A backlink is a link from any other website to your website. It doesn’t matter what is linked – it could be a button, an image, a logo, a teeny tiny number, a heading, a string of text – anything.
Backlinks impact your search engine optimisation (SEO) because each one acts as a lil stamp of approval from the originating website (that I’m gonna call the Originator from here on out) that basically says “hey, I took the time to include this website, so it’s defo worth visiting”.
Not only that, but the Originator can also add context to how Google understands your website and its position in the world.
- If you have a backlink from an interior design blogger, that tells Google that you probably have something to do with interiors.
- A backlink from a plant shop in Cardiff? You’ve probably got something to do with plants and/or South Wales.
- A backlink from a directory of independent businesses? You’re probably an independent business.
- A backlink from an event description for a “How to build a Terrarium” workshop on Eventbrite? You just got event plant-ier.
The combination of the quantity of backlinks you have, and the variety of websites and pages they come from, is usually called your backlink profile.
More backlinks = better SEO, right?
Pretty much. However, the reality is more like “fewer backlinks = doing SEO on extra hard mode”. Ok, I know that sounds the same but just give me a sec.
Imagine you’re Google, and you need to decide on how to rank these two plant pot brands in Cardiff – Peter’s Pots and Pots by Paula. Their websites are equally good – similar content, similar performance, similar age – but Peter has 0 backlinks and Paula has all the examples I threw in earlier.
When someone Googles “plant pots Cardiff”, who makes more sense to rank top? Paula.
Well, that’s basically how Google search results work – except there’s way more than just 2 websites for each search term.
When you don’t have backlinks, it just means that everyone else who does have backlinks is more likely to rank higher than you, because they’ve got all those other people vouching for them.
How to check your backlinks
There are heaps of paid for and free backlink checking tools. I’m a cheapskate, so I’m only going to mention the free ones.
My old favourite was the ahrefs backlink checker tool, it’s quick and easy – but limited to only 20 links. The backlink checker from SEO Review Tools is my current go-to as it reveals more links, including those marked as no-follow (I’ll get back to this later).
Both of these tools give you an estimated score of your domain authority, which is based on your backlink profile. It’s important to bear in mind that this is an estimate, and not what Google is actually using to rank your website.
Still, it’s better to have an estimate that nothing at all.
Whilst the score is out of 100, for a small independent business a really solid backlink score is as little as 30 (or 20 on SEO Review Tools which is the stingier of the two). Even massive websites like Eventbrite only just score into the 90’s, so don’t get put-off by what feels like a failing grade.
However, if your score is less than 10 on either platform, I would make backlink building a top top top priority.
You can also view your backlinks in Google Search Console under Links > Top Linking Sites. It’s really unintuitive though and doesn’t give you a score – but it’s handy for finding tiny links you might not have known existed.
Not all backlinks count, or do they?
Some backlinks have a tiny bit of code in them that tells Google not to follow them – these are No follow backlinks.
No follow backlinks are useful for Originators that don’t want to pass on any SEO benefits, like a news organisation that needs to remain impartial, or a blogger like me who sometimes needs to write about a brand or product they don’t want to endorse.
Google doesn’t treat no follow links like those little stamps of endorsement – but they’re still great for your business. They still give visitors from the Originator a way to access your website, and they still create an association between the Originator and yourself.
Plus, a lot of SEO websites say anecdotally that they still ‘count’ in some way, there’s just no official word on how or where they count.
Backlinks can be bad links
It’s normal to have some spam in your backlink profile – just like it’s normal to get spam emails and spam comments. Even Google says you can just ignore them. If you are worried about having hundreds of spam backlinks, you can go through a process called disavowing links.
As well as spam backlinks, you could also have misleading backlinks. Like if Peter’s Pots had 20 backlinks from legit food bloggers in Càdiz – those would tell Google that Peter was relevant to foodies in Andalucia, but he’s never even been to Spain and hates tapas. Fiend.
It’s unlikely that these misleading links would fluff up your SEO, but it’s best to avoid them.
Should I buy links?
No. It’s against Google terms, it could get you penalised, and it could backfire in the future if those websites you’ve bought links from get identified as spam, scams, or adult content.
Do people buy links? Yes. All the time – but it’s not a risk I want you to take.
What about swapping links with a mate?
If you have a natural way to include links to each others website on your website – like blog features, favourite suppliers, or local guides – this is a great idea. There needs to be a common interest and audience, but as long as you have some degree of crossover, I’m all for it.
If you’re Peter and you wanna swap a link with Michelle who repairs boilers in Blackpool – don’t. It’s not natural, and it’s not helpful.
If you want to know more about backlinks and where to get them – I’ve got you. Check out SEO Backlinks for Beginners which is basically a better, more in-depth version of this quick guide. There’s also What makes for a good, quality SEO backlink? and 7 simple and free SEO backlink building tips using only your existing contacts and relationships.
Now go ahead and check your backlinks using of those free testers, and start working on your backlink profile RIGHT NOW. Or later. Or never. I don’t know, you do you.
