Backlinks are a key component of the success of any SEO strategy. A backlink is a link that routes users from an external website to yours. The importance of backlinks in SEO has been established by both industry professionals and search engines like Google itself. Backlinks act as “votes of confidence” attributed to your content by other relevant or authoritative websites, thus boosting your google ranking. The more quality and relevant the backlinks are, the more your website's domain authority increases, which leads to a significant increase in organic traffic.
In addition, backlinks help improve off page SEO, as the profile of your links is one of the key criteria that Google's algorithm considers when evaluating rankings. Careful selection and acquisition of dofollow backlinks from authority links, i.e. high credibility websites, can make a difference to your long-term strategy.
Basic strategies for acquiring backlinks
Effective backlink acquisition relies on methodical, reliable and white hat SEO tactics. The process of link building must be organized and aimed at achieving strong results in terms of both quality and quantity.
guest posting
Guest posting is a highly effective method to get backlinks from websites with high domain authority. More specifically, look for authoritative websites in your industry that accept articles from external contributors and suggest quality content. Place within your article dofollow backlinks to your own website, always in a natural and relevant way. Big businesses and famous brands routinely use guest posting to increase their google ranking and organic traffic.
Creating valuable content (Content Marketing)
Creating useful, authentic and original content is one of the most effective ways to gain backlinks without asking for them directly. Invest in studies, infographics, guides, e-books or statistical reports that add value to your industry. This way, other websites and bloggers will organically link to your content, providing you with links from high-quality websites.
Identifying and claiming “broken” links (Broken Link Building)
This technique involves analysing competitors' pages to find broken links and suggesting that you replace these links with links to your own relevant content. There are tools such as SEMrush and Ahrefs that make it easier to identify these links.
Exchange of links and partnerships
Targeted link exchange with other trusted websites can be effective, as long as you avoid spammy or automated practices. Work with websites that have a common audience or subject matter relevant to your e-shop, ensuring that the backlinks you receive are quality and natural in nature.
DoFollow vs NoFollow Backlinks: which one do you need to prefer?;
Dofollow backlinks give maximum value to SEO, as they transfer authority and contribute directly to improving domain authority and google ranking. However, nofollow backlinks can also bring value, especially when they come from popular platforms with high traffic. The ideal tactic is to maintain a balance between dofollow and nofollow links, prioritizing naturalness and dispersion.
Example: A backlink from a major news group even if it is nofollow, can bring you huge traffic and indirectly other backlinks due to increased visibility.
Tips for quality link building and avoiding penalties from Google
Avoid black hat SEO techniques such as bulk buying of backlinks, forced exchanges and spammy links. Google now applies strict penalties to websites that violate its quality guidelines. Focus on original content, long-form articles, real partnerships (partnership links) and true community engagement. Use tools like SEMrush to track your backlink history and identify negative links that should be disavowed via the disavow tool.
Measure the performance of backlinks and improve your results
Monitoring and analyzing backlinks is vital. Check the quantity, quality and relevance of the links you acquire, and pay attention to metrics such as organic traffic, ranking for important keywords and domain authority. If you find that a backlink is not providing the desired results or is coming from an unreliable source, proceed to disavow that link with Google's disavow tool.
In addition, identify quality opportunities to generate new backlinks by examining your competitors' performance in organic results. By researching trusted databases such as SEMrush or Ahrefs, you can design a targeted strategy that will dramatically improve your market position.
Acquiring backlinks remains one of the pillars of effective SEO and increasing organic traffic to any online business. By strategically investing in quality backlinks, using techniques such as guest posting, content marketing, broken link building and targeted link exchange, you can substantially improve your Google ranking and boost your website's domain authority. By maintaining a natural and consistent link building tactic, avoiding black hat SEO and investing in long-term value, you will build a stable and healthy link profile.