Marketing Glossary
← Back to glossary

Backlinks

What is a backlink?

A backlink is a link from one website to another. Backlinks are also known as incoming links, inbound links, inlinks, and inward links. Backlinks are important for SEO (search engine optimization) because they are a signal to search engines that the linked-to website is valuable, relevant, and high-quality.

Why are backlinks important?

Backlinks are important because they are like votes for your website. They show search engines that other websites are vouching for your content, which can help to boost your website's ranking in search engine results. Backlinks also help to increase the visibility of your website, as well as drive more traffic to it.

How can I use backlinks?

Here are some ways that you can use backlinks to your website:

  • Improve search engine rankings: Search engines use backlinks as a way to measure the quality and relevance of a website. Websites with a high number of high-quality backlinks tend to rank higher in search results.
  • Drive traffic: Backlinks can also help drive traffic to your website. When other websites link to your website, it can expose your website to a new audience and help attract visitors.
  • Establish credibility: Backlinks from reputable and high-quality websites can help establish the credibility and authority of your website. This can help improve the perceived value of your website and encourage visitors to trust and engage with your content.

To build backlinks to your website, you can focus on creating high-quality content that other websites will want to link to, and reach out to other websites to request links. You can also use link building tactics such as guest blogging, broken link building, and resource page link building to earn backlinks. It's important to focus on building backlinks from reputable and relevant websites, as low-quality or spammy backlinks can harm your website's reputation and rankings.

Brief history of backlinks

One of the earliest search engines, Archie, was developed in 1990 and used a simple algorithm to rank websites based on the number of backlinks they had. This marked the beginning of the use of backlinks as a way to measure the quality and relevance of a website.

As the internet and search engines have evolved, the importance of backlinks has continued to grow. Today, search engines use complex algorithms to evaluate websites, and backlinks are still an important factor in determining a website's ranking and visibility in search results.

Related Terms

Website

URL

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Technical SEO