The importance of backlinks in an SEO strategy

1 / What is a backlink?

A backlink, also known as an “inbound link” or “external link,” refers to a hyperlink placed on a page of an external website that points to a page on your website. Essentially, this means that an internet page has a clickable link that leads users directly to your site. You may also hear the term “netlinking,” which is the technical term for a strategy for creating inbound links to a site. The opposite of an “inbound link” is an “outbound link.” This is an external link that is placed on your site and that redirects the user to another website. Links between the pages of your site are “internal” links. With them, you allow the user to view a page on a specific subject without leaving your site. The creation of links between your pages is called “internal linking.” Internal links are used to facilitate navigation on your site and the indexing of pages by Google robots, while backlinks serve to: Indicate to a user the external location of information Transmit the popularity of a website to another

2/ Why implement a backlink strategy?

Why are these links so important? Simply because search engines see the backlinks pointing to your site. This means that other sites recommend to users to visit your site. And for Google’s algorithm, if other sites talk about you through a link, it means that your site is interesting. These inbound links therefore prove to the search engine that your site is relevant. Backlinks are one of the most important SEO ranking factors that you need to pay attention to if you want to increase your popularity and visibility. To be more precise, in 2019, the quality of links is more taken into account than the quantity of backlinks. A web page receiving quality backlinks will be better positioned in search engines than a similar page without inbound links. A backlink can be compared to a vote: a site that receives a lot of votes is a good site. To optimize your SEO, the goal is therefore to try to obtain backlinks from sites with good reputation. Effective and sustainable netlinking is a good point in any SEO strategy, but it is necessary to be able to determine what a good backlink is.

3/ What is a quality backlink?

To build good quality netlinking, it is necessary to respect certain criteria:

The authority of the referring site

Your backlinks must be present on sites that Google considers to be of quality. The SemRush tool indicates the Authority Score of a domain name, which gives you valuable indications as to the power of the site that contains your backlink. The higher the authority of the site containing the link, the more effective the link will be. Always prioritize quality over quantity.

Anchor optimization

The anchor of a link is the visible text on the screen that the user clicks on to access the hyperlink. The anchor must be well-crafted and written in good French. Also try to avoid having all anchors pointing to your site be the same. Google’s robot and the user must understand from the anchor text the subject of the content to which they will be redirected if they click.

Contextualization of the incoming link

Ensure that the link is logical, natural, and integrated into semantically close and relevant content. Similarly, the position of your link within the content is important. Therefore, it should be placed in the body of the page for better visibility. An isolated link has less impact.

Diversification of links

It is necessary to diversify: sources: coming from blogs, companies, associations, forums, directories, etc. anchor texts to avoid Google penalties, site quality, prioritize sites with strong authority but do not neglect small sites that are visibly well-constructed and interesting.

4/ How to acquire quality backlinks?

Collecting backlinks may seem complicated, but there are many ways to get links to your website with very little effort.

Write competitive and original content

Quality content creation is at the heart of building backlinks. Your content helps other sites determine whether they see you as an authoritative brand worthy of a link. To attract backlinks, you must write content that is better than others in your industry. To do this, you must identify the most read content in your industry on specific topics using the tool BuzzSumo. Then, you will need to write more comprehensive, detailed, and longer content than your competitors. Writing original content is an excellent way to create content that inspires backlinks. If you have data that no one else on the internet has, it makes you a valuable resource. Conduct surveys, infographics on current topics, and use your business data. When you publish original statistics and data, other sites are likely to link back to your fresh and new information.

Promoting your new content to the right people

Once you have created quality content, you must promote it to make it known. Creating a network is one of the best ways to promote yourself. It’s an excellent way to start building relationships and establish yourself as an expert in your field while actively engaging. You’ll then start to receive brand mentions on other sites. If the mention doesn’t include a link to your site, contact the publisher and request a backlink. You can also link to content on another website and let them know that you enjoyed their article so much that you shared it on your own website. Interactions like these are valuable touchpoints. You’re not just building brand awareness, you’re building a relationship. And since you’ve given them a backlink, it’s not unlikely that they’ll give you a backlink in the future. Guest Posting Guest posting is the practice of publishing high-quality content as a guest author on a third-party website. This practice allows you to obtain natural backlinks in the text. It’s important to choose the sites on which you want to submit an article carefully. The SemRush tool allows you to identify well-referenced sites in your sector. Finding 404 Errors The goal is to find broken links on other relevant sites, generating 404 errors, and then inform the site owner of the error and propose to repair it by redirecting to your site. Don’t forget to provide a high-quality link. Testimonials Writing testimonials for other products/services in your sector or leaving a review of another brand is a simple way to generate backlinks. Choose the best tools or brands you work with and contact them to offer to write a review about your experience. Brands are usually eager to feature testimonials on their site. Social Media Share your articles and other high-quality content on your social networks. And include social media sharing icons on all your blog articles. The more shares your content receives, the more visible it will be, and the more likely you are to get backlinks. Make sure in advance that each profile you have is up to date on all the social media platforms you use. Getting links is a good introduction to a link building strategy, and you must be able to regularly verify that the links obtained are still in place. You must also check the links gained and lost naturally. Free tools such as Google Search Console allow you to get a first idea of the domains and pages that are sending you links. Elsa Le Morvan Digital Project Manager