Keeping up with the current practices for SEO should be considered a full-time job by itself. There are always new things to keep an eye on, but the strategies you should follow are changing all the time as well. And backlinks are something that is talked about a lot. So, today we’ll see how do backlinks affect your website’s Google rank.
In past years, websites with the most backlinks were unmistakeably on top of the search results. Website owners spent days submitting their sites anywhere they could. Website directories, article directories, they weren’t too picky. The only important thing was to get more links. Or that’s what they thought.
However, things have changed, and Google decided to upgrade its’ algorithm. With time, the question of what matters more: backlink quality or quantity became a thing. And there were a lot of debates when it comes to this. Then, Google itself decided to talk.
Google’s Advice
After a Penguin update, it was clear that backlinks can actually hurt your site and your rankings if they’re done unproperly. Some analysts went so far that they advised people to avoid link building altogether. However, that advice was proven wrong.
It turns out that Google uses links as a part of the algorithm, and not necessarily in a bad way. Unforutanelly, focusing on links alone can cause problems with rankings. They’re just one aspect of a wide picture, but they can have an extensive negative effect.
So, the only thing we knew for sure at this point is that backlinks do affect a website’s search rankings. But how? Let’s see.
Search Results Test
SEO experts studied the top 50 Google search results for more than 15,000 different keywords. The idea was to learn to understand the relationship between the ranking and the number of links on the site. And what they came up with was surprising as much as it wasn’t.
More than 99% of all top results websites had at least one external link leading to their site. So, the correlation between external links and search engine rankings was clear. If you still aren’t sure about it, try to find a site that ranks well and has no external links. Spoiler alert: you won’t be able to.
You Need External Links to Rank High
Although it’s not obligatory, the pattern suggests that the more external links from unique sites you have, the better your chances of ranking high are.
On the other hand, the study we’re talking about took into consideration neither the type nor the quality of links leading to the sites. However, that’s an important factor that you should consider if you’re planning to improve your website. So, make sure to learn everything about the types of backlinks you need to know for SEO before you dive any further.
There are three things Google may do when it finds a link pointing to your site. And these are:
- Embrace the link and let it help your website rank
- Ignore the link and not give it any weight (This will neither boost nor harm your rankings)
- Penalize you because the link is manipulative
If you know everything about the types of links, there’s nothing to worry about. You’ll be aware of what manipulative link building is, and you’ll have no trouble navigating around it.
Earning Links
We can’t talk about how do backlinks affect your website’s Google rank without talking about the best link-building strategy there is – link earning. As you probably already know, there are many ways of getting links. You can exchange them, buy them, or spam blog comments with links to your site. However, the most precious links are the ones that you earn.
For this, you’ll have to put in the effort. Start by creating outstanding content for your website or blog that people think it’s awesome. If other websites find what you’ve made is useful or entertaining, they’ll link to it. You won’t have to give anything in return.
However, most people don’t have time to deal with creating content. It takes a lot of your time, but you also have to know what you’re doing to utilize it. So, it’s a good idea to outsource this content from a company like Link Department. You tell them what you want, and they’ll make it happen for you. It’s easier, and it’s guaranteed trouble-free.
Share Your Content on Social Media
Social media is a powerful tool for any kind of business. If you want to exist in real life, you must also exist on the internet. Everyone knows that. So, don’t be afraid to share things on social media that other people can quickly re-tweet or share with their followers. However, to do this, you must have quality content. Something that people wish they wrote themselves. This is the only way they’ll share it and link it to you.
Another thing that can get you links is good customer service. Prove to your customers that you care about them, and they’ll write testimonials about their experience with you. Each of these is a link leading to your site. Also, never reject interviews. These are a great way to display your competence, and you should use them to the full extent.
Broken Link Building
Similar to how you can find and fix broken links on your website – you can do it on other sites as well. What you should do is finding the relevant sites in your industry that have links leading nowhere. Then you can contact the website owner and offer your link to replace the broken one.
There are many tools you can use to find these, but the one we would suggest is Check My Links. However, for this strategy to work, you must offer a link that is exactly what they need to fill the spot. Know that even mentioning your company can benefit your website. You don’t have to get a link to score.
So now that you know how do backlinks affect your website’s Google rank, what are you going to do? Which of the tactics we gave you will you go for? Feel free to let us know.