What is a Backlink? (Blogging SEO Basics)

Last Updated June 6, 2025

Backlinks are one of the most valuable aspects of an effective SEO strategy. Backlinks are links from one website to your website, typically using anchor text relevant to the content of the page they’re linking from.

A backlink from an authoritative website can significantly increase your chances of raising your content in organic Google search rankings over time.

What Are Backlinks?

Backlinks, also known as “inbound links,” are links from one website to another. They are essential for SEO as they act as a vote of confidence from one site to another. Search engines use backlinks to assess a website’s credibility and relevance, influencing its ranking in search results. High-quality backlinks from reputable and authoritative websites are particularly valuable, enhancing a site’s visibility and ranking more effectively.

Understanding the Importance of Backlinks

While Google consistently places less emphasis on the importance of backlinks, a strong backlink from a relevant, authoritative website in your niche will always have immense value. It’s a numbers game, and the process of Google’s algorithm is opaque, not providing a ton of information about how to exactly rank higher. However, over the past decade, it’s become clear that while backlinks may be worth slightly less than they used to be, they still hold significant weight.

Strategies for Building Quality Backlinks

To build quality backlinks, focus on strategies like guest blogging. This allows you to authentically build relationships with publishers and get links back to your articles in a slower, tasteful way.

Avoid buying packs of backlinks or investing in strategies that attempt to do this at scale with lower quality. These tactics may hurt you in the long run.

Guest Blogging

Guest blogging involves writing content for other websites in your niche. By providing valuable, relevant content, you can often include a link back to your own website within the article or in your author bio. This not only exposes your content to a new audience but also provides a strong, natural backlink.

Building Relationships with Publishers

Take your time and invest in strategies related to building relationships with other publishers. Reach out to websites in your niche, offer to collaborate, or propose content ideas that would be valuable to their audience. As you build these relationships, opportunities for backlinks will naturally arise.

Conclusion

Accumulating your backlink profile slowly over time will pay off in the long run. While it may take more effort and patience, the benefits of having a strong, natural backlink profile are undeniable. Your content will have a better chance of ranking higher in search engine results, driving more organic traffic to your website.

Backlinks remain a crucial component of a successful SEO strategy. By focusing on quality over quantity and building authentic relationships with other publishers, you can slowly but surely develop a powerful backlink profile that will boost your search engine rankings and help your content reach a wider audience.

Want to learn how to build backlinks in-depth? See our SEO Mastery course for subscribers.

What makes a backlink “high-quality” in SEO?

A high-quality backlink is a link to your site from a trusted, relevant website in your niche. Search engines treat it like a real vote of confidence.

Relevance matters because a link from a site that covers similar topics looks natural. Authority matters because well-known, reliable sites can pass more trust.

Quality usually beats quantity. A few strong links from good sites can help more than lots of weak links from random sites.

How many backlinks do I need to rank higher on Google?

There is no perfect number of backlinks that guarantees a higher ranking. Google looks at many factors, and the exact mix is not public.

In general, one strong backlink from an authoritative, relevant site can help more than dozens of low-value links. That is why it is better to build links slowly and naturally.

If you want a safe approach, focus on earning links to your best pages and most helpful articles. Over time, that steady growth can improve rankings and organic traffic.

What is the safest way to build backlinks without getting penalized?

The safest way is to earn backlinks by publishing useful content and building real relationships with other publishers. This creates links that make sense to readers.

Guest blogging is a classic method because you add value to someone else’s site and can often include a natural link back to your content. Start with sites that already reach the audience you want.

Avoid buying backlink packs or using “scale” tactics that spam links across low-quality sites. Those shortcuts can hurt your rankings long term. For more ideas, see RightBlogger’s guide to backlink outreach strategies that build real publisher relationships and the glossary on guest blogging for SEO.

Do nofollow backlinks help SEO at all?

Nofollow backlinks are links that tell search engines not to pass ranking credit in the usual way. They may not boost rankings like a normal followed link.

They can still be useful because they can send real referral traffic, build brand awareness, and help your content get seen by the right people. Sometimes that exposure leads to more natural backlinks later.

A healthy backlink profile often includes a mix of link types. If you want to understand the difference better, read RightBlogger’s explanation of nofollow links and what they mean.

How can RightBlogger help me plan content that earns backlinks?

RightBlogger can help you create content that is more likely to get cited and linked to. The easiest way to earn backlinks is to publish pages that are truly useful, clear, and well-structured.

Use the RightBlogger AI Article Writer to draft link-worthy content like guides, definitions, comparisons, and resource lists. These formats are easier for other writers to reference.

After publishing, track what is working and improve the pages that already get attention. You can also explore SEO Reports for ongoing content improvements so your best posts keep getting stronger over time.