In 1998, when Google first started, it implemented an algorithm called PageRank. One of the things taken into account when deciding how relevant a website is to a user's query are backlinks. But even in those early days, not all backlinks were created equal. And while the number of inbound links affects your search rankings, quality also plays an important role. Let's break it down: In terms of numbers, the more sites that link to your site, the stronger the signal sent to Google that your content is valuable and therefore worth linking to.
And in general, if your page has more backlinks than a similar page, it will appear higher in organic search results. Indeed, every time a site links to your content, it essentially guarantees its accuracy and truthfulness. But don't think for a second that any website linking to yours is a good thing. Not only will some links not help you, but some can actually hurt your search rankings. This means you need to worry about the quality of your inbound links. It's the Internet's version of judging someone based on the business they hold - which makes sense if you think about it. For example, which site would you trust more: a site linked to by a government agency, a top university, or a reputable organization – or a site linked only by audio blogs? Your Uncle Joe's scheme? Obviously, the former will carry much more weight, not only for visitors but also for search engines. So it's no surprise that a site with few links from high-quality sites will rank higher than a competitor site with many links from less attractive sources. And speaking of untrustworthy sources, if your site receives backlinks from link farms or other unnatural links, you could actually be penalized by Google. If you have spammy sites linking to your pages, the best thing you can do is disavow them to avoid being viewed as link-guilty. We'll talk about that in a moment. But it's not just domain reputation that tells Google that inbound link A is more valuable than inbound link B. It also considers the referring site's relevance to the topic. Why are backlinks important? If your Fantasy Football blog has a link from ESPN and a link from Crochet.com, Google will make the (reasonable) assessment that the first link is more valuable. We could track down some of the vulnerabilities related to link position, anchor text, and the impact of nofollow links on your search rankings, but let's leave that discussion for another day. For a detailed explanation on determining the value of a backlink, be sure to read this article. How many backlinks do I have? Now that you know the importance of inbound links and their value, it's time to start thinking about the links you already have. How do you know which websites are driving traffic to you? There are two ways to do this: one shows you who is linking to your site, and another you can use to track inbound links from your competitors. Check your links with Google Search Console Google Search Console will be your best friend if you are a webmaster. It has all kinds of useful tools and reports to help you monitor performance and troubleshoot problems – and it's completely free. Once you have created an account and verified your website, you can use it to track your backlinks. In the sidebar, there is an option called “Links”.
