Imagine you have a food truck that sells Asian-infused burritos and Chef Gordon Ramsay mentions your “Sisig Burrito” as the tastiest and most creative dish he’s had in the last 10 years.
Better stock up on Sisig Burrito ingredients because you might have hour-long queues at your food truck.
That’s what a backlink can do for your website. A backlink is a signal that your content is a credible resource. For this reason, a backlink is a ranking factor in Google’s search algorithm.
Key Takeaways
- Backlinks link information on your webpage to another website (external link) or another webpage on your website (internal link).
- Backlinks remain a key component in the modern SEO toolkit, but Google has changed its approach.
- Backlinks highlight your Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, and boost your search rankings.
- Google has shifted its focus from the quantity to the quality of backlinks.
- Prioritize creating people-first content that immediately and effectively addresses user needs instead of writing keyword-rich content for search engines.
First, let’s have a quick overview of what backlinks are…
What Is A Backlink?
A backlink is a link to your website that originates from another website. Backlinks appear on a web page as hyperlinks – underlined words or phrases and colored blue.
When you hover the cursor over a hyperlink, it becomes an arrow. Click on the hyperlink and you’ll land on the backlinked page. For sure, you’ve come across backlinks on the articles on our blog page.
In a future article, we’ll discuss the different types of backlinks. For now, we’ll discuss the two cornerstones of backlinks: External and Internal links.
1. External Link:
Definition: A word or set of words on your web page that is hyperlinked to another web page.
External links are used to validate claims, facts, statistics, and other types of quantifiable information shared on your web page. You want to externally link information to reliable and relevant resources, usually the source page.
External links help enhance your reputation as an expert and the authoritativeness and trustworthiness of your content.
Keep these three words in mind: Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness!
2. Internal Link:
Definition: A word or set of words on your web page that is hyperlinked to another web page on your website.
Internal links help drive users to other pages on your website. Like external links, internal links improve your credibility as an expert by providing users with relevant and useful sources that align with their search intent.
Remember, web crawlers crawl your web page for links. Internal links guide web crawlers to your website and develop a keen understanding of what it’s about.
What Are The Two Major Benefits Of Backlinks For SEO?
Backlinks remain a relevant and effective process for developing an SEO strategy because they offer two major benefits.
1. Adhere to Google’s E-E-A-T Guideline
Google’s E-E-A-T stands for:
- E – Experience
- E – Expertise
- A – Authoritativeness
- T – Trustworthiness
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness are the criteria Google uses to assess the quality of content.
We mentioned that external links highlight your expertise and validate the authoritativeness and trustworthiness of your content. By linking to a reputable website, you’re standing behind your claims.
In this section, we externally linked “Google’s E-E-A-T” to an article written by a reputable resource in the world of SEO, Search Engine Journal.
What about “Experience?”
Initially, Google’s content quality guidelines only included E-A-T. Google added the second “E” for “Experience” to emphasize the importance of having first-hand experience in a subject matter.
According to Google, having experience adds substance to your expertise.
Internal links highlight your experience level!
In our previous example, “blog page” is an internal link to the Blog Page of our website.
Click and find out!
You’ll see all of the blogs we’ve written on various topics such as website design, SEO, digital marketing, business, entrepreneurship, leadership, and health and wellness.
We’re not just experts in website design, but also other topics relevant to the user’s search intent.
2. Give Your Search Rankings a Boost
Reputable websites that link to your content will generate inbound traffic to your website. The volume of traffic could be significant if the backlinking websites have large followings.
Google rewards content with high-quality links with a boost in the search rankings because they add value and contribute to User Experience (UX).
If you’re engaged in a competitive industry such as manufacturing, retail, or technology, the use of backlinks could be the difference between your content landing on the first page of the SERP or being buried deep in the back pages.
How Backlinking’s Role Has Changed From 2011 to 2025
Life was easy for SEO experts “back in the day.”
The content creation guidelines would include a reminder to link all quantifiable information to the source. As a result, content creators would link quantifiable information to just about any website.
Search for content as far back as 2010. You’ll probably come across articles with links to several low-quality, and often, irrelevant websites.
Google got smart, realized content creators were backlinking just for backlinking’s sake, and issued a barrage of revisions in its search ranking algorithm.
- 2011 – Google Panda penalized websites with links to low-quality content.
