What Is A Backlink? And Why It’s So Important For SEO

There are many terms you need to remember when dealing with SEO, but backlinks are as essential as they are simple to understand. Today we’ll tell you what is a backlink and why they are so important.

What is a backlink?

We all know what a “link” is — it’s a way to access different pages by clicking on an underlined word or image. That is how the web remains the web, links being the thread that holds it all together. There are links within one website for navigation and outbound links that lead to a different site. 

In simple terms, a backlink is a link that leads to your page as opposed to being on your page. All such links direct to your website, which is why they are also called “inbound links.” The more such links there are, the better your ranking within Google.

Why? This is mainly because search engines consider websites with many inbound links popular and interesting. That is why so many care not only about their SEO but also about off-page SEO. The more there are backlinks, the better. But achieving that is harder than just improving your site.

Why backlinks matter

Interestingly, while there were quite a few search engines back in the day, Google became the dominant force primarily thanks to its algorithm that valued backlinks over anything else. It’s called PageRank, and it’s not only about the quantity but also the authority of links. Not every backlink is the same; the more “authoritative” the site is, the better your ranking.

Every web admin should think about building backlinks. Search engines decide the importance of a page based on backlinks. Getting a backlink from a well-known website increases traffic and makes both people and search engines notice you.