Backlinking, which refers to a hyperlink from one domain leading to a different domain, is a critical SEO strategy, helping demonstrate the value and authority of the content being link to. If used correctly, backlinks deliver higher placements in search engine results.
The challenge for the industry is that not all backlinks are created equally. Partnering with the wrong ones can result in the site losing traffic or even triggering penalties under Google’s Link Spam Update.
Here’s a breakdown of the benefits of quality backlinks, where they succeed and fail, and why relevance needs to be at the forefront of every online marketer’s mind.
The Benefit of Backlinks
The main purpose of a backlink is to improve a site’s search engine performance and online presence. It’s not that straightforward, though. The backlink needs to be relevant, or it could prove detrimental. More on that shortly. Before that, here’s how backlinks help both the hosting site and the linked site.
Benefit for the Hosting Site
The hosting site will seek out backlinks from high domain authority (DA) sites to help boost its own web presence. The hosting site’s authority will naturally increase as it partners with other authority sites. Google’s guidelines on link building specifically emphasize quality and relevance, and as such, will reward sites with higher rankings when these authority backlinks exist.
The reciprocal trust and association create mutual benefits for both sites.
Benefit for the Linked Site
Backlinks create direct traffic from the hosted site. Provided the content on both sites is reputable, this can strengthen customer engagement. If the backlink is relevant, the site will get traffic from engaged and targeted customers.
An example here is a finance comparison website that compares personal loans. It recommends the top 5 based on a range of criteria, with a backlink to each one. This drives keen, targeted traffic directly to the site, assisting the reader as well as bringing in new business.
Where Backlinks Fail
Backlinks can come from anywhere, but if they point to low-quality or irrelevant sites that do not provide SEO value, they’re going to harm the hosting site more than they help. The use of this type of backlink could lead to manual actions or deindexing if Google considers the link manipulative.
Backlinks work best when the anchor text used flows organically as part of the content on the site. Overly promotional, forced, or abrupt anchors make it obvious to the reader (and the search engines) that they’re not being used efficiently or even correctly.
Another way backlinks can fail is if they point to incorrect, broken, or expired links. What these do is harm the site ranking as they fail SEO requirements for backlinks.
Backlink Relevance
The primary term to remember when working with backlinks is relevance. Even though backlinks can come from anywhere, they shouldn’t.
For example, a backlink to Canadian slots casinos on a respected gambling blog supports the site’s authority, whereas the same link on a cooking or gardening website undermines credibility. Similarly, a link to a car battery comparison site has no business being on a cakes and cookies recipe site. The links make no sense and are obviously promotional.
It’s not just about clever anchors that match the topic. Google’s algorithms go beyond this and look for relevance beyond simple keyword matches. It’ll go deeper into the other site, determining that the content there is also a relevant match. This is because Google prioritizes user experience—if a backlink looks unnatural or irrelevant, it signals that the site is trying to manipulate rankings rather than help the reader.
How to Assess Backlink Quality and Relevance
A quality backlink is unlikely to come from jakesbestmates.com. This fictitious site is dedicated to the groom-to-be, Jake, and his pre-wedding antics with his college buddies. While it’s a fun site for his friends and admirers, it doesn’t make for a solid backlink. Why? It’s missing these three fundamental quality metrics:
- Domain Authority (DA): Measures the overall strength and ranking power of the linking site; a score of 80 or above is considered authoritative.
- Trust Flow: Evaluates the trustworthiness of a site based on its other backlinks. If other pages on the site contain high authority (including high DA) backlinks, the trust flow of the site is considered high.
- Topic Match Score: Determines how closely the content on the linking site aligns with the hosting site’s topic. Does it match user intent? Is it relevant, or is it just an obvious promotional link?
Other ways that you can measure the quality of your backlinks are:
- Diversity: Anchor texts need to be varied, relevant, and link to different pages. If the same anchor and link appear on multiple pages, this reduces the authority of both sites.
- Make Them Natural: Quality backlink anchor text flows naturally somewhere in the body of the content. If the anchor is a relevant part of the sentence, it should feel seamless; if it disrupts the flow of reading, it’s not organic and will raise red flags.
- Use SEO Tools: Sites like Moz, Ahrefs, and SEMrush offer tools that can identify the best backlink opportunities and then report on their effectiveness. Additionally, AI-driven features in these tools now help identify toxic backlinks and predict which links are most likely to pass authority safely.
- Never Anchor-Stuff: It might be tempting to put multiple anchors on one page, but even if they’re going to different pages on the site, it’s still considered anchor stuffing. It looks obvious, and it’s very spammy. Search engines will penalize this behavior.
The Future of Backlinks
Google’s recent algorithm updates have seen many sites lose traffic. Part of the reason was low-quality, expired, stuffed, or irrelevant backlinks. User intent is becoming a primary focus in the content writing industry as the key driver for front-page search engine results. Backlinks can play a vital part in this if they remain relevant and high authority. AI is assisting marketers in spotting high-value backlinks; for example, predicting which domains are gaining authority while also flagging potentially harmful links before they cause ranking drops. Relationship-based link building with niche influencers and high-quality editorial partnerships, where the links are relevant to the content on the hosting site, will define the future of backlinks.