Why backlinks matter for SEO
Search engines use links to discover pages and as one of the signals of how trusted and important a page is. A link from a respected, relevant site works like a recommendation. Backlinks also send visitors straight to you.
What makes a good backlink
- Relevance: the linking site and page are about a related topic.
- Trust: the site is well known and has real readers.
- Editorial: the link was given because the content deserved it, not bought or swapped.
- Placement: it sits in the main content, with descriptive anchor text.
- Follow: links marked nofollow, sponsored or ugc pass little or no ranking value, though they can still bring visitors.
One link from a relevant, respected site is worth more than hundreds from low-quality directories or link farms. Focus on getting quality backlinks from sites your customers actually read.
How to earn backlinks
- Create resources worth citing: original data, tools, templates and in-depth guides.
- Get listed by partners, suppliers, customers and industry associations.
- Offer expert comments to journalists and write for respected publications in your field.
- Find mentions of your brand that don’t link to you, and ask for a link.
Links to avoid
Buying links that pass ranking value, large-scale link swaps, private blog networks and automated link building all break Google’s spam policies. Google’s systems may ignore such links, or the site may get a manual action. You can see your backlinks in the Links report of Google Search Console, or with tools such as Ahrefs and Semrush.
Link attributes: follow, nofollow, sponsored and ugc
A normal link can pass ranking credit. Site owners can add attributes to describe a link: rel="nofollow" for links they do not vouch for, rel="sponsored" for paid or sponsored links and rel="ugc" for user-generated content. Google treats these as hints. Paid links are allowed when they are marked, and prohibited as a ranking tactic when they are not. See nofollow links and dofollow backlinks.
How to check your backlinks
- The Links report in Google Search Console shows top linked pages and linking sites, for free.
- Ahrefs, Semrush and Majestic list more links, with their own crawlers. Their numbers differ because each has its own index.
- Review new links for quality, and note lost ones.
Bad backlinks and the disavow tool
Most odd links pointing at a site are ignored by Google. The disavow tool exists for the rare case of a large number of unnatural links you cannot remove, usually after a manual action. Do not disavow in a hurry. See disavowing links and link profile.
Backlink FAQs
How many backlinks do I need?
There is no number. A few relevant links from trusted sites matter more than many weak ones.
Are backlinks still important?
Links remain one of the signals search engines use, though many other signals matter too.
Can I buy backlinks?
Buying links to influence rankings breaks Google’s spam policies. Paid placements are acceptable only when marked with rel=”sponsored” or rel=”nofollow”.
See also our guides on local backlinks and backlink indexers.