- 2012 – Google Penguin penalized websites that employed tactics intended to manipulate the algorithm, such as keyword stuffing, utilizing link farms, and intentionally creating duplicate content.
- 2013 – Google Hummingbird emphasized to creators the importance of relevant and organized content.
- 2016 – Google Penguin 4.0 handed down penalties for deceptive linking practices in real-time.
First Page Sage studied Google’s algorithm for the past 15 years and quantified the importance of each ranking factor as follows:
| Ranking Factor: | Importance/Weight: |
| Consistency in Creating Satisfying Content | 23% |
| Keyword in Meta Title Tag | 14% |
| Backlinks | 13% |
| Expertise | 13% |
| Searcher Engagement | 12% |
| Uniqueness/Freshness | 6% |
| Mobile-Friendly | 5% |
| Trustworthiness | 4% |
| Link Distribution Diversity | 3% |
| Page Speed | 3% |
| Site Security/SSL Certificate | 2% |
| Internal Links | 2% |
| Keyword in Meta Description Tags | 1% |
(Table Courtesy of First Page Sage)
It’s worth noting that although backlinks (external links) and internal links only constitute 14% of the algorithm’s weight, as discussed, they contribute to “Consistency in Creating Satisfying Content,” “Expertise,” and “Trustworthiness.”
Google continues to drive home its message for SEO experts in 2025:
Focus on creating unique high-quality content that’s relevant, useful, satisfying, and aligned to the user’s search intent.
💡Note: 23 other ranking factors have a weight of 1%.
6 Best Backlinking Practices For Modern SEO In 2025
Now you know what backlinks are, why they’re important, and how Google has assessed their value over the last 15 years.
Let’s find out how to maximize the value of backlinks in your modern SEO strategy in 2025… and beyond!
1. Create GREAT Content
To get other websites to link to your content, make it great.
But what makes content great?
According to Google, great content has four qualities:
- Relevance – Content must provide information that’s relevant to the search intent of users.
- Intellectual – Content must introduce users to new ideas including brands.
- Sensorial – Content must tell a great story and be created with thought and effort.
- Emotional – Content must trigger the desired emotions.
If you’re still thinking about how to use keywords… hold the thought.
Google advises content creators to STOP writing for search engines and focus on creating people-first content.
In other words, create content that immediately addresses search intent. Answer these questions instead of worrying about how and where to use keywords.
- How – How was the content created? Did you run tests, surveys, or compare brands?
- Who – Who created the content? What are the qualifications of the creator? What makes the content creator a reliable source of information?
- Why – Why did you create the content? What is its purpose?
Answering these three questions fulfills Google’s E-E-A-T guideline.
💡Pro Tip: Focus on creating organic content, where relevant, useful, and updated information naturally flows and clearly articulates the main idea, instead of search engine-friendly content.
2. Build Relationships In Your Niche
Once you’ve built an archive of great content, it’s time to build relationships in your niche.
If you’re in the fitness niche, reach out to fitness influencers. Connect to them via social media, email, or in person by attending their workshops.
Again, follow Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines:
- Who – Introduce yourself and your qualifications as a fitness personality.
- How – Explain how you got started in fitness (great storytelling!)
- Why – Explain why you followed the influencer and your purpose for getting into the fitness industry.
Influencers don’t have much time. Be concise with your pitch. If the influencer is compelled to check out your content immediately, that means you did a good job!
If the influencer loves your content, a backlink might follow!
💡Pro Tip: In addition to influencers, reach out to websites, bloggers, and other content creators in your niche.
3. Distribute Your Content In High-Value Channels
Gain traction by distributing your content in various channels… but be selective.
- Review your website and social media analytics to identify channels that deliver the best results.
- Social media networks are virtual communities. As such, a network attracts users with common interests and intentions.
- If you are selling visual products like cosmetics, apparel, and food, social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest would be the best choices.
- Mix it up. Social media isn’t the be-all and end-all of distribution. Reach out to blog sites and community forums in your niche and ask if it’s possible to guest blog.
- Have you built up an impressive leads list? Email content to your subscribers. Email marketing has an ROI of $36 for every $1 spent – the highest in digital marketing!
💡Pro Tip: By distributing your content in high-value channels that are relevant and appropriate for your industry, you increase the chances of another website backlinking to your page.
