What Are Backlinks And Why Should You Care?

Today, we’ll explore one of the essential components of SEO (search engine optimization) – Backlinks. 

Without further ado, let’s dive right in! 

Backlinks, also known as inbound links, are links from one site to another and are important in SEO because they let search engines know that the information on your site is valuable and credible. 

Backlinks can send organic traffic to your website, which increases its unpaid visibility in search engines. 

Google considers the amount and quality of backlinks to determine whether the site holds authority, and your search result rankings depend on how authoritative Google determines your website to be. 

In simpler terms, the more backlinks you have pointing to your site from other sites and other domains, the better. Think of backlinks as online referrals, but not directly human to human. Instead, from a website to a different website and search engine. And then from the search engine to the user.

To find your website’s backlinks, simply go to the Google Search Console (GSC) and tap on the “External Links” in the top right corner to see a list of links. 

And don’t worry if you don’t have many or any – we will give you some tips on acquiring them! 

Types Of Backlinks 

There are four types of backlinks – let’s explore!

• Dofollow Links: These links are valuable for SEO and pass the SEO value (link quality) from one site to another.
  
  
• Nofollow Links: While these links can still drive traffic to your site, they do not pass the SEO value and tell search engines not to count the link as rankable.
  
  
• Internal Links: These links connect pages or resources on the same website; they help navigation.
  
  
• External Links: These are the most beneficial for SEO; they point from other domains to your website.
  
  

Backlinks For Info Product Businesses 

Backlinks are highly important for info product businesses because they help increase visibility, traffic, and credibility. These factors are crucial when selling digital goods like courses, webinars, e-books, and memberships.

Let’s explore in detail what backlinks can do for your info product business:

• Increase Traffic And Search Engine Rankings: Backlinks are one of the top-ranking factors for Google. The higher your business ranks on search engines, the more people will discover your landing pages, content, and resources.
  
  
• Encourage Faster Indexing: Search engine crawlers rely on backlinks to discover new content, information, and sites.
  
  URL Indexing makes your web content searchable and visible.
  
  Having backlinks from other authoritative sites point to your website helps search engines index your URLs faster and makes your content appear in search results sooner. 
  
  
• Increase Brand Visibility And Awareness: Backlinks drive more exposure to your brand. When people see your business and information mentioned on other authoritative sites, they are more inclined to trust it and follow the link to your site.
  
  
• Improve Trust And Authority: Consequently, after the previous bullet, when authoritative sites link to your content, your brand’s trust, credibility, and authority grow.
  
  
• Drive More Leads And Conversions: The more exposure your site has and the more credible it is, the more leads you’re bound to get.
  
  When other sites in your niche link to your content, they drive targeted traffic, which usually aligns with your target audience.
  
  This audience is “pre-qualified”, meaning they are already interested in your niche, products, or services, which makes them more likely to engage, sign up for a subscription, make a purchase, or leave their contact information.
  
  
• Provide Long-Term Value: Backlink offer long term return on investment. A high quality backlink continues to drive traffic and leads your way as long as your website and the website the link is located on are functioning and remain relevant.
  
  Organic traffic takes longer to acquire, but it also delivers long-term results, unlike paid advertising, which only drives traffic as long as you keep paying. 
  
  

Pro Tips For Acquiring Backlinks 

Now that you have an understanding of what backlinks are and why they are important, here are some proven tactics for acquiring them:

• Create Link-Worthy Content: Your content should contain valuable, factual, and relevant information. Value-driven content naturally attracts bloggers looking to reference helpful information.
  
  Some examples of content you should focus on include guides, tutorials, infographics, and case studies.
  
  
• Guest Posting: You can write articles or blogs for reputable websites in your niche. Include a relevant link to your website in your article.
  
  Guest posting puts your content in front of a larger audience and boosts your authority.
  
  
• The Skyscraper Technique: You can use tools like BuzzSumo to find high-performing content relevant to your niche. Come up with a better, more detailed version of the topic, and reach out to websites suggesting the original content and offer them yours.
  
  If your content is better, many sites won’t mind updating their link to point to your resource.
  
  
• Collaborate With Influencers And Bloggers: You can build relationships with influencers and bloggers, offer them value, and eventually, request backlinks.
  
  Bloggers and influencers typically have highly-ranked websites, and getting a backlink from them will boost your authority and exposure. 
  
  
• Make It Free: Create free tools that bloggers and your audience can use and recommend to others. People enjoy free things that bring them value.
  
  Some tools you can create include templates, calculators, planners, or guides.
  
  
• Leverage Niche Directories: Look up relevant niche directories and link your website or blog. Niche directories target specific industries, topics, and locations, which would help bring your website more targeted traffic that aligns with your target audience.
  
  
• Leverage Reddit And Quora: Both Quora and Reddit allow users to answer questions and include links in their responses. You can join relevant subreddits or find related discussions that offer high-value information in your responses.
  
  The way your responses perform depends on the community on either platform, so be mindful and make sure your responses offer genuine and accurate information; otherwise, users might flag your content and links as spam or low-value.
  
  

Closing Remarks

To recap, backlinks are one of the essential components for search engine optimization. They increase your site’s visibility, credibility, and authority and drive more leads and, subsequently, conversions your way. 

Backlinks attract free organic traffic to your site. Unlike paid ads, which require payment to function, backlinks offer long-term value, attracting visitors to your website and new leads for your business as long as your site and the site they are on function. 

There are four types of backlinks, with Dofollow and External links being the most valuable and beneficial for SEO. 

There are multiple ways to obtain backlinks, but all of them require you to produce high-quality, value-driven content. The information you offer is your face and the face of your brand, so make sure it is factual and offers real value.

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– Steph