Knowledge Base

What is External Linking (Backlink) and Why is it So Important for SEO?

External linking, or backlinks, is a link that a website receives from another website. Search engines use backlinks as a signal to measure the popularity, reliability, and authority of a website. The more high-quality and relevant backlinks a website has, the more likely it is to rank higher in search results.

Why is it Important?

• Search Engine Ranking: High-quality backlinks directly affect search engine rankings. Search engines like Google use backlinks to determine your site's authority and value.
• Organic Traffic: Higher rankings mean more organic traffic. People can find and visit your site more easily in search results.
• Brand Awareness: Backlinks from trusted and reputable websites increase your brand awareness and reputation.
• Referral Traffic: Backlinks are valuable not only for SEO but also for direct referral traffic. You can attract potential customers to your site from the linking site.
• Faster Discovery by Search Engines: Backlinks help search engines discover and index your site faster.

How to Understand a Quality Backlink? What Should You Pay Attention To?

Not every backlink has the same value. A quality backlink is beneficial for your site's SEO, while a low-quality backlink can be harmful. Here's what you need to pay attention to in order to understand a quality backlink:

• Authority: The linking website should have high authority. Metrics such as Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA) can be used to measure a site's authority.
• Relevance: The linking website should be on a topic relevant to your site. For example, a backlink from a travel blog is more valuable for a travel agency.
• Link Placement: The location of the link within the page is important. Links that appear within the content and look natural are more valuable. Links in the sidebar or footer are less valuable.
• Link Following: "Dofollow" links instruct search engines to follow the link and transfer authority. "Nofollow" links prevent the transfer of authority. "Dofollow" links are more valuable for SEO, but "nofollow" links can also be beneficial for brand awareness and traffic.
• Link Source: Organically obtained links are more valuable than purchased or exchanged links. Search engines try to detect artificial link schemes and may penalize such links.

Example:

Let's say you have an e-commerce site and you sell handmade jewelry. Which of the following two backlinks is more valuable?

1. A backlink on a subpage of a general news site, within an irrelevant article.
2. A backlink in a review article on a blog selling handmade products, promoting your site's products.

Answer: The second backlink is more valuable. Because it is more relevant, authoritative, and appears more natural.

What are External Linking Strategies? How Can I Get Backlinks?

There are many strategies for obtaining backlinks. Here are some of the most effective and ethical methods:

• Creating Quality Content: The best backlink strategy is to create valuable and engaging content. People naturally want to link to good content.
• Guest Blogging: By writing guest blog posts for other websites in your niche, you can get backlinks to your own site.
• Broken Link Building: Identify broken links in your niche and suggest to website owners that they fix these links. Then, offer them to add your own content instead.
• Content Promotion: Promote the content you create on social media and other platforms to reach more people and increase your chances of getting backlinks.
• Publishing Press Releases: By publishing press releases about new products, services, or important developments, you can get backlinks from news sites and blogs.
• Analyzing Competitors' Backlinks: By analyzing which sites your competitors are getting backlinks from, you can try to get backlinks from similar sites.
• Social Media: Being active on social media platforms and sharing valuable content increases your brand awareness and creates potential backlink opportunities.
• Infographics: By creating engaging infographics, you can encourage other websites to share your infographic and give you a backlink.
• References and Reviews: Ask your customers and business partners to refer to your site or review your products/services.

Step-by-Step Broken Link Building Process:

1. Find Websites Relevant to Your Niche: Identify authoritative and popular websites related to your niche.
2. Identify Broken Links: Use tools like "Broken Link Checker" to find broken links on these websites.
3. Create Relevant Content: Create content that is similar to the topic of the broken link and is even better.
4. Contact the Website Owner: Send an email to the website owner to inform them of the broken link and suggest that they add your own content instead.

Example Email:

Subject: Broken Link Detection on [Website Name]

Hello [Website Owner's Name],

While browsing [Website Name], I noticed a broken link on the [Page Name] page. The link was pointing to [Broken Link URL] and was related to [Topic of Broken Link].

