For effective search engine optimization, one needs to focus on building backlinks from day one. A good backlink profile is a key to hitting the top of the search engines. We cannot stress enough how important the quality of backlinks is. Toxic backlinks can work against you. So, what are good backlinks? What are bad backlinks? How do you get more of the first and less of the second? Lets find out.

Why Backlinks Are Important

There are a lot of factors that will influence your position in search engines. Perhaps the most important will be backlinks.

For Google, backlinks are an indicator of a good website. After all, if a site is being linked to, then chances are that it has good quality content.

Generally speaking, the more quality backlinks a site has, the higher they will appear in the search engine. However, this is only if a site acquires good backlinks.

What Is a Good Backlink?

Good backlinks are hard to come by, and it will often take a lot of networking to ensure that a site can gain quality backlinks. This is why many leave backlink building in the hands of SEO link experts, such as ourselves. These are some of Google’s main things when determining whether something is a good link.

The Linking Site Is An Authority

Authortiy links are good. A link from a reputable site in a niche is worth far, far more than a site that has just sprung up overnight. Authority websites tend to be:

• Updated regularly
• Feature fresh, quality content
• Tend to rank highly in the search engines

Some of the most authoritative links can come from government-run websites or even reputable news and niche blog sites. However, those links can be tricky to obtain. Most people just focus on gaining backlinks from authoritative blogs.

Specific Anchor Text

The anchor text for a link should be specific. It should tell somebody exactly what the link is going to cover.

Anchor text that simply says something like “click here” is worthless. Anchor text that says “learn about link building strategies” would be effective.

It’s Relevant to Content

Any backlink needs to be relevant to the page where it is located. The idea of a backlink is to enhance the text. It provides more context for the content that a person is already reading. If it doesn’t, then the backlink is useless.

What is a Bad Backlink?

So, what are bad backlinks? Google uses several different methods to determine what a bad link is. Here are some of the ones people often fall foul of:

Spammy Forum Links

While niche related forum links can have value, the automated forum profiles links do not. If links are being randomly added to forums or WordPress blog comment sections, then they are spammy. They have no worth. They may even negatively impact a site’s ranking.

Hidden Links

If a link is hidden on the page, it is spammy. It is a bad link. Google wants the link to be visible to people. If it isn’t, they will penalize the sites.

All The Links Come From One Site

A good backlink profile will have links coming from a multitude of sites. If you have a ton of links coming from one site and nowhere else, then it is a bad link. It screams that a site is using a PBN.

Getting Your Hands on Good Backlinks (And Avoiding The Bad)

Building a good backlink profile can be difficult. Why not let us do it? We are affordable, and we will ensure that your backlinks always end up in legit places. Let’s boost your search engine position today.