Backlinks

Backlinks are like virtual attaboys in that their quantity, quality and relevance can influence how well a webpage performs on Google’s search engine results page (SERP). They are said to be high on the list of factors influencing Google’s algorithms for relative placement on the search engine results page (SERP) and are essential to achieving a respectable ranking.

And why not? Think of backlinks as social approval. If other websites are linking to content on your website, it’s probably because they consider that content valuable and useful. Google notices this right away and ranks your page accordingly. Long-form content is ideally suited to provide this value and usefulness because you can do more with it.

Backlinks to your site from ‘authoritative’ sites, such as national brands or other high-traffic sites, are the most valuable and effective, and if both sites are focused on the same topics, even more so.

However, not all backlinks are created equally; just because a referring site is considered authoritative, it may have little value to a searcher and not be counted as much.

Let’s look at an example. Say a national pet chain’s website is considered authoritative and it has a link to a glass panel supplier’s website because the supplier manufactures components for the pet chain’s aquariums (this would be regarded as a backlink for the supplier).

However, the supplier may not benefit much from this when someone searches for ‘glass panels’ because Google is trying to help the searcher find glass panels, not aquariums, and doesn’t give much weight to the pet chain’s backlink.

Now, change the search to ‘glass panels for aquariums,’ and suddenly, the pet chain’s backlink becomes far more valuable to the supplier, and its page will rank higher on the SERP.

Finally, backlinks also come from associated industry journals, trade associations, directories, etc., so good marketing teams will always look for any opportunity to get a credible backlink to their content.