4. Audit Your Backlinks
What’s your initial reaction if you receive an email notification that another website has a backlink to your content?
Flattered, we guess.
Before you pat yourself on the back, check the backlinking website. It might not be relevant to your business. Worse, the linking website could have malicious intent such as content spamming which could ruin your reputation.
💡Pro Tip: Keyword research tools such as SEMRush and Ahrefs can perform audits and ensure your website has clean and legitimate backlinks.
5. Don’t Overlook the Importance of Local SEO
Local SEO is the process of enhancing the visibility of your website within your geographic location. The objective of local SEO is to have your business found by residents within your area.
For example, if you own a restaurant, local SEO tactics will help drive more customers to your location.
A backlinking strategy will give your website a massive boost in the local search rankings.
- Create a list of local businesses that have websites. Visit their websites and review their content. If the business is engaged in a complimentary enterprise, propose a collaboration.
For example, if the website sells baked goods, identify the healthiest options. Write a blog on how to choose healthier options and link to their website.
Ask them to reciprocate by writing a blog on how to enjoy sweet treats without remorse and to backlink to your website.
- Register your business in an online directory such as Google My Business or Yelp.
Don’t forget the important details: website URL, business address, email, phone numbers, and high-quality photos of your products.
- Approach local business groups such as chambers of commerce. Inquire if the organization schedules trade shows or exhibitions. If so, register your business as a participant.
Trade shows are a great venue for promoting your business and creating awareness about your website to the local community.
💡Pro Tip: Local SEO can encourage collaboration with nearby business that include backlinking arrangements.
6. Avoid Black Hat SEO Tactics
Black Hat SEO involves a series of tactics developed to climb up the SERP by manipulating the ranking factors of the search engines.
Popular black hat SEO tactics include the following:
- Keyword stuffing – Purveyors of black hat SEO will repeat the main keyword several times within the content. The outcome is content that doesn’t make sense.
- Duplicate content – Black Hat SEO experts will create content that draws massive interest and high engagement levels. Then, they’ll repurpose the same content under different landing pages.
- Hidden Text – Keywords can be hidden behind images or camouflaged by using the same color as the page background.
Sometimes a long list of keywords is jammed in an accordion and inconspicuously hidden on a page using JavaScript.
If you’re caught using Black Hat SEO tactics, you’ll be penalized by Google. Your website might be shut down temporarily or until such time you present proof you weren’t engaging in Black Hat SEO.
In the meantime, your website isn’t generating traffic. Once traffic slows down, eventually, so will lead generation and sales conversion.
It’s also possible that your website will be removed from the search rankings for good.
💡Pro Tip: Black Hat SEO tactics are shortcuts… to disaster. The rewards don’t outweigh the risks.
3 Tips For Choosing Backlinks
Don’t go crazy with the backlinks.
A backlink opens a door for the user to leave your page for another. If the user likes the content of the backlink more than yours, he won’t come back.
Here are three tips for choosing backlinks.
The first tip follows the advice of Google.
Tip #1: Choose quality over quantity backlinks.
For example, if you’re writing about the job market, go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. Once you’ve confirmed your data, hyperlink it to the BLS website.
As a government agency, you can be assured of valid and updated job market statistics.
Here’s a second backlinking tip:
Tip #2: Try to link to the source data.
For example, Forbes is a credible resource for information. Oftentimes, Forbes will present information and provide a link to the source. Go to the page and confirm the data.
If the data is accurate, use the page as the backlink.
And our last backlinking tip:
Tip #3: Backlink to a credible source that presents the latest data.
The objective is to provide users with updated information. Ideally, you should backlink to a credible resource that presents 2025 data.
However, sometimes this isn’t possible.
For example, there are studies that are updated every two to three years. The latest data you’ll find might be dated 2023. If this is the case, go ahead and link to the page but include a disclaimer:
“The most recent study on water consumption in Ohio was in 2023. According to the study…”
The anchor text for the hyperlink would be “most recent study.”
Conclusion
Backlinking remains a key SEO strategy in 2025 and beyond. It’s a proven way of generating website traffic, enhancing your reputation as an expert, and building your online brand.
However, the most important component of an effective SEO strategy is creating quality content.
Focus on creating content that users will find useful and relevant. Backlinks will validate the information shared in your content.
If you enjoyed this article, feel free to share it with your community. And if you need SEO services, contact us.
