One of the most important aspects of search engine optimization is obtaining links, also known as backlinks or backlinking. The idea of obtaining links is that your site will be seen as more relevant and important and ultimately gain higher rankings. Many times, it would be more beneficial to find and hire the best local SEO company in your area to take care of the links to your site.
What exactly is a link, then?
While you are browsing the internet, you likely have seen select words highlighted in a color that stands out from the rest of the text. These words are the links to other website. If you click on one, you will be directed to the site that the link is pointing to.
Why does my website need links?
When one site links to another, it’s similar to the linking site (site A) telling the internet that the site it is linking to (site B) has valuable content that is related to the actual words that are highlighted. This is essentially site A saying that it recommends site B.
As such, the internet depends on these links so you can easily traverse from one site to the next. Similarly, search engines depend on these recommendations to understand that site A values site B, and thus, so should everyone else.
What is the value of a link?
There is no determinable number that fits with any given link as Google’s algorithm is incredibly complex. There are, however, several sites that provide metrics that can be used to help you determine the value of any given link. Bear in mind that none of these sites actually work for Google, though. What that means is that the metrics given are a guideline, typically a good guideline, but just a guideline nonetheless.
There are definitely some rules of thumb to keep in mind when obtaining links to your site. First and foremost, you want to avoid receiving any links from spammy, or less reputable, sites. These links can actually hurt your site and pull you down in the rankings if not penalize your site outright. If possible, you want to only receive links from high-authority sites or any sites that are naturally and well maintained. These links will certainly help your site improve in the rankings.
You also want to ensure, when possible, that the sites linking to your site is relevant to the same subject. If site A is a multi-topic site, then you want to try and make sure the linking page is relevant.
At the same time, you want to make sure you receive links from social profiles and business directories. Again, these have to make sense, and stick to the well-known social sites and business directories.
Again, there is no determinate value of a link, but the quality of the site linking to your site can give you an idea of how valuable the link is.
Your site is going to need links from other sites to move up in the rankings. Knowing where those links are coming from and the quality of the sites they come from is important to the overall health of your site.
