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DO BACKLINKS STILL MATTER FOR SEO?

Do-backlinks-still-matter-for-SEO

Yes, backlinks still matter for SEO, but not all backlinks are beneficial. To improve your site’s ranking, your backlinks need to be high quality links from relevant and reputable websites. Irrelevant or poor-quality backlinks can weaken and even damage your SEO efforts.

So, what is a backlink? A backlink is a hyperlink from another website to yours. It acts rather like a recommendation. When the backlink comes from a respected, relevant source it indicates to Google that your site has useful content and can be trusted. This will help to increase your visibility in search results and drive more traffic to your site.

QUALITY BEFORE QUANTITY

In the past you needed lots of backlinks to boost your website’s ranking. But that focus on quantity led to manipulative practices such as bulk buying links or automated link-building tools. Now, Google’s Penguin update penalises websites that engage in those tactics.

The focus for search engines like Google is on the quality of backlinks, rather than the quantity of links a website has. A few high-quality backlinks will be far more valuable than lots of poor-quality ones.

WHAT IS JUDGED TO BE A VALUABLE BACKLINK?

  • The backlink is from a well-established, reputable website
  • The link is from a page that is relevant to the topic of the linked content
  • The text of the link (anchor text) uses relevant keywords
  • The link is earned organically – meaning another site has naturally linked to the content because they find it valuable

LOW QUALITY BACKLINKS WILL BE DEVALUED

Examples of low-quality backlinks are those that come from:

  • a website with no relevance to your business
  • a neglected site with broken links (404 errors)
  • a poorly designed or disreputable site

Links from these types of websites can harm your online reputation and lower your ranking in search results.

To avoid being penalised or downgraded, you need to have meaningful, natural backlinks.

At Two Lizards we work to attract high quality backlinks organically by focusing on producing valuable content and a positive user experience. Here are a few ways you can earn natural, relevant backlinks for your website.

  • Create valuable content, such as checklists, infographics or how-to videos, that other websites might want to link to.
  • Collaborate with other relevant, respected sites to create content and mutually link to each other’s sites.
  • Write guest posts for other reputable websites in your sector and link back to your own website.
  • Encourage those who have mentioned your business online to add a link to your site.
  • Promote your content on social media and other platforms to increase its visibility.
  • Interlink your own pages so search engines understand your site’s structure.
  • Identify outdated resources on other sites and offer to provide a link to an up-to-date version of your content.

To learn more about our SEO services, contact us at 07976 705848 or email us today.

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