Good websites are frequently searched for and visited. Good backlinks improve search engine visibility and influence the ranking of the indexed website.
1. The backlink: a simple link on an external website
Backlinks are hyperlinks, meaning links that lead from one website to another. These links are crucial for a better Google ranking and are built through high-quality external content, posts on external websites, comments on external websites with links, link directories, or affiliate programs.
An affiliate (a "partner") promotes the products or services of another company (the "merchant"). However, this systematic network is not a prerequisite for backlinks.
Backlinks help online users navigate the World Wide Web and reach further websites with just one click. You can also take on this task yourself. This article will introduce you to some of the factors involved. However, this endeavor often doesn't work without something in return, as backlinks are created not on your website, but on someone else's.
Important are...
This must match your website (Domain Authority).
The linking page should be of a similar quality to your own website (backlink quality).
Valuable references here, e.g., sought-after portals, reputable journalism (Domain Authority)
The outgoing website must contain the search engine prompt "do follow" (meta conformity).
The number of backlinks is not crucial. Search engines now index content using spam filters and mass detection (policy of uniqueness).
Please refrain from
Modern search engines discourage reciprocal linking. Try to avoid the requirement that the linked target page always contains a backlink to the source page. Even the market leader, Google, points this out on its support pages. Instead, link to different pages.
The linking page should definitely be relevant to your own website and topic. Modern search engines don't index and rank indiscriminately (backlink quality).
The backlinks should definitely have different anchor texts. Modern search engines avoid duplicates (spam protection). The anchor text is the text that describes the active link.
Always use anchor text with good keywords and phrases. Is the goal adequately described in just a few words? Anchor text is a quality indicator for search engines (relevance blocking).
Become actively involved in a partnership...
Write articles for relevant blogs to gain reach and a backlink. Success here depends on strict topic relevance and high-quality articles. Occasionally, create and arrange a backlink to your own website.
Create exceptional content such as introductory graphics or infographics, calculators, study reports, survey analyses, or well-researched and in-depth articles. Other website operators might be interested in this and would like to link to it on their websites.
Analyzing which other websites link to specific keywords or relevant topics provides a good overview of the content provider market. Join these market leaders and create content of at least the same quality. Offer website operators the opportunity to link to your work - simply put, your content.
Find broken links on external pages and offer your own, suitable content for linking to. Broken hyperlinks usually lead to a "404 error" page with the message "Page not found." Feel free to inform the responsible webmaster about any such broken links on their site.
Create and utilize contacts with influencers, editors, bloggers, YouTubers or forum operators to obtain mentions on their platforms.
Friendships and partnerships with other website operators or companies can facilitate reciprocal links/backlinks. Everyone is interested in making their content accessible to a wider audience and improving their search engine ranking. Offer your services...
Ensure you have listings in various directories on the World Wide Web. Some of these are free. A Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) would be very professional.
2. Professional setup of backlink management
⇛ Your in-depth analysis
You can check your own backlink profile and that of your competitors using professional online tools. However, a paid account with the relevant providers is required. The following providers have established themselves over the years:
- SISTRIX: Offers a comprehensive range of online tools for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
- AHREFS: This provider is also a Software as a Service (SaaS) provider that supports marketers in making their products and brands more discoverable.
- SE RANKING: Central platform for SEO and AI visibility.
⇛ Strategy and campaign
Create a target and actual plan, including your discovered backlink sources and their anchor texts, as well as any meta descriptions and meta keywords. Expand your plan with new campaigns.
⇛ Building a network
Build a network of partners. Contact website operators, bloggers, forum administrators, and webmasters personally. Offer your content and the opportunity for a backlink to your newly acquired partner. Highlight the mutual and genuine added value within the context of your high-quality website and its content.
⇛ No abandonment of artificial intelligence (AI)
AI doesn't replace building relationships with real-life website owners. However, it can improve the efficiency and scalability of your success. AI shortens your research time and saves time, and can even consider features you might overlook. There are many free AI tools available online from various reputable providers.
⇛ Search engine optimization (SEO)
Backlinks consist of a target page to which another medium (external website) links. The so-called "anchor text" in an HTML link contains the actual hyperlink. This leads to your website. An image, such as a photo, can also serve as an alternative to this anchor text and be actively linked.
The presentation of hyperlinks, or backlinks, is relevant for search engine optimization (SEO). They can have a positive or negative impact on ranking. Major search engines like Google and Bing have their own algorithms that index web content and assign relevance to it. Today, evaluating backlinks has become significantly more complex and also considers the quality of the links within the algorithms used by search engines.
For the anchor text, please generally use strong words and phrases to give the link a certain quality.
As usual, "the devil" is in the details, namely in the source code for the links:
Example: DO-Follow or No-Follow
If no recommendation is given to the search engine, the page will be fully considered. If nothing else is specified, both the page and the target will be considered.
<a href="https://www.targetpage.com">Your anchor text</a>
This tells the search engine not to follow the link. This would result in poor search engine ranking and miss the point of the backlink. "rel" stands for "relationship" and is an HTML attribute that defines the relationship between the source document and the linked page. The value "nofollow" would tell the search engine that you ultimately do not want to be associated with the target page of the hyperlink.
<a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.targetpage.com">Your anchor text</a>
Do-Follow as a complete relationship representation
<a rel="follow" href="https://www.targetpage.com">Your anchor text</a>
Also worth mentioning is the "sponsored" relationship attribute, which informs the search engine that the link is a paid sponsorship link and ultimately an advertisement. This ensures transparency during the indexing and search engine interaction process.
<a rel="sponsored" href="https://www.targetpage.com">Your anchor text</a>
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