Backlinks: All You Need To Know About Them

Backlinks are very simply links from one website domain to another different domain. This means that if sitex.com links to sitey.com, they have formed a backlink because the user will go to a different website by clicking a said link.

This is a huge part of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) because search engines use backlinks to determine the quality and reputation which a site has; the more links, the better.

Can a site be ranked without backlinks ?

Yes, a website can be ranked on a search engines results page without using backlinks from other websites. In fact there is always the possibility that you can reach the very top without having a single backlink pointing to your domain.

However because backlinks are such an important part of SEO it’s very difficult to get a high ranking without using backlinks, so many websites encourage others to link to their website.

How many backlinks will rank my website ?

As stated above there is no set number of backlinks that you require, and so this is a very hard question to ask. You can rank without having any backlinks at all, so don’t worry about trying to get people to link to your website until you want to compete for the higher places on a search engine results page – that is the time that you will learn the true SEO value of backlinks.

How many backlinks will rank my website at the top of a results page ?

The number of backlinks you need to rank highly on a results page will depend on a few factors. First of all it will depend on the competition that you have – a search engine results page for a very specific query might render only a few websites to choose from, and so you will rank higher.

The second thing is the number of links your competition has, and the third is the quality of the links you have. While it’s true that quantity is important, it’s also important to have links from reputable websites rather than websites known to produce plagiarised or spammed content.

Can I work out how many backlinks I will require?

You can, but the short answer is that there’s no easy way to work out a number. The first way that you can use is simple trial and error. After you add a backlink (you might want to use another website you own, so that you can keep track of the number of backlinks you are adding) you can see whether your ranking has changed.

It may take a while for the backlinks to register, but after a while, you should start to see how many backlinks will be needed before you are ranked highly. You should note that if you find your website is stuck at the bottom of the result’s page, even after adding backlinks, it is an indication that you need to address another area of SEO that you are neglecting. As important as backlinks are, they aren’t everything.

The second way, which is less time-consuming, is to use a website which analyses the number of backlinks your competition has. First of all run a search engine query and select the ten websites that you want to compete with – they will probably be the first ten websites on the result’s page.

Then all you have to do is use a website to analyse the number of backlinks they have, and take an average number. This will show you the number of links you should aim to have to be in the middle of that ranking. It’s not a fool proof method and you shouldn’t focus too much on that number, but it will give you a rough estimate.

How can I best get backlinks?

The thing that you have to remember is that search engines look for organic backlinks, not spammed backlinks that appear in their hundreds overnight. Don’t ask for backlinks explicitly on your website; you can approach other websites and ask if you can link to each other, but never post that you want people to link to you.

Make online friends and you will find that they naturally link to you – this is exactly what Google wants you to do and they will reward you for having organic links. You should always remember that SEO is more than just backlinks, and that if you want to appear at the top of the search engine results page you need to do a lot more than have a lot of backlinks.