We have published an article titled "[Title of Your Content]" on [Your Website Name], which provides more comprehensive and up-to-date information on [Topic of Broken Link].

If you wish, you can replace the broken link with the link to our article. This will provide your visitors with a better experience and improve the quality of information on your site.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Website Name]
    

Which Types of Backlinks Should You Avoid?

Not all backlinks are beneficial. Some types of backlinks can harm your site's SEO and even lead to penalties from search engines. Here are the types of backlinks to avoid:

• Backlinks from Spam Sites: Backlinks from low-quality, spammy, or irrelevant websites.
• Purchased Backlinks: Buying backlinks is against search engine guidelines and can result in penalties if detected.
• Traded Backlinks (Link Exchange): Excessive reciprocal link exchanges can be perceived as manipulation by search engines.
• Hidden Backlinks: Backlinks hidden in the website's design or code.
• Excessive Number of Backlinks Using the Same Anchor Text: Getting an excessive number of backlinks using the same keyword can be perceived as keyword stuffing.
• Backlinks from Irrelevant Sites: Backlinks from websites that publish on topics unrelated to your site.
• Automatically Generated Backlinks: Backlinks obtained using automatic backlink generation tools.
• Backlinks from Directory Sites: Registering with low-quality directory sites is generally useless and can even be harmful.

Important Note: Regularly check your backlink profile and use the "Google Search Console" tool to identify and disavow harmful backlinks.

What is Anchor Text and How Should It Be Used?

Anchor text is the clickable text within a backlink that directs to the linked page. Anchor text provides search engines with an important clue to understand what the linked page is about.

Things to Consider When Using Anchor Text:

• Relevance: Anchor text should be relevant to the content of the linked page.
• Naturalness: Anchor texts should be natural and readable. Avoid keyword stuffing.
• Variety: Use different types of anchor text. Using only keyword-focused anchor texts can be perceived as spam.
• Brand Name: Using your brand name as anchor text increases your brand awareness.
• Generic Anchor Texts: Avoid using generic anchor texts such as "Click here" or "Learn more".
• URL: Using the page's URL as anchor text is also a natural option.

Anchor Text Types:

• Exact Match: Anchor text that is the same as the target keyword. For example, "handmade jewelry"
• Partial Match: Anchor text that contains the target keyword. For example, "the most beautiful handmade jewelry"
• Branded: Anchor text that includes your brand name. For example, "[Your Brand]"
• Generic: General expressions such as "Click here" or "Learn more".
• URL: The URL of the linked page.

Example:

Let's say you want to rank for the keyword "SEO services". Here are different anchor text examples:

• Exact Match: SEO services
• Partial Match: Professional SEO services
• Branded: [Your Company Name] SEO
• Generic: Click here for more information
• URL: www.yourwebsite.com/seo-services

Important Note: Plan your anchor text strategy carefully and pay attention to diversity. Over-optimization can cause your site to be perceived as spam.

How to Perform Backlink Analysis?

Analyzing your backlink profile regularly is important to evaluate the effectiveness of your SEO strategy and identify potential problems. Here are the tools you can use and the metrics you should pay attention to when performing backlink analysis:

Tools You Can Use:

• Google Search Console: It is a free tool and shows the websites that link to your site.
• Ahrefs: It is a paid tool and allows you to perform comprehensive backlink analyses.
• SEMrush: It is a paid tool and offers many SEO features such as backlink analysis, keyword research, and competitor analysis.
• Moz Link Explorer: It is a paid tool and helps you evaluate backlinks using metrics such as domain authority (DA) and page authority (PA).
• Majestic SEO: It is a paid tool and allows you to measure the quality of backlinks using metrics such as Trust Flow and Citation Flow.

