may receive a manual penalty, so be sure to check your site’s backlinks regularly.

How to paste a link correctly

Next, I will show you the correct way to paste a link.

Paste the link using the steps above.

If you do not paste the links correctly, you will not be able to maximize the effectiveness of SEO.

Search engines evaluate not only incoming links but also outgoing links.

Therefore, when posting a link to your own website, be sure to do so in the correct manner.

However, as mentioned above, search engines have an algorithm called PageRank, and posting links will give other sites an SEO effect.

In other words, there are situations where you want to post a link, but you don’t want to give it an SEO effect.

In such cases, add a nofollow tag to the link.

By adding a nofollow tag, you can prevent search engines from following the link while still allowing it to function.

Nofollow can be set as follows, so if you have the relevant link, please copy it and use it.

Q&A regarding backlinks

Finally, we will introduce some frequently asked questions regarding backlinks.

Some of the content may be difficult to search, so please use this as a reference.

Why can’t I beat my competitors even though I have a lot of backlinks?

It’s not just the number of backlinks that matters, but the quality as well.

Previously, a site could be ranked high simply by having a large number of backlinks, but as of July 2021, a site no longer will be ranked high simply by having a large number of links.

What’s more, factors other than links also affect rankings, so just because you get a lot of backlinks doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be ranked high.

How many backlinks do you need to evaluate backlinks?

There is no absolute number of backlinks you need to evaluate.

SEO is basically a relative evaluation, so if your site has fewer backlinks compared to competing sites, it’s a good idea to start with the number of backlinks on your competing sites.

Can I buy backlinks?

Buying and selling links is against Google’s guidelines.

Although it may have some effect temporarily, it will ultimately be considered “link spam” and you may be penalized, so please avoid it.

In the worst case scenario, there is a risk that your site will be removed from search results.

What is the backlink effect of mutual links?

Reciprocal links also have the effect of backlinks.

However, compared to naturally occurring links, they are not as effective.

In addition, we do not recommend using reciprocal links to increase the number of links too much, as this may result in penalties.

When creating reciprocal links, we recommend that you give priority to pages with strong domain power (PageRank) and pages that are highly relevant, and avoid posting other reciprocal links.

Do SNS and advertising links have backlink effects?

In the case of SNS, backlinks have no effect.

This is because SNS links have nofollow tags.

Advertising links are also considered to have a weak backlink effect.

This is because advertising links are not naturally occurring links.

[Summary] Backlinks are important in SEO!

Backlinks are an element that has a high evaluation weight in SEO, so they are a highly important measure among SEO measures.

Look for quality as well as quantity of backlinks.

By acquiring high-quality backlinks, you can increase your website’s PageRank.

Increasing your PageRank makes it easier to rank higher in SEO, so backlink countermeasures are said to be important.

However, if you increase backlinks too much, you may receive a manual penalty from search engines.

Therefore, never buy links or post a large number of links on satellite sites.

In order to avoid being penalized, try the method of acquiring backlinks introduced this time.

If you are having trouble acquiring backlinks even after implementing the content introduced here, please feel free to contact our company Xscore.