Strategically positioned, backlinks help to attribute values, indicate reliability and popularity of your website on the internet. Check here the importance of backlinks and which strategies to apply to be successful on the web.
In the past, the main metric used by search engines to define a website’s ranking was backlinks. Among the ranking factors used by search engines today, there are two that have the greatest impact: the quality of your content and the number of backlinks your site receives.
For this reason, the backlinks have gained more attention, for having so much impact within the SEO strategy of a site. Many pages may have great content, responsive layout and loading speed. But they don’t appear at the top of Google’s results and the problem may be the lack of backlinks.
What are backlinks?
The definition of a backlink is simple: they are links inserted in a content, either to pages inside or outside your website, to take the reader to that page. Generally, backlinks are strategically positioned within a content, guiding the reader to the page that has the relevant content for those who are already reading that text.
What is the importance of backlinks?
Backlinks have the main objective of helping the reader to have more references, besides generating quality traffic to your website, at the same time.
The search engines understand that the backlink is a type of indication. In other words, it is as if the site that included the link of your website in the text was indicating you, affirming that your content has quality.
Then, to each backlink the website is increasing authority, also increasing the chance of having better positioning in the results pages (the called SERPs). But the mechanisms evaluate the quantity as much as the quality of the backlinks.
Therefore, it is useless to position several links, without any relevance. Therefore, the strategic positioning is very important, so that the mechanisms understand your content as relevant, improving the positioning of your page, with quality backlinks.
Thus, the quantity and quality of the backlinks that will direct for your website works as a kind of thermometer, that measures the relevance and popularity of your website inside the internet.
Internal Backlinks x External Backlinks and other types
Below some types of backlinks and also real examples, and successful, used by the digital agency Gluz, founded by SEO and digital marketing specialist, Guilherme da Luz. Check it out!
1. Internal Backlinks
Internal backlinks will take the reader to another page within your own site, causing them to spend more time browsing it.
- See below an example of how to apply the internal link in a natural way, carried out at one of Gluz’s clients:
Image: The photo above illustrates the application of an internal backlink on the website of one of Gluz Digital’s clients, Smartia seguro.
2. External Backlinks
They lead to a site or blog different from yours and this practice is one of the most used. After all, it helps to improve the ranking of your site in search engines.
Mentioning a website that is already an authority on the subject and has considerable traffic, the ranking of your site ends up growing as well.
- Check out the example of how Gluz works with external, authority backlinks on its clients’ websites:
Image: The photo above illustrates the application of an external backlink on the website of one of Gluz Digital clients, PlanoDeSaude.net.
3. Link Juice
Link juice is one of the most widely used of backlinks, which leads the reader of a particular site to content on your website or even homepage in order to build authority within that subject matter.
4. Anchor Text
Anchor text is a part of text that includes a link to another page, either internal or external. is a great backlink option for those looking to increase subject authority using certain keywords.
5. Links No Follow
This type of backlink is used by large pages to prevent smaller websites from achieving success over their content. If the website has the tag “nofollow” in its script, even if another page puts in its content the link of that page, the link will not be realized.
It is also a way to prevent unnecessary or excessive linking, usually occurring on government or education websites.
6. Links Do Follow
Unlike no follow links, follow links will have the “follow” tag in the page script. Thus, it totally completes the link with the page that is linking, transmitting relevance and authority.
It is a tactic very used by smaller pages, with less authority in their environment according to the search engines. Besides, it is one of the most used types, mainly by companies with similar segments, or that their services or products connect, so that the clients of a company know the other, and vice-versa.
7. Root Domain Links
This type of link refers to the quantity of backlinks that a website will receive from the same domain. For example, if a domain does a thousand backlinks to a single website, Root Domain will only consider one backlink.
With this, it would be pointless for a domain to do thousands of backlinks to a single website with greater relevance, because only one will be validated. It is much more valuable to use backlinks to several sites that are at the top of the search results and that have relevance to your content.
The importance of having a backlinks strategy
But it’s not just bringing authority to your website and raising your website’s ranking that backlinks are important. They can impact your referral traffic, strengthen your brand and build relationships.
For example, if your website earns a backlink on another site that is one of the top results on Google, the obvious benefit is the authority gain your page receives. After all, one of the top pages on the subject is referring your website.
But, supposing that this page receives a number of 5 thousand monthly visits, imagine how many of those 5 thousand can be interested and visit your website. Potentially, 5 thousand people can get to know your website and your brand, resulting in the generation of qualified leads .
In addition, there is the possibility of a partnership with this website that received your backlink for new posts and content referring you.
So, the backlink strategy is very important for the website that wants to have its number of visits increasing , with greater chances of exposing your brand and greater capture of leads.
How to build a successful strategy using backlinks
The first step is to have a website that is worthy of backlinks. In other words, your website must have quality content and the right structure, according to SEO techniques. After optimizing your website and creating relevant content, you can start your strategy.
