Simply put, a backlink is any link that points ” back” to your website from another site. They can point to your homepage or a page within your website structure, like a blog post.
Although backlinks can add value to your website, they should not be bought, traded, or otherwise unnaturally gained.
As of 2023, backlinks are “not a top 3 ranking factor”, according to Gary Illyes at Google.
What is link building?
Link building is the practice of attaining links to your website from other websites. This practice is frowned upon; while backlinks are important in that they can guide potential customers to your website, they are far less important than they were in the past.
Why you shouldn’t bother link building.
Undoubtedly, having quality links pointing to your site is beneficial and helps you rank better in search. It is one of many factors search engines consider when deciding where to place your site on the results page. However, Google has placed less importance on backlinks, and the other major search engines always seem to follow their lead.
While all the major search engines consider backlinks when ranking websites for their SERPs, they all deal with them differently. As stated, Google does not place that much importance on backlinks anymore, while Microsoft Bing likes to see lots of them. Google wants to see relevant and trusted content. So you should focus on that.
Get organized!
Keeping track of who links to you and vice versa is the first step to managing your backlink profile. Using tools like Spyfu, SEM Rush, and Ahrefs you are able to track who is linking to your website as well as when they stop linking to you, etc. These platforms offer much more information than their PRO platforms, however, I have found the FREE option to be pretty robust for beginners.
For help managing your website, site statistics, or online business, feel free to contact me.
I come from a background in design for the music industry; websites, micro-sites, and apparel. With that experience, I bring a fresh approach to corporate and construction-related web projects looking to stand apart from the competition. When my goal is to help clients better understand different aspects of SEO, I write short, easy-to-digest articles on search engine and website performance-related topics.
In my free time, I enjoy field recording, sound design, and building unusual musical instruments.
Michael Winchester is a website developer and search engine consultant in Southern California.
Michael Winchester Design | (562)283-5688