What are backlinks for?

What is a backlink?

Also known as inbound links, backlinks are essential for search engine optimisation. They correspond to external links that redirect to your site and are therefore a source of relevance for Google. A backlink is a hyperlink placed on a page of website A and which points to a page of website B. As you will have gathered, backlinks are one of the key tools of natural search engine optimisation. Their role will be to improve the popularity of your site and therefore your ranking in search engine results pages.

To be more precise in its definition, a backlink is a link present on another site than yours and which points to yours.

There are several types:

• The follow link: this is a traditional hyperlink in the sense that it is followed by Google robots. In this version, search engines take it into account in their algorithm.
• The nofollow link: this is a link similar to the previous one but to which the "rel" attribute has been added to signify to Google not to take the link into account. The question then becomes: for what purpose is it used? Primarily to prevent any abuse or spam. Many individuals will place multiple links in blog or forum comments to gain a backlink to their own site. By making it nofollow, the backlink becomes useless, since it is not taken into account by Google. A large number of nofollow links will not be a source of quality for Google.

In your natural search engine optimisation strategy, you should therefore prioritise backlinks of the first type, that is to say without the "nofollow" attribute.

So what is a backlink for?

A significant number of quality backlinks to one of your web pages will have the effect of significantly increasing your popularity, and therefore your visibility. Google will consider that your site is of quality because people are talking about it and will position it higher in its search results. This acts in a way like a vote in your favour.

How do you obtain backlinks?

There are two different ways. First of all, naturally. Let's say an internet user has been inspired by your content and appreciates it. They will then add a direct link to your article on one of their pages, without expecting any return. This is one of the reasons why content quality is also paramount.

Secondly, it is possible to develop a link building strategy. It consists of obtaining inbound links by targeting domains that correspond to the theme and criteria selected beforehand. Several techniques can come into play in a link building strategy: content creation but also partner research, technical analysis etc.

In conclusion, the backlink will have a foundational role in your SEO strategy. It will have the capacity to increase your online popularity and therefore bring you a greater number of visitors. However, it is essential to remain consistent in your link logic… the idea is to maintain a certain reasoned consistency. There is no point in accumulating backlinks indiscriminately: the effect will be more negative than anything else. It is important to establish a certain logic.

Indeed, links must follow a certain rationality that will bring harmonisation to your page or website. They must be a source of increased access to knowledge recorded in your writings… leading to a virtuous circle for each of the parties involved.