9 Essential Backlink Types You Need To Know For SEO

By Uzair Raza

What Are Backlinks?

Backlinks, also known as inbound links or incoming links, link from other websites that point to your website. In other words, backlinks are a vote of confidence from one website to another.

The more votes you have, the higher your site will rank on Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Backlinks play a crucial role in search engine optimization (SEO) and can greatly impact a website’s search engine ranking. They help search engines understand the relevance and authority of a website.

The history of backlinks goes back to the early days of the web. The first search engines, such as Archie and Veronica, were based on the number of backlinks a website had. This meant that the more links a website had pointing to it, the more relevant and authoritative it was considered.

With the advent of Google, the concept of backlinks evolved to include the quality of links, not just the quantity. Google uses complex algorithms to determine the quality and relevance of backlinks, which has led to the evolution of link-building strategies.

Google’s algorithms have had a significant impact on backlinks. Google has made several updates to its algorithms over the years, including the Panda update, the Penguin update, and the Hummingbird update, to name a few.

These updates have been aimed at cracking down on spammy and low-quality backlinks and penalizing websites that use manipulative link-building tactics. As a result, it’s more important than ever to focus on building high-quality backlinks from reputable websites.

Why Are Backlinks Important?

Now that you know that – What are backlinks? But it is crucial to understand why they are significant in the optimization process. Before incorporating backlinks into your strategy, it’s important to understand their importance.

First and foremost, backlinks act as a form of endorsement for your website. When a website links to yours, it’s like a vote of confidence in your content. The more high-quality websites that link to yours, the more credible and trustworthy your website appears to search engines.

This, in turn, helps to boost your search engine rankings and improve your visibility to potential customers. Backlinks also help to drive referral traffic to your website. When someone clicks on a link from another website to yours, they are referred to as “Referral Traffic”.

This traffic is valuable because it has already shown an interest in the content on your website and is more likely to engage with your website and convert into a customer. Backlinks can also help to improve your website’s authority. Authority is a measure of how trustworthy and credible your website is in the eyes of search engines.

The more high-quality backlinks you have pointing to your website, the higher your website’s authority becomes. This, in turn, makes it easier for your website to rank for relevant keywords and improve your search engine visibility.

It’s important to note that not all backlinks are created equal. Google and other search engines use a complex algorithm to determine the quality and relevance of backlinks. High-quality backlinks come from reputable and trustworthy websites, while low-quality backlinks come from spammy or irrelevant websites.

Having too many low-quality backlinks can actually harm your search engine rankings, so it’s important to focus on building high-quality backlinks from reputable websites.

Google confirms that backlinks are one of the three most important factors in their search engine ranking algorithm.

9 Best Types Of Backlinks

There are nine distinct types of backlinks with varying levels of significance, depending on the website. These backlinks assist you in creating a link-building strategy to obtain top-quality links that will enhance your SEO.

Editorial Backlinks

Editorial backlinks are a crucial aspect of search engine optimization (SEO) and link-building strategies. They are links that are obtained through editorial discretion and are given freely rather than being purchased or traded.

These links are seen as more credible and valuable by search engines, such as Google, as they indicate that your website is providing high-quality and relevant content to its users.

Editorial backlinks are earned by creating compelling and informative content that is useful and relevant to your target audience. This can include blog posts, articles, infographics, videos, and other types of content that people will naturally want to link to and share. By consistently providing value to your audience, you can attract backlinks from authoritative and trustworthy websites, which can significantly boost your website’s visibility and ranking in search engines.

It is important to note that editorial backlinks are not the same as paid or spammy backlinks. Search engines, such as Google, are able to detect and penalize websites that engage in unethical link-building practices, such as purchasing links or participating in link schemes.

Therefore, it is essential to focus on building editorial backlinks that are earned through high-quality content and honest engagement with other websites in your niche.

Backlinks From Guest Blogging

Guest blogging backlinks are obtained by contributing articles to other websites in your niche. This type of link is considered valuable as it shows that your website is a source of information and is considered an authority in its niche.

The articles you write should provide value to the website and its readers, and the link back to your website should be placed in a way that makes sense and adds value to the article.

Directory Backlinks

Directory backlinks are obtained by listing your website in online directories. These directories can be specific to your industry or more general. The key is to make sure that the directories you list your website in are reputable and have high domain authority.

Social Media Backlinks

Social media backlinks are obtained by promoting your content on social media platforms. The links can be obtained by sharing your content on your social media profiles, as well as by reaching out to influencers and asking them to share your content. The key is to make sure that your content is shareable and provides value to the user.

Resource Backlinks

Resource backlinks are obtained by creating valuable resources such as infographics, ebooks, or whitepapers. These resources should be related to your industry and provide value to the user. The key is to make sure that the resource is shareable and has a link back to your website.

Comment Backlinks

Comment backlinks are obtained by leaving comments on other websites. The comments should be relevant to the post and add value to the conversation. The link back to your website should be placed in the comment in a way that makes sense and adds value to the post.

Forum Backlinks

Forum backlinks are obtained by participating in online forums related to your industry. The key is to make sure that your contribution to the forum adds value to the conversation and that the link back to your website is placed in a way that makes sense and adds value to the post.

Profile Backlinks

Profile backlinks are obtained by creating profiles on websites related to your industry. The profiles should be filled out completely and include a link back to your website. These links are considered valuable as they show that your website is a source of information and is considered an authority in its niche.

How To Check Broken Backlinks

Broken backlinks can harm the user experience of your website and negatively impact your search engine ranking. To ensure that your website is functioning optimally, it is important to regularly check for broken backlinks and fix them. Here are the steps to check for broken backlinks:

Use a Link Checking Tool: Several free and paid link-checking tools are available online. Some popular ones include Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz. These tools can scan your website for broken links and provide a list of all the broken links on your website.
Check Your Website Manually: You can also check for broken links manually by visiting each website page and clicking on every link. If a link leads to a 404 error page, it is considered a broken link.
Check Your Google Search Console: Google Search Console provides information on the crawl status of your website, including any broken links. You can access this information by logging into your Google Search Console account and navigating to the “Crawl” section.
Check Your Analytics: Your website analytics can also provide information on broken links. You can look for pages with high bounce rates or low average time on the page, which could indicate broken links.

Once you have identified the broken links on your website, it is essential to fix them. You can update the link to a working page, remove it, or replace it with a different link. Regularly checking and fixing broken links will improve the user experience of your website and help maintain your search engine ranking.

How To Increase Backlinks For Your Site

Backlinks are an important factor in determining the ranking of your website on search engines. The more high-quality backlinks your website has, the higher it will rank on search engines. Here are some tips to help you increase the number of backlinks for your site:

Create Quality Content: The best way to get natural backlinks is to create high-quality, valuable content that people want to link to. Make sure your content is unique and provides value to your audience.
Guest Blogging: Reach out to websites in your niche and offer to write a guest post for them. Make sure the post is well-written and relevant to the audience. Include a link back to your website in the center.
Leverage Social Media: Share your content on social media platforms and encourage your followers to share it. The more exposure your content gets, the more likely it is to attract backlinks.
Participate in Online Communities: Participate in online communities related to your industry and contribute to the conversation. If your contributions are valuable, people will be more likely to link to your website.
Reach Out to Influencers: Identify influencers in your niche and reach out to them to see if they would be interested in promoting your content. Make sure your content is relevant to their audience and provides value.
Create Infographics: Infographics are a great way to provide value to your audience and attract backlinks. Make sure your infographics are visually appealing and provide valuable information.
List Your Website in Directories: List your website in online directories related to your industry. Make sure the directories are reputable and have high domain authority.