Backlinking – THE INTRODUCTORY BASICS

Disclaimer: SEO, Backlinking and DA are all extremely convoluted subjects. Different people have different opinions as to what works best and what doesn’t. Because of this, different platforms will offer different advice. This is the main reason why I’ve put off writing about this topic for such a long time. There are a lot of layers to the subject matter so please, take everything said in this post with a grain of salt. If you’ve found results using different tactics, then keep using the tactics that have given you results.

Also, there will be posts coming in the future on these topics. Because there are so many layers to Backlinking, SEO and DA, it’s not something that could ever be covered in one single post. So if you like this, I’ll try to make sure it isn’t a year before I write a part two.

Okay, onto the meat and potatoes…

If you’ve ever googled ‘SEO’ before (googling SEO… now that’s funny to me) one of the most common terms you’ll come across is ‘Backlink’.

What is a backlink?

A backlink is a link created when one url links to another. Backlinks are also called “inbound links” or “incoming links.” Backlinks are important to SEO.

Why is a backlink important?

A backlink to your site is the web’s equivalent to someone saying ‘Yeah you can trust them’. It’s vouching for a website, letting search engines know that cataloging said content will be of value to the search engine. A backlink is a reference that is comparable to a citation in printed work.

It is worth noting that not all backlinks are treated the same. Some are more valuable than others. A backlink from a more trusted site is going to be seen as a more valuable than say, one from a site that has only been up and running for a month, for example.

A SIMPLE how to for bloggers:

BACKLINK TO YOUR OWN SITE

In 2017 while in the process of rebuilding the the website for the company I was working for, the hosting company I was working with to build the site informed me that you can, in fact, backlink to your own site. While these backlinks aren’t quite as valuable as those from other sites, they do still count.

When you make a new post to your blog, each individual post is given its own link. So, if you’re writing a post on February 3, 2020 and you link a post from the past (referencing a story, for example) inserting a link to a previous post that you’ve made counts as a backlink.

INTERNAL LINKING

A good internal linking structure plays a key role in the success of a blog because, with a good internal linking structure, you can help your audience and potential audience easily navigate through your website and increase the user experience. What does this mean? This means you should make sure that your menus are in order, that your links go to where you say they’re going to go, that there’s no ‘dead pages’ on your blog with zero content on them. Dead pages decrease the value of your site in search engine algorithms .

For WordPress users, it’s quite easy to create a navigable menu at the top or the bottom of your page. Ensuring that you’re choosing proper titles and linking people to the right places boost your link legitimacy in SEO.

  • Personally, I always tell people to keep menu links to a smaller amount so that your linking is more manageable. This is a personal preference so you need not listen to me when I say this, but you’re going to have a lot easier of a time managing 8 categories for your posts than you are managing 30. However many categories you choose, though, please make sure they’re all being properly linked in whatever menu structure you’re using.

WRITE GUEST POSTS

Guest blogging is an effective way for bloggers to reach new audiences and, in the process, earn backlinks. When you write a guest post for someone else’s blog or website, not only will your own content be exposed to new readers, but said readers can then use the backlink to find their way to your website.

It’s a simple way of increasing your audience, building your reputation and earning backlinks in the process.

REBLOGGING

When you reblog someone’s content, so long as they do not delete the link to your blog (the source), that counts in their favour as a backlink. Likewise, when someone reblogs your content, that counts in your favour as a backlink.

LEAVE COMMENTS

If you’ve ever noticed someone leaving a comment on your blog who shares a link to their own blog at the end of their comment this is, in itself, a backlink. You can do this when you’re leaving a comment on someone’s blog, though I’d be careful to do it in a tasteful way because it can, at times, piss some people off. This can also be done to write reviews and testimonials… of a blog, or a book, or a product of some sort. Basically, wherever you can slide your link in, there’s a means of backlinking your site and making it look more legitimate.

To conclude:

It is important to note that after reading this you SHOULD NOT start spamming your link out to every corner of the internet. Backlinking should be done in a strategic manner, associating your blog and your brand with sites that you feel will benefit your growth and legitimacy.

