Have you ever been reading a listicle or random article with a helpful link or two in the text? This hyperlink, known as a backlink, might shift your focus to a third-party site, where you can find additional information on a related subject.
But beyond being helpful to the reader seeking further education and detail, this hyperlink can also aid that site’s overall organic SEO. In other words, high-quality backlinks can successfully boost your online presence and marketing strategy—if you use them correctly. But what exactly makes a backlink high-quality? And how does it help your overall marketing strategy? Let’s chat.
First, What Are Backlinks?
Backlinks are hyperlinks that direct consumers from one website to your website. They are a simple yet powerful tool that consistently boosts your SEO rating, especially if the website your backlink is on has high domain authority and traffic.
Search engines also use backlinks as a way to determine the relevance and authority of a webpage. Think of backlinks as a sort of SEO currency: the more high-quality backlinks you have, the more reputable your website appears to search engines. There are two ways to gain backlinks:
- Natural Linking: Other websites organically link to your content simply because they consider it relevant and helpful—that’s the byproduct of being on the internet.
- Manual Linking: You actively seek out and purchase backlinks from specific websites.
You can’t control every backlink, but you can still use them as a valuable SEO tool. Be warned, though; a million backlinks from random sources won’t help you if they’re not reputable.
High-Quality Backlink Benefits
There are many other benefits to using backlinks. If you’re trying to establish a website or boost your SEO rating, backlinks are your bread and butter—the effort-to-reward ratio is through the roof.
- Improved Organic SEO Ranking: You know what they say: the bigger, the better. The more backlinks you have, the higher your website ranks on Google.
- Increased Referral Traffic: Backlinks are a game of ping pong. The more backlinks you have, the more likely readers will click on your link and drive traffic to your website.
- Encouraged Indexing: Search engines like Google discover new pages through backlinks, so if your site is not easily crawlable or has low domain authority, backlinks can help.
- Consistent Impact Over Time: Unlike other SEO tactics that require constant maintenance and updates, backlinks tend to have a lasting impact on your SEO over time while living on the internet in the background. You might forget they exist, but they never stop working for you.
What Makes a Backlink High Quality?
So, now that we know the benefits of backlinks, what makes a backlink considered high quality? Here are a few factors to consider:
Authoritative Site
There’s a big difference between high-quality backlinks and low-quality backlinks based on the authority and relevance of the source website. Look for websites that have high domain authority and a similar target audience to your own.
Quality Anchor Text
Anchor text is the clickable text used in a hyperlink. Relevant and descriptive anchor text for your backlinks contributes to its overall quality. For example, if the page you’re linking to is about “how to make a banana smoothie,” use the words “banana smoothie” in your anchor text to help search engines understand the context of your backlink.
Strategic Placement
The placement of your backlink matters. Links placed within places where users are more likely to engage, such as the body of a well-written article or at the top of the page, tend to have more impact.
Smart Link Choice
Send consumers somewhere smart. You don’t want to send all your backlinks to the homepage of your site. Instead, use your backlinks to build up the relevancy and authority of your pillar pages, product pages, and blog posts.
How Backlinks Contribute to Your Overall Organic SEO Strategy
High-quality backlinks aren’t just a small piece of the puzzle in your overall SEO strategy—they’re an essential ingredient. The organic marketing efforts you’re already making on your website and key pages can be amplified with quality backlinks pointing to them.
Plus, backlinks are versatile. As a business owner, enhancing your SEO strategy is possible by integrating high-quality backlinks that bolster your continuous SEO and content marketing efforts.
Grow Your Online Presence with Lemonade Stand
At Lemonade Stand, we build strong and sustainable SEO strategies that include utilizing the power of high-quality backlinks. Our team of backlink experts will increase your website’s online presence and make it that much easier to reach your marketing goals. Contact us today to get started!
