Definition

A backlink is a hyperlink pointing from an external site to yours. Backlinks are one of the three big SEO pillars alongside content quality and technical SEO. For Google, each backlink is a signal of trust and authority.

Not all backlinks are equal

• Source authority: a link from The New York Times or Wikipedia is worth much more than from an obscure site
• Topical relevance: a link from a same-industry site carries more weight
• Position: an editorial link in the body of an article beats a footer link
• Attribute: dofollow passes authority, nofollow or sponsored does not
• Diversity: 100 different referring sites beats 100 links from one site

Link-building strategy

• Produce genuinely useful content worth citing
• Digital PR and editorial partnerships
• Mentions in authoritative industry directories
• Monitor toxic backlinks (spam sites) and disavow if needed
• For GEO, backlinks also drive AI citations