Search engines treat links as recommendations. That explains both the value and the abuse.
A backlink is a link from another website to yours. Search engines treat such a link as a recommendation: the more relevant, reliable sites refer to you, the more credible you are considered. Relevance and reliability of the referring site outweigh the number of links.
IN COMMON LANGUAGE
Why quality trumps quantity
Ten links from random link collectors are worth less than one link from a relevant industry association. Search engines evaluate the source, not just the quantity.
That's why buying links works against you in the long run. Paid link networks are recognizable by their pattern, and a manual measure is virtually irreparable on a young domain.
WHY IT MATTERS
How you earn them
The boring answer: by making something that people refer to on their own. Own research, a useful calculation tool, an explanation that is not so complete anywhere else.
And by simply asking where it is appropriate: with customers, partners and industry organisations that you actually work with.
- Relevance over quantity — one matching link beats ten random ones.
- Own data or research — the most natural link material.
- Customers and partners — ask where it is right.
- Industry organisations — relevant and reliable.
- Never buy — the risk is disproportionate to the gain.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
More about a backlink
How many backlinks do I need?
There is no number. A handful of relevant links from reliable sites will do more than a hundred from collection directories. For local services, a few good regional listings are often enough.
Are social media links valuable?
Directly hardly; these usually do not count as a recommendation. Indirectly yes: if something is shared there and someone then links to it from their own site, that is the link that counts.
Do you do link building?
No. We ensure that the technical basis and content are correct. Active link campaigns are specialist work, and we do not participate in purchased networks.
CONTINUE READING
Of course, continue reading about this subject.
Authority build up?
We build sites worth referring to. The rest is patience and real work.