1. Definition of objectives
The very first part of every successful strategy involves setting goals and objectives. Then you must decide whether you want to:
- Generate traffic and improve the ranking of a specific page of your website;
- Strengthen your domain and your brand;
- Gain visibility, good positioning in search engines and traffic to your website as a whole.
Defining the end goal will guide your backlink strategy, as they will perform differently on each of these goals.
2. Showcase your differentiators
When seeking a backlink partnership, you must show what you have to offer to that website that would deserve a referral. Whether it is quality content, a demonstration of your product or service, unpublished data relevant to the website, making your team available or being an authority in your field. Show your partner that you can add value to their website!
3. Partner search
The partners who will reciprocate with backlinks should make sense for your business. Look for pages with similar themes or market, similar personas, as well as thinking about the likelihood of partners linking to your page.
There are several ways you can search for blogs or sites that have similarities with your content. Besides Google search, of course, there are sites like Similar Site Search that scan your page to indicate possible partners, showing a ranking of similarity and popularity.
- Below you can check a successful strategy of Gluz for one of its clients, Smartia Seguros. The agency managed to post an article with a link to the startup’s page on the G1 website, through a partnership. Check it out!
Important metrics in the link building strategy
When performing a link building strategy, there are some metrics that influence your results. Check them out!
- The strength of the domain that will point to your site, that is, its traffic, popularity and relevance of the domain;
- The quantity of links, but taking into account that the quality of the link is more valuable than the quantity;
- Anchor text where the link is inserted, so Google understands in a faster way the indication of the page, improving the classification;
- Age of the links: the post being old or current can influence the link classification;
- Toxic links: metric that determines if a certain link can bring risk to the ranking of your site;
- Site traffic: the amount of visitors to the site that will refer to your website also influences the ranking of your page in Google.
Mistakes you should not make in your link building strategy
1. Buy backlink
Google’s robot is smart enough to identify when certain links are not added naturally. So too, it is able to check when it comes to purchased links.
Therefore, if you want the records to be positive, keep an eye on the partnerships. In other words, build your links in a natural way, generating authority.
2. Hidden links
To capture clients and rank, some sites use hidden links. But, this is a strategy that can harm your page, as Google finds it easily.
Thus, your site can be harmed by a strategy that does not add value to the user.
3. Tools to generate automatic links
On the internet you will find many tools to monitor links. But, do not use tools that are intended to generate automatic links on other sites.
After all, they are easily detected and you do not want your site penalised by Google, right? Remember that there are several other ways to attract clients.
How not to be penalised by Google when investing in guest posts
Guest posts are one of the best ways to generate leads. This is a strategy that allows you to spread the name of your company on different sites, thus increasing your audience.
You need to invest in content that generates value and not just exchange links. Google is always ready to detect links that do not generate value.
Therefore, use the backlinks strategy to send highly qualified content that is relevant to the target portal. Focus on the audience of the destination site, on their audience.
To do this, do a research and get to know the portal. Visit its pages through the categories and understand the language of the site and what it is about. For example, in a website about cooking, you are not going to send a text about car care and maintenance.
How to establish backlinks partnerships without being punished
Establishing strong partnerships may seem superficial by search engines. But, you can follow through with this strategy as long as you learn how to build backlinks properly.
Besides producing quality content and sending them for publication on relevant sites and blogs, you need to build natural and organic backlinks. However, to avoid being punished, pay attention to a few points.
First of all, vary the keyword options for certain anchor texts. This way, you won’t go to the extreme by always using the same ones.
After all, Google is very attentive and may cause your site to receive harsh penalties. Also, vary your keyword usage, focusing on variations, including long-tail ones.
It is not enough just to have a list of anchor-texts if you do not vary also in the use of keywords. Another important point is to always focus on the production of an organic text, natural, without forcing the inclusion of a link.
Remember that a website that receives links from strong domains, but distant from its target audience, can bring more harm than good. Therefore, the opposite also works and the website that you are trying a link building partnership knows it well.
Example of a successful backlink partnership
Gluz, for example, works, or has worked, with strong partnerships that have worked well. For example, Catraca Livre, MSN and G1, besides other sites.
To produce guest post content without being penalised, the agency chose a subject within the niche of each of the partners, adding the backlink naturally. Even this strategy worked for the inclusion of links from its clients in the insurance niche.
Check below a post on Catraca Livre made by the agency for one of its customers, PlanoDeSaude.net:
* Check out more at https://catracalivre.com.br/viagem-livre/5-destinos-para-viajar-pelo-brasil-no-inverno/
So, establishing strong partnerships can be very feasible indeed. But you must use the right strategies as we mentioned here to succeed.
So, ready to build a successful strategy now that you know the importance of backlinks and how to use it?
