Think of backlinks as online reviews. The more positive reviews (backlinks) you have from reputable sources, the more trustworthy you appear to Google.
Why Backlinks Matter
- Higher Rankings: Backlinks are a major factor in Google’s E.E.A.T. (Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness) guidelines and they specifically contribute to the T (Trustworthiness) aspect of the methodology. Quality backlinks often lead to higher rankings in search results.
- Increased Visibility: Higher rankings mean more people see your website. This drives more traffic and potential customers.
- Brand Authority: Backlinks from trusted sites position your business as an industry leader and add to your online Trustworthiness
But Here’s the Catch: Backlinks Aren’t Forever
Like online reviews, backlinks don’t expire overnight. But their value can change. And unfortunately, they aren’t permanent! Here’s why:
- Website Changes: The website giving you the backlink might update its content, remove the page entirely, or even go offline. This “link rot” is a natural part of the internet.
- Example: Imagine a popular tech blog links to your software review. If they redesign their website and that page disappears, your backlink is gone too.
- Relevance Decay: Even if the linking page stays online, its content might become less relevant over time. This reduces the value of the backlink.
- Example: A link from an article about “top marketing trends in 2023” will be less valuable in 2025.
- Algorithm Updates: Search engines like Google regularly update their algorithms. These updates can change how backlinks are evaluated, potentially decreasing the value of older links.
- Competition: Your competitors are constantly building new backlinks. If you don’t actively maintain and grow your backlink profile, you will fall behind.
How to Make Your Backlinks Last Longer
- Focus on Quality: Earn links from reputable websites in your industry. Think of industry blogs, news sites, or relevant organizations.
Example: A link from a popular tech blog (high authority) will likely hold its value longer than a link from a new, unknown forum. - Create Evergreen Content: Content that stays relevant attracts long-lasting backlinks.
Examples include ultimate guides, in-depth case studies, and original research. - Stay Updated: Regularly update your content to keep it fresh and valuable. This encourages websites to keep linking to you. Make sure the post date or edit date is updated so Google knows you have updated the content recently. You can even resubmit the given page to Google through Search Console to force a new evaluation of the page by Google.
- Monitor Your Backlinks: Use tools to track your backlinks and identify any that are broken or no longer valuable. Be cautious when using any third party tool that assesses the “value” of the backlink. There is no industry-wide, consistent, metric or standard for valuing a given backlink.
As a general rule, DA (Domain Authority by Moz), DR (Domain Rating by Ahrefs, or DP (Domain Power by SearchAtlas) are good indicators of high level value but the sites’ organic traffic must be taken into consideration as well for the utmost value contribution. Domain Power by SearchAtlas is the only one of the three that uses organic traffic heavily in its scoring methodology. Please also be aware there are bad actors rife in the industry that know how to manipulate DA and DR ratings to inflate the cost of backlinks they offer.
More FAQs About Backlinks
- How many backlinks do I need?
There’s no magic number. Focus on quality over quantity. A few high-quality backlinks from authoritative sources are better than hundreds of low-quality ones.
Think of it this way: A glowing recommendation from a respected expert in your field holds more weight than a bunch of random, anonymous online comments.
A good litmus test to determine the approximate number you may need to compete for a given search term is to do a backlink analysis of the top 3 domain/competitor results for the search term in question.
- How do I check my backlinks?
Several powerful tools can help you analyze your backlink profile:
- Ahrefs: This comprehensive SEO tool provides a detailed backlink analysis, including the number of backlinks, their quality, anchor text distribution, and more. It also helps you identify broken links and potential link-building opportunities.
- Semrush: Another popular SEO platform, Semrush offers a backlink audit tool that helps you assess the toxicity of your backlinks, discover new link-building prospects, and track your progress over time.
- Moz: Moz’s Link Explorer provides valuable insights into your backlink profile, including domain authority, spam score, and anchor text distribution. It also offers helpful features like link intersect analysis to identify link-building opportunities from your competitors.
- SearchAtlas: An up and coming SaaS platform purpose built for SEO that has created its own metric DP (Domain Power) for analyzing and checking backlink value is also a great choice. They have a variety of useful tools that are expanding and being refined very rapidly.
Ready to Unleash the Power of Backlinks?
Don’t let your website get lost in the digital noise. A strong backlink profile can add tremendous value to your search rankings, drive targeted traffic, and establish your brand as an industry authority.
Boostability’s team of link building experts can help you:
- Develop a customized strategy to acquire high-quality backlinks from relevant and authoritative websites.
- Create compelling content that naturally attracts links and boosts your online visibility.
- Monitor your backlink profile to ensure its health and identify areas for improvement.
Claim your FREE website analysis today and discover how Boostability can help you dominate search results!