Metrics to Consider:

• Number of Backlinks: The total number of websites linking to your site.
• Number of Referring Domains: The number of unique domain names linking to your site.
• Domain Authority (DA): The authority of the websites linking to you.
• Page Authority (PA): The authority of the pages linking to you.
• Anchor Text Distribution: The diversity and distribution of anchor texts.
• Dofollow/Nofollow Ratio: The ratio of dofollow and nofollow links.
• Trust Flow/Citation Flow: The quality and reliability of the links (Majestic SEO).
• Harmful Backlinks: Backlinks from spam or low-quality websites.

Backlink Analysis Process:

1. Tool Selection: Choose a backlink analysis tool that suits your needs and budget.
2. Data Collection: Analyze your site's backlink profile with the tool you have chosen and collect the data.
3. Data Evaluation: Analyze the data you have collected and evaluate important metrics.
4. Harmful Backlink Detection: Identify backlinks from spam or low-quality websites.
5. Disavow Process: Disavow harmful backlinks using Google Search Console.
6. Strategy Development: Develop new strategies to improve your backlink profile.

Table: Backlink Analysis Tools Comparison

Table: Ideal Ratios in Backlink Profile

What are the Mistakes Made in External Linking (Backlink) Building?

Mistakes made while building backlinks can harm your site's SEO and even cause you to be penalized by search engines. Here are some of the most common mistakes:

• Getting Backlinks from Low-Quality Sites: Getting backlinks from spam, low-quality, or irrelevant websites.
• Buying Backlinks: Buying backlinks is against search engine guidelines.
• Excessive Link Exchange: Engaging in reciprocal link exchanges can be perceived as manipulation.
• Repeating the Same Anchor Text: Getting an excessive number of backlinks using the same keyword can be perceived as keyword stuffing.
• Getting Backlinks from Irrelevant Sites: Backlinks received from websites publishing on topics unrelated to your site.
• Neglecting the Backlink Profile: Not regularly checking your backlink profile and disavowing harmful backlinks.
• Rapid and Sudden Backlink Increase: Getting an excessive number of backlinks in a short period is an unnatural situation and can attract the attention of search engines.
• Focusing Only on Dofollow Links: Nofollow links are also important for brand awareness and traffic.
• Producing Low-Quality Content in Guest Blogging: Producing low-quality content in guest blog posts just to get backlinks can damage your site's reputation.

Case Study:

An e-commerce site decided to buy backlinks to rank quickly. Within a few months, it obtained thousands of backlinks, but most of these backlinks came from spam sites. As a result, search engines detected this situation and penalized the site. The site's rankings dropped, and its organic traffic decreased. This example shows how risky buying backlinks can be.

How Long Does External Linking (Backlink) Take to Achieve Success in SEO?

Backlink building is a long-term process that requires patience and persistence. Expecting immediate results is not realistic. It may take time for backlinks to show their effect and improve search engine rankings. This time depends on many factors:

• Your Site's Authority: If you are a new website, the effect of backlinks may take longer. If you are a more established and authoritative website, backlinks may yield faster results.
• Quality of Backlinks: High-quality and relevant backlinks give faster results.
• Level of Competition: Ranking for highly competitive keywords may require more backlinks and a longer time.
• Content Quality: High-quality and engaging content increases your chances of getting backlinks and helps improve your rankings.
• Search Engine Updates: Search engine algorithms are constantly changing. These updates can affect the impact of backlinks.

A General Timeline:

• First 3-6 Months: After starting backlink building, it may not be possible to see a significant improvement in rankings within the first 3-6 months. During this period, you should focus on building your backlink profile and producing quality content.
• 6-12 Months: After 6-12 months, you may start to see a gradual improvement in rankings. You may notice that your organic traffic is increasing and your keywords are rising.
• 12+ Months: After 12 months and beyond, you can begin to see the full impact of your backlink strategy. Your site's authority increases, your rankings rise, and your organic traffic increases significantly.

Important Note: Be patient when building backlinks and follow a long-term strategy. Avoid short-term tactics and focus on producing quality content.