DO NOT SPAM PEOPLE.

DO NOT START TWEETING OUT YOUR BLOG LINK TO EVERYONE ON YOUR TWITTER OR INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS LIST.

I apologize for the caps lock there, but I just wanted to drill those two points home.

Be strategic about where you backlinking appears. If you’re going to use this means as a measure to grow your place on the world wide web, you want your url to be associated with the right places. EX: If you’re a family friendly blog talking about how to build the perfect school lunches for kids, it might not be the best idea to use an Adult Content Only website to banklink your content.

If you have questions about backlinking, share them in the comments section. If you have anything to add, please feel free to share that in the comments as well. I tried to keep this as simple as possible because, as mentioned at the head of this post, it’s a very convoluted subject with many layers to it. So, some of the layers may not yet have been touched on in this post.

Thanks to https://myhomefarm.co.uk/ (yes, this is a backlink) for giving me motivation to write this post and share some of my thoughts on the subject.

36 thoughts on “Backlinking – THE INTRODUCTORY BASICS”

  5. Pingback: Backlinking – THE INTRODUCTORY BASICS — #MILLENNIALLIFECRISIS – Mostly Single

  9. That is the best explanation I’ve read about backlinking, because it’s easy to follow and understand. Thank you, and great job.

    I’ve read some ‘guru’ articles about backlinking and they weren’t helpful at all because they were convoluted and over complicated. I now have a far clearer picture of backlinking.

    As an additional point on spam, and please verify this, commenting on blogs and promoting a URL is a backlink but one that generally doesn’t impact your SEO because comment links are generally not classified as DOFOLLOW links, and DOFOLLOW links is what you’re after.

    Thank you for the great backlink on your site in this article I massively appreciate it.

    What’s just occurred to me after I’ve read your post is that a good strategy is to potentially find similar blogs and exchange links in an intelligent manner. If they have an article you can link to as a further explanation to something you’ve written, and they can reciprocate, then each of you get a credible, quality backlink. Would that work?

    Thanks again for this extremely helpful post.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Okay – DOFOLLOW and NOFOLLOW is something I could write an entire post on. Actually, if I could get a cup of coffee and chat with you, I’d probably talk for an hour without letting you get a word in.

      Without getting too convoluted in the comments section of this post, DOFOLLOW (at face value) is simply not a NOFOLLOW. So unless you’re specifically insert HTML to make a link a NOFOLLOW link, then you have a DOFOLLOW link. This means leaving a comment on someone’s blog and just adding your link at the bottom of the comment is, in itself, a DOFOLLOW link. Is it a valuable one at that? Not overly. But, it’s a small and easy step you can take, if you’re leaving legitimate comments on someone’s blog, to help your on URL. That’s where my ‘don’t spam’ comment came into play. I wanted to drive home that you shouldn’t just be posting your link to people’s comments sections and not saying anything.

      Leaving your link in a comment is not going to benefit you in a substantial way, but it’s also not going to harm you. Think of it like… 10 minutes in the gym is better than zero minutes in the gym. Does that make sense?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    2. Also, to your comment about finding similar blogs and exchanging links in an intelligent (AND MEANINGFUL) manner, that is definitely a thoughtful strategy that could help boost your ‘SEO Juice’ +(as the gurus say). Especially if said similar blog is more popular than yours. Tis why so many people who write about this suggest reaching out to larger, more established sites/bloggers and asking them if you can write for them or be a part of their site in some similar means.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  11. Pingback: Backlinking – THE INTRODUCTORY BASICS — #MILLENNIALLIFECRISIS | Ups and Downs of Family History V2.0

  15. This is a very helpful post! Definitely want to know more on this topic and boosting blog rankings and domain authority 💖

    Like

    Reply

      2. Had a good long read last night, and picked out the bits I’ll be focusing on. Did you have a separate strategy to get WordPress followers?

        Like

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