Backlinks, also popularly known as “links” and “backlinks” by Wikipedia, are the salt in SEO this year, too-Soup. Problem: The “right” backlinks are becoming rarer and harder to get. This is to blame for Google, which ensures constant updates and discoveries of link networks that previously successful measures no longer work without further ado. So what to do? Stop building links and only generate social signals? That can’t be the solution. Link building is, of course still important, because Google is hungry for backlinks – it just has to be “the right backlinks.” But what is “”right””? That determines Google. However, and that’s the good news, there are a few things you can tell about a perfect backlink. You have to know how to interpret them.
In times of massive de-indexing of supposed spam projects, it’s worth a first look: Is the page from which you want a backlink still in the Google index? If not, hands off. Such a backlink is useless – except annoyance because Google still has de-indexed pages on the screen. Exactly, for this reason, you have to remove backlinks that were once built up if these backlinks are on a de-indexed page.
The counterexample is quite different: If Google finds a page good, it becomes clear to the outside world. Clues can be the presence of sitelinks in search results. A clear sign that Google regards a page as an “authority” and trusts the content provided on it. You want a backlink from such an “authority page.”
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A look at the search results also reveals whether a page itself has many rankings. What is more important, however, is how good these rankings are. The search results can usually reveal a lot. Even a trip to the personally preferred SEO tool can provide insights. If visibility is high, there are usually numerous good rankings. A very clear sign of the quality of a page that is suitable for building backlinks.
Nice side effect: The page on which a backlink is created does not link very much to other pages. Less competition means that the individual backlink has more strength. SEO experts also like to speak of “link juice,” which then flows much more violently. Unfortunately, in the past, this attitude often led to the often criticized “avarice to leave.” From a completely objective point of view, it is, of course, better for your backlink if it gets as much “link juice” as possible.
If a backlink is to be fully effective, then the page from which this backlink comes must be clean. Manipulative measures are taboo. A look at the page’s source code can already provide initial information as to whether the page has been optimized properly or not. Google itself can now recognize many manipulative measures very well, especially in the on-page sector. Anyone who is associated with such measures through their backlink may have to reckon with disadvantages.
Good quality content that is useful and offers real value is best – word of that should have gotten around. Conversely, this means that a linking page set up accordingly in terms of content offers a very clear advantage for placing a backlink. You can also recognize a good backlink by whether it is on such a page – or whether it appears on a page that does not take the quality of the content very seriously or, in the worst case, even offers copied content.
What applies to your website is, of course, also extremely important for linked sites. An Internet project linked in large numbers and with high quality provides an optimal environment for your backlink. On the other hand, a backlink is of little or no value if it comes from a weakly linked site.
Keep your eyes open when building links! Some websites “devalue” backlinks by using the nofollow attribute or other methods. A backlink that appears to be clean at first glance can also be effectively switched off by forwarding or via Javascript. Such backlinks are pointless if they are completely devalued. Every naturally grown link profile has a certain proportion of nofollow links, but you will not be interested in such links if you want to collect backlinks actively.
PageRank has lost its importance dramatically in recent years. In the past, it was the measure of all things for many. Today it is only one factor among many. Nevertheless: If a page appears to be of high quality at first glance, a weak PageRank can indicate a penalty. Especially if there has been a negative change in PageRank in the past, you have to keep an eye on this and, if in doubt, do without placing a backlink.
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High-quality backlinks usually have thematically relevant link text. This makes sense because this is the only way to give Google the right signal. Such a link text is not compulsory but desirable. A high-quality backlink can be recognized by the fact that the link text is also sensibly chosen. On the other hand, you can recognize unsuitable backlinks, for example, because they have a link text that thematically does not match the page on which it is located.
Backlinks in the footer or the sidebar of a website and, in the worst case, also appear isolated with little text are now problematic. Its position on a page can also recognize a good backlink. Here it is not only true that the higher up a backlink is placed in an HTML document, the better (Google assumes higher relevance, if so). The environment is also important, and a position directly in the content, i.e., in the running text, is preferable. Other positions don’t have to be bad, but the route directly to the content is always